Of Fate and Fire, page 5
“What else?”
Reluctantly, Sophie added, “A vibration. A kind of constant buzzing, deep down.”
Magoi. He knew it. Maybe once she understood her magic, and with the help of the Shard of Olympus, she could send him home.
The thought twisted inside him as though wrapped in thorns, and Piers drew her hand closer across the checkered tablecloth, keeping it tucked in his. “We’ll figure this out. If Athena wants that shard off this world, she’ll come for it. We just have to make it easy for her.”
“You really think so?” Hopeful now, a little breathless, her cheeks gaining some color again, Sophie outshined everything in the room.
Piers could safely say she blinded him, and he was used to the dazzlingly bright Thalyrian sun.
He nodded, his fascination growing by the second. The urge to touch her, comfort her, protect her, intensified, and he reached for her other hand as well. Holding them both felt right—righter than the idea of letting them go. “The shard doesn’t belong here. Not anymore. It must’ve been buried. Or forgotten and left behind. If it made its way to you, there’s a reason the Fates wove it into your life.” Into mine… “You must be able to connect with it somehow. Or connect to the gods.”
“The Fates…” Sophie’s brow furrowed, but then she nodded. Something about the idea of destiny seemed to calm her down. “Thank you, Piers of Sinta. Gamma of the realm and third in line for the throne.”
Piers wasn’t extraordinarily fond of being teased, but if it put a glimmer back in Sophie’s blue eyes, he could get used to it. Gruffly, he muttered, “You’re welcome.”
She grinned. “It seems crazy, but I’m starting to think Athena put you in my path. Or maybe the Fates did.”
Piers thought it was likely some combination of both. Athena could just as easily have knocked on Sophie’s door and asked for the shard, but the gods didn’t work like that. They watched events unfold and set possibilities into motion. Then they saw what came of things, good or bad. There was destiny, and there was free will. It was the sticky, confusing, interlocking mix of both that fascinated the Olympians as they observed, sometimes neglecting, and sometimes nudging, from their mountaintop.
“I’m really glad you’re here.” Sophie’s thumbs swept over his knuckles and back again, her skin silky-soft and warm.
Piers’s flesh tingled, his blood heating to her touch. Their eyes met, and his pulse sped up. He couldn’t remember the last time he wanted to throw all caution to the wind, wrap his arms around a woman, and kiss her.
Emotion expanded in his chest. He wanted to be the man Sophie turned to for more than just the Shard of Olympus, and the thought simultaneously elated and terrified him. It pierced his heart and stuck there like a barbed arrow from Eros. She’d become precious to him too quickly for anything other than the Fates to be steering this strange and unexpected course. Then, what happened when he found his way back to Thalyria and his family? What happened if he didn’t? In both scenarios, he lost.
His gut churned again, tight with worries. Piers was sure of one thing, so he focused on it.
“I want to help you, Sophie.” He wouldn’t fail her, no matter the cost. “If there’s a way to contact Athena, we’ll find it. I promise.” He might have a sword strapped to his back—and gaining him odd looks from the other restaurant patrons—but he was a researcher and a scholar above all else. He’d investigate; he’d find a solution; he’d do whatever needed to be done. Then Sophie would be safe.
“As insane as all this sounds, I believe you. And I’m not half as scared anymore. Two is stronger than one, and together is way better than alone.” Sophie’s smile punched Piers right in the chest and left him short of breath.
Sophronia’s was a thousand-ship smile, the kind nothing was off-limits to protect. His heart drummed. His world shifted.
So, this was how lightning struck.
“Then consider me your other half,” he rasped.
Her smile gained a playfulness he hoped she’d never lose. “I might not be great at math, but don’t two halves usually make one?”
Exactly.
Sophie finished her coffee, her spirits brighter than before, and Piers kept watch with new vigilance. The Olympian treasure she had in her possession was no laughing matter, and whoever wanted it would send more soldiers. He’d be ready when they did.
Not long after, Sophie caught the waiter’s attention and asked for the bill—apparently, a multipurpose word.
Piers narrowed his eyes. Luckily, he hadn’t let her call him that. It was almost as bad as Bob.
“It’s just a small detour,” Sophie insisted, linking her arm through Piers’s and tugging him in the direction of Rockefeller Center.
Man, this guy was stubborn. When he set his mind to something, he was like a donkey with a carrot. Only way hotter. He smelled good now, too. Too good. She kept trying to sniff him, and she wasn’t usually a sniffer. Was anyone? She’d have to read up on pheromones. There was definitely something like that at work here. She’d seen a book back home in the window of her local bookshop: Alchemy and Opposite Sexes, The Mystery of Attraction. That was what she needed—information. Maybe it would explain why she couldn’t stop staring.
“Don’t you think we have more important things to do?” Piers grumbled.
Yes, in fact, she did. But she’d been on the run for days, scared out of her mind, and totally alone. Right now, she had company, felt almost safe for the first time since Aaron’s package turned her life upside down, and was actually starting to believe there might even be a way out of this mess that didn’t involve someone from Novalight Enterprises prying the Shard of Olympus from her cold, dead hand. Sophie needed a break, so she was taking one.
“You’ll love it. I swear.” Who didn’t like a little holiday sparkle? “Christmas is in two days. You’ve gotta see the tree all lit up.”
“Fine. Shiny tree. Then the ice shard.” Piers gave in, letting Sophie drag him beyond their hotel. He glanced back at the revolving door as if he wanted to give it a whirl. Earlier, he’d gone through one at a department store just for the hell of it. She’d tried really hard not to laugh, especially when he did the whole circle a second time to get a better look at the cheery window displays. That was when she knew they had to do the most touristy thing in New York City in December.
“Good. You won’t regret it. I’m not letting you get sucked back to wherever you came from without seeing Rockefeller Center at Christmas.” A stab of apprehension tried to dim Sophie’s smile. She didn’t like the idea of Piers suddenly getting plucked from her life by some unknown force. In half a day, she’d come to rely on him for safety, appreciate his insight, and crave his company. Talk about quick work. Her rational mind had whiplash.
She wasn’t sure how—possibly all those paranormal romance novels and fantasy TV shows—but she’d adjusted surprisingly quickly to the idea of Piers being from a different world where they worshipped the gods of Olympus. Aaron’s whole the-Greek-gods-are-REAL thing probably helped. And the glacial-blue shard glowed for her. She’d inspected it from top to bottom, her fingers turning numb, and there was no reason for the chunk of ice to shine, let alone not melt into a puddle. Piers said it was magic, and she believed him.
As to why it glowed for her… Apparently, that had something to do with her being Heracleidae. It really wasn’t such a stretch to accept that she truly descended from Heracles. Herakles to Greeks. Hercules to the modern world. Sophie didn’t believe—or rather, hadn’t believed—a lot of that stuff about him completing his twelve herculean labors and becoming immortal, but she’d always thought he was a real person who’d become famous thanks to a certain number of monumental exploits. Heracles supposedly had sex with the fifty daughters of King Thespius in one night and impregnated every single one of them. They gave him fifty sons, and that was on top of his other children, so it wasn’t crazy to think there were Iraklidis all over the place. Maybe they didn’t all have the name, like she did, but they were out there. She knew that. Besides, as insane as everything sounded, she didn’t feel unhinged. Piers, for all his weirdness, didn’t seem unhinged, either. And if they didn’t mutually require a psychiatric hospital, then they needed to figure out how to contact Athena and give her the Shard of Olympus.
Okay, that sounded a little crazy. But she was going with it.
Sophie savored the smell of roasting chestnuts and smiled to herself as they walked, light snow falling around them. She wasn’t alone in this anymore. The Olympian gods had sent her a guardian angel. She didn’t care that she was tragically mixing her religions. It felt right to her. Piers felt right. Like destiny.
“Do you think I’ll get sucked back?” he suddenly asked her. “To Thalyria?”
“I don’t know.” It was on the tip of Sophie’s tongue to say she hoped not, but that would be incredibly selfish. She had no idea what Piers wanted, but it probably wasn’t to be stuck on a foreign planet helping a woman he’d only met a few hours ago. She was honest, though, so she added, “If you do, I hope we figure out how to get the ice shard to Athena first. I don’t think I can do this on my own.” She didn’t have the first clue where to start. A trip to the Acropolis? Manhattan was expensive enough. Last-minute tickets to Athens would break her bank account.
The helplessness she’d been feeling for the last several days flared up again, though not quite as bad. At least her family was safe in Pinebury, but she couldn’t go back until Novalight knew she didn’t have the shard. She couldn’t risk her family being used against her. She’d hand that magic icicle over in a New York minute, global consequences be damned. Unfortunately, there was nothing stopping Novalight’s hired guns from going to Pinebury anyway and using her family as leverage. Just because they hadn’t done it yet, didn’t mean they wouldn’t. Which meant she and Piers had to resolve this fast.
Sophie shivered. Piers stopped and pulled up her hood even though she had a hat on. Her heart tumbled. She murmured a thank-you as he gazed down at her, his gray eyes dipping to her mouth. Warmth coiled through her, and her pulse sped up. Sophie’s lips parted. She hadn’t been kissed since a not-too-tragic date ages ago. The kiss had been utterly uninspiring, and she’d felt so much nothing she’d started to wonder if her girl parts were broken. But lack of use apparently hadn’t damaged anything. All Piers had to do was look at her like he was thinking about kissing her and a hot thump sprang to life between her legs.
“Sophie.” The soft, low rumble of his voice caressed something deep inside her. He brushed a wisp of hair off her face.
Heat shivered down her spine. She swallowed. “Yes.”
“Your nose is very red.”
She blinked and burst out laughing. “Like Rudolf?”
Piers frowned. “I don’t know this Rudolf.”
“Well, he has a very red nose. He’s also a reindeer, which—before you ask—is an animal with four legs and antlers.”
“What makes this animal special? Does it breathe fire? Spit poison saliva? Shoot venomous darts from its tail?”
Her eyebrows crept up. “Wow. Thalyria sounds like fun.”
Piers cracked a smile and started walking again. “Well?”
“Okay, I’ll give you the scoop on Rudolf.” Sophie slipped her arm back through Piers’s. She liked it there. “He brings holiday cheer and helps deliver presents to children around the world. He’s also totally made up—a myth. And our version of magical, I guess, because he flies and has a glowing red nose. Regular reindeer—feet on the ground, no lightbulb noses—are real, though. They’re super cute, but I think they’re kind of smelly.”
“Have you encountered one?” he asked.
“I’ve never been up close and personal with a reindeer. I hit a regular deer with my car once, though.” It got up and ran away, but she’d been so shaken she’d driven well under the speed limit for days.
Piers’s brow drew low. “Were you all right?”
“I was sad. I was scared I hurt it.”
“More worried about the animal than yourself…” He seemed thoughtful all of a sudden. “Life does have more value here. Killing is so common where I come from. People war, and people die. That’s just the way of it.”
“It sounds…” Awful. “Harsh.”
“Maybe it’s because the Olympians abandoned this world. You seem to have done better without them.”
Sophie winced. “You wouldn’t think that if you watched the six o’clock news.”
He frowned. “The what?”
“I’ll explain later.” She squeezed his arm. They’d almost reached the most spectacular winter sight in the city. “Look.” She pointed as the massive ice-skating rink and huge Christmas tree came into view. Snow swirled in the air, bells jingled somewhere, and all the bright, colorful lights looked festive and wonderful.
Sophie sighed in happiness. Not everything was a mess. This was just as it should be.
“Good gods.” Piers stopped and stared. “That’s…impressive.”
“Right?” Excited, she tugged him closer. Rockefeller Center at Christmas took her breath away, and she’d seen it before, both in person and on television. “It’s not magic, like you have where you’re from, but I think it’s pretty magical.”
Nodding, Piers wrapped his arm around her shoulders while he took in the plaza. As one, they inched closer together, eliminating the gap between them. Sophie’s heart beat faster. Excitement thrummed inside her. She couldn’t imagine so easily touching anyone else, but she looped her arm around Piers’s waist and leaned her head against him. She loved how towering he was, how broad, and how freaking warm on a winter afternoon. He was the very definition of tall, dark, and handsome.
She relegated her worries about the shard and everything else to the back burner and just let herself enjoy the closeness, her body a riot of sensations she hadn’t felt in forever. And never this strongly. Sophie was starting to think she was going to try to have her wicked, wild way with Piers back at the hotel room, which would probably shock his old-fashionedness into the next world over.
And what would that be? Atlantis? She would’ve laughed at the thought if she hadn’t been so breathless.
It took a huge effort not to turn and jump on Piers, lips first. She’d never trusted someone so completely this quickly. Add to that trust a blood-sizzling attraction, and her girl parts hadn’t only woken up; they were clamoring for action.
“It’s beautiful. Stunning. Special.” Piers hugged her tighter, his jaw pressing against her forehead. Somehow, Sophie knew he meant her just as much as Rockefeller Center. Her heart clenched, and the idea of Piers being torn from her life just as quickly and surprisingly as he’d entered it suddenly made her want to hold on to him with all her strength and in any way possible.
Maybe it was the harrowing circumstances. Or maybe that stray thought she’d had about destiny hadn’t been just a stray thought. If the Olympian pantheon Piers worshipped had a hand in this, the Fates probably weren’t far behind. In fact, they were probably well ahead of everyone.
Sophie breathed Piers in, along with the crisp scents of pine boughs and winter. Mulled cider. Rink ice. Snow and a hint of exhaust. It was New York, after all. Piers’s big hand squeezed her shoulder, half comforting and half an erotic zap she felt deep in her belly. She wanted his hands on her. She wanted them everywhere. Her whole body tightened. Luckily, she was good at multitasking, because she’d just added Seduce Piers to her immediate agenda.
A red light flashed, distracting her. She glanced down. The little dot stopped on her chest, right over her heart. Her pulse exploded. “Oh my God,” Sophie breathed out, her muscles freezing solid.
“What is that?” With his free hand, Piers swiped at the little red spot on her parka. He tried again, scowling.
“Someone’s aiming a gun at me.” Fear shattered her voice down to a broken whisper. “They’re hidden somewhere. A rooftop. A window.” Only her eyes moved as she scanned the buildings in front of them, seeing nothing. “They can kill me from a distance.”
“Like with an arrow?” Piers’s sharp gaze followed hers to the rooftops. His arm tightened around her shoulders.
“A bullet. More powerful than an arrow. Faster.” She’d be dead before they even heard the shot go off. A tremor went through her. And here, she’d been feeling almost safe. Stupid. She should’ve stayed out of sight. She should’ve run to a new city. Stupid. Stupid. Panic surged, turning her heart into a sledgehammer.
Something sharp pressed into the small of Sophie’s back. Her eyes shot wide, and she sucked in a breath.
“You’re almost making this too easy,” a rough voice said behind her. “Give me the crystal, and you walk away from here. No mess. No questions. That’s what we all want, isn’t it?”
Piers dropped his arm from around her shoulders with such a hard downward strike that Sophie heard the knife clatter to the pavement. He yanked her hard at the same time, whirling her away. She dove behind the barrier overlooking the skating rink.
“Piers! Get down!” she shouted. A shot could go off at any second. Why didn’t it? Too many people? Too conspicuous? If a shooting in the heart of New York City at Christmas ever got traced back to Novalight Enterprises, it would ruin a man already disliked by millions.
She glanced anxiously around the plaza. Maybe the gun was just to scare her into cooperating, and the man with the knife was supposed to retrieve the ice shard.
Piers stood between her and Novalight’s agent, the laser dot still there and trained on the back of his head now. The sight of it made her stomach flip over. Piers gripped the knife wielder’s forearm. He squeezed so hard the man grimaced. A second later, Sophie heard a crack.
The hired gun gasped. “Holy… Fuck!”
“Come after her again, and I’ll break your neck instead,” Piers growled. He threw her assailant six feet using nothing but one hand and the man’s mangled forearm.
Sophie’s jaw dropped. People all around them screamed and scattered. She didn’t know whether to be impressed or horrified. She decided on impressed. Who needed Thor? She had a freaking gladiator protecting her.
