Page 178 of Blood of Olympus

“You’re one of Aelia’s men?” I asked the mortal.

The scout nodded. “Yes, my lord. Meleager’s my name.” He dipped his head in a graceful bow then lifted his helm from beneath his right arm. “If you don’t need me for anything else…?”

“No. Thank you, Meleager. We’ll take it from here.”

He nodded, shoved the blue-plumed helmet back on his sweating face, and took off in the opposite direction.

Interesting fellow, Lykos commented.

Don’t get too attached.

The wolf snorted, followed up quickly by a dainty sneeze, the likes of which I’d never heard from my overly serious lapdog.

Not a word, he growled, sending vibrations up my spine, causing an involuntary twitch as it somehow tickled the base of my skull.

Wouldn’t dream of it. I laughed, then spotted the aforementioned cloaked figures waiting halfway across the field, and instantly sobered.

Messengers below you, Nightshade. We’re on our way across now.

Noted. They’re alone, but that doesn’t mean something isn’t afoot. We’ll keep watch from above. If they so much as point at you, Velira says she’ll bite their fingers clean off. If they even have them.

Tell Velira I’m touched by her benevolence.

Nyssa snorted. Please. She’s as possessive as I am, and we happen to have taken a liking to you both.

Oh, a liking, hey? I smirked. How blessed we both are, then, to have captured the attentions of a Queen and her dragon.

I felt her mental eye-roll, and it split my face into a wide grin.

You may have captured my attention first, but then you hijacked my fate, sealing the deal.

And yet, you don’t seem too unhappy about that decision.

That's because I’m not. I wouldn’t have it any other way, Golden. I’m just glad that in a room filled with a thousand different threads — a thousand different possibilities — you chose to bind yourself to mine.

About time you realised we were inevitable, Nyss. It was never going to end any other way than the two of us together. And one day, I’ll ensure you remember why.

That piqued her curiosity.

There are some things I have yet to admit — but first, I must deal with this pair of worms.

Her presence retreated, though I could still feel it lingering at the back of my mind, waiting for things to unfold, removing the need to relay information which could be a time-critical delay.

“State your names, pass along your message, then begone, the both of you,” I growled down to them.

The figure on the left drew back his hood, revealing a familiar crop of ginger hair and suntanned skin. The second did the same, uncovering a mane the exact same shade.

Twins in every sense of the word.

Two faces I never thought to see on this particular field of battle — especially not on the side of evil. Two faces who were currently supposed to be somewhere else, doing a very important job.

Aros and Evie… both had personally vouched for the duo in front of me. For before me, stood their siblings: Phobos and Deimos. The gods of fear and terror.

Tartarus, Nyssa cursed. Does that mean…?

Probably.

Their slimy smirks peered up at me from beneath short, crudely hacked hair.