Hecate had been trapped and we’d won, but the sense of unease I felt never lifted, despite my becoming the magical version of a Tiger Beat poster hunk. The Houses treated me like a rock star for trapping Hecate, even though many of them had sided with her.
Things gradually returned to normal, or at least what passed for normal. Members of the Houses stopped spitting when they saw me and, instead, nodded and smiled with a “Buon Fortuna, Nyx Fortuna.”
The entire Wyrd family had been invited to a party hosted jointly by the House of Poseidon and the House of Zeus, held at Trey Marin’s house. It was across the lake from Elizabeth’s house.
I went because I thought there was a chance I might see Willow there. And for the free liquor. Trey’s home was almost hidden by trees, shrubs, and a wild profusion of flowers.
The house itself was big, but not too flashy. It looked like it had been there as long as Minneapolis had been a city. A uniformed naiad answered the door and ushered me in with a seductive smile.
Trey’s house was decorated simply, but expensively. Hand-carved furniture, simple lines, and nautical artwork.
I was early. Only a few guests had arrived and because of the warmth of the evening or their personal preference for the outside, they were out on the terrace.
It looked like Trey was expecting a crowd. Rows of tables had been set up on the back lawn. I watched them from the floor-to-ceiling windows in the great room.
There was no sign of any of my family members or Willow.
A server handed me a glass of champagne. I turned to join the party outside and almost ran into Trey.
“She’s not coming,” Trey said.
“Who isn’t coming?”
“My niece,” he said. “That’s who you were looking for, right?”
There was no point in denying it. “Yes, but why won’t she be here?”
“She is a recent widow,” he replied. I wasn’t going to have to kill Danvers after all. Someone had beaten me to it.
“We talked about it and decided it would not be seemly.”
“Seemly? Nobody mourns Danvers,” I said. “Not even his wife.”
“She is my niece, Nyx,” he said. “I know you don’t understand how the Houses work, but believe me, the House of Hades would not appreciate openly showing glee at one of their members’ death.”
I shrugged. “I don’t really give a fuck what the House of Hades thinks.”
“Rumor has it that you are more involved in that House than you’d like to admit.”
I stared him down. “You know what they say about rumors.” Hades was my father, but I didn’t want any part of that inheritance.
“Shrug it off all you’d like, but you must realize that some members of the House of Hades do not like the idea of Hades’s heir coming in and taking over.”
“There’s not a chance in hell of that happening,” I said. I wasn’t sure about Rebecca’s interest in lording over the House of Hades, but I was even less sure if the magical world knew who her papa was. It had evidently gotten out who mine was.
Despite my earlier interlude with Willow, there was a hollow aching inside me. I wanted to be dancing with her in front of everyone. I wanted to hold her hand and smile at her the way Talbot smiled at Naomi.
The sun had gone down while we were talking. Fireflies lit up the darkness, more than I’d ever seen.
I spotted Willow in the woods edging the lake, dancing with the fireflies.
“Gorgeous,” I said. “Excuse me.”
I tried not to attract attention, but was stopped every few minutes by people wanting to shake my hand. I was as patient as possible, especially since some of them had cursed my name and the House of Fates only a few days ago.
I made the excuse that I had to go to the bathroom and then snuck back out through the front door and then cut through the neighbor’s yard to avoid the party entirely.
She was still there.
“Willow, you look beautiful.” She was dressed for the party in an emerald silk dress and summer sandals.
She took my hand and led me deeper into the trees, where it was quiet and dark. She kicked off the tortuous heels and then slipped out of the silk dress.
Her bare skin gleamed in a sliver of moonlight. She shook out her dark hair and a tiny smile crossed her face. “Thank you, son of Fortuna,” she said.
She held out her hand, but I grasped it and pulled her closer into a tight hug and then kissed her with all the passion I’d been denying.
She unbuttoned my shirt. Our gazes stayed locked while she stripped me. She laid my clothes carefully on a nearby bush and then stepped into my arms. I slid my hands down to her hips and kissed her.
She moaned into my open mouth. I picked her up and she wrapped her legs around my waist.
Somehow, we ended up in the lake. A drop of water trailed down her neck and settled into the hollow of her throat. I licked it away and she moaned again.
Making love in the water was slippery work, but we managed. Much later, we lay on the shore and let the warm night air dry our skin.
Willow’s mood shifted when the sounds of revelry drifted over the water.
“It’s time you went back to the party,” she said. She handed me my shirt and pants.
“Come with me,” I coaxed.
“I am happier here,” she said. “You go ahead.”
I kissed her good-bye and then watched as she dove back into the lake.
The party was in full swing when I returned.
As the evening progressed, the party became louder and more crowded. The backyard was full of the magical community, including those who had turned their backs on the Wyrd family only days before. Luke Seren manned the grill, while Trey circulated.
My aunts held court in the center of the room. My aunts were both attractive and didn’t lack for admirers. Nona looked like a hot soccer mom barely old enough to have a daughter Naomi’s age and Morta had the ice-queen thing down pat. She could freeze someone’s balls off with one look, but some guys liked that.
With her eyes, Morta gave the order to join them, which I ignored. Rebecca and Claire sat in a couple of chairs a few feet from her and Naomi had been cornered by a sweaty mage in purple shorts and a bad haircut.
Talbot and I stood watching the crowd. My attention was caught by a guy wearing board shorts and a loose white cotton shirt. A trio of naiads surrounded him. I couldn’t hear the conversation, but he said something and the naiads burst into gales of laughter.
“That’s Johnny Asari,” Talbot said. The sour note in his voice made me give him a long glance, but he didn’t elaborate.
A few minutes later, the stranger approached us. “Talbot, I thought that was you. You’ve lost a few pounds.”
Talbot blushed. “Johnny.” His voice was cold.
“Man, you’re not still pissed about that girl?” Johnny asked. “That was ages ago. College. Bygones.”
From Talbot’s expression, he was still pissed about that girl, whoever she was. I’d grill him about it later.
“And you must be the man of the evening, Nyx Fortuna,” Johnny said. He held out his hand. I didn’t take it. He had wavy dark hair that fell into his eyes when he spoke, which was a mannerism I suspected he practiced in the mirror at home. He had dark brown eyes with full lashes and his skin was the color of a walnut.
“Nyx, I hear you play a mean game of tarot poker,” Johnny continued. “We should play sometime, both of us having the eye on the prize and all.”
He was talking about the leadership of the House of Hades, but I feigned ignorance. “What prize?”
He smiled and his teeth gleamed white against his tan skin. “All of them.”
We were getting sideways glances from several people at the party. I didn’t feel like giving them anything else to talk about, so I just said, “Excuse me, Johnny, we need to speak to my cousins about something.”
Talbot extricated Naomi from the sweaty wizard while I went to say hello to my family.
I kissed Nona’s cheek. “How are you?”
“Sad,” she answered honestly. “And I’d like another drink.” Nona hadn’t recovered from Sawyer’s death very well. Her words were slurred.
“How about a glass of lemonade?” I offered.
“As long as there’s vodka in it,” she replied.
“I know a little bit about trying to drink away the sadness,” I told her softly. “It doesn’t work.”
“I know,” she said. “But I want vodka anyway.”
I shrugged. I wasn’t going to try to babysit a Fate. I got her the vodka and lemonade, but asked the bartender to water it down. Nona would be humiliated if she got publicly shit-faced, and she was well on her way. Since I was already at the bar, I got myself another drink as well.
When I returned, Talbot and Naomi had disappeared. Probably making out in Trey’s broom closet or something. Or maybe he just wanted to avoid Johnny.
I handed her drink to Nona. Morta glared at me. I glared back. Nona was seconds away from crying. “You’ll feel better if you eat something,” I told her. “I’ll be right back.”
I went up to Luke. “Can I get a couple of hamburgers?”
“Anything for our conquering hero,” he replied.
I was beginning to hate the sound of that word. “I’m not a hero. I had a lot of help. Talbot, Ambrose, my father.” The last part slipped out, and I regretted it when Luke’s eyes blazed with curiosity.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you about that,” Luke said.
“Ask away,” I said, but my tone said the opposite of my words.
Luke studied my face for a moment and decided to, at least on the surface, change the subject. “Are you an ambitious man, Nyx?”
I took a long sip of my cocktail. “Do I seem ambitious to you?”
“You seem driven. Haunted, even.”
“Not the same thing,” I replied.
My answer seemed to please him, because he hummed a little tune as he flipped my burger. “No desire to follow your father? Take over where he left off?”
“I have no desire to rule the underworld,” I said. “Or the House of Hades.”
“There are others who don’t feel the same way,” he said. “You need to be careful who you trust.” His gaze went to Johnny Asari, who was trying to charm my sister.
“Johnny’s welcome to it. I have enough on my plate.”
“Speaking of which,” Luke said, “here are your burgers.” He slid expertly cooked patties onto plates and beamed. “It’s been a pleasure speaking to you. One last question, though. Is Hades really your father?”
Fitch and his date arrived as I was trying to think of a way to diplomatically tell Luke that my paternity was none of his business. “Excuse me,” I said. “I see someone I want to say hello to.”
I delivered the burgers to Nona and then made my way over to Fitch. I felt Luke watching me.
“Fitch, you made it,” I said. We shook hands and then he introduced me to his date, the same woman I’d seen Seren dancing with.
“Wouldn’t miss your celebration for anything,” he said. “Would we, Ruth?”
“Nyx Fortuna,” I said.
“Where are my manners?” Fitch said. “Nyx, this is my dear friend, Ruth Delaney.”
“Once Fitch told me he knew you, I wouldn’t stop pestering him until he made the introduction.”
As we talked, Fitch’s attention was on Luke Seren at the grill.
“Think I’ll grab Ruth and me some grub,” he said. “You two stay here and get acquainted.”
He ambled over to Luke and slapped him on the back. The other man flinched, but gave Fitch a smile.
They had an animated conversation. To the casual viewer, they appeared to be having an amiable conversation, but Fitch’s jaw was tense, even when he smiled.
“They look like two old friends,” I commented to Ruth.
She looked startled. “They are. They should be. They’re brothers.”
“They don’t look anything alike,” I said.
“Different fathers,” she explained.
“I thought they hated each other,” I said, despite the evidence in front of my eyes. Fitch and Seren were still laughing. Something about the way Fitch smiled at Luke bothered me, but I couldn’t explain why.
The smile in Ruth’s eyes faded. “The two aren’t mutually exclusive. You should know that.” Her gaze went to the table where my aunts sat. Morta’s eyes gleamed with pleasure as she accepted the credit for toppling Hecate, but Nona looked like she wanted to be anywhere besides the party.
I couldn’t argue with that. I realized I hadn’t asked Ruth anything about herself. “Which House are you with, Ruth?”
“House of Fates,” she said. “Although I’m not one of the more popular members.”
Which meant she wasn’t one of the group currently sucking up to the aunties. “Why not?”
“I’m a fortune-teller,” she said. “There aren’t many of us left. Not real ones anyway.”
Anything that reminded my aunts of my mother had been stamped out. Her status as the fourth Fate had been erased by my aunts and time.
There was more to Ruth than I’d previously thought. Fortune-tellers had been loyal to Fortuna. She’d had to be a fighter to survive.
“Give me your hand,” Ruth said. I held out my left hand, palm up. She took it in both hands and stared down at the lines there. She touched the fleshy part near my thumb.
“A very overdeveloped Mound of Venus,” she said.
Even I knew that meant I loved sex, food, and drink. “That’s not exactly a secret,” I said. I winked at her.
Her smile was adorable. “No, not a secret, but true nonetheless.”
I watched her as she studied my hand. I could see why Fitch was so infatuated with her.
“You seem to have gained a life line recently,” she said.
I nodded. “Very recently.”
She bit her lower lip as she concentrated on the reading. She traced the fate line with her forefinger.
“The past leaves its mark,” she said. “But the future is still about possibilities.”
Her hands trembled in mine and her face paled. “You ran straight toward your fate,” she said. “Your blood still boils with the need for revenge.”
“ ‘I will seize Fate by the throat,’ ” I quoted softly. She wasn’t telling me anything that a hack couldn’t figure out after listening to rumors and a few minutes in the same room with my aunts and me.
“The Fates will fall as foretold,” she continued. “But you shall fall with them. She will bring you to your knees.”
“She?”
Something black flew into my face. It was a tiny bat, not much bigger than a moth. I swatted it away, but several more followed. A stream of bats rushed me and then flew into the night sky.
“Where did they come from?”
Ruth dropped my hand.
The party went silent. Nona made an urgent gesture to join her. I excused myself from Ruth and went to see my aunt.
“What’s wrong?” I asked in a low voice.
“It’s a bad omen,” Nona said. “All those bats.”
As superstitions went, it was one I’d never heard of, but an icy finger touched the back of my neck. I shuddered.
“Don’t tell me you’re superstitious,” Talbot said.
“You of all people should know how whimsical the hand of Fate is,” she said. “Some things even the Fates cannot prevent.”
“What does it mean?” I asked.
“Death. Destruction,” Claire said in a low voice. “And Rebecca saw it in the tea leaves, too.”
That explained my sister’s habit of staring at teacups.
The party was in danger of fizzling, but Luke had other ideas. He dropped his barbecue tongs to take center stage.
“I’m sure we’ve all dealt with superstitions before,” Luke said loudly. “So we know there are many ways of interpreting this.”
Did he just dis my aunts? From Morta’s expression, she thought that Luke had offered her a grave insult.
“Trey, I think it’s time for another round of champagne,” Luke continued blithely.
I found a quiet spot to think. There was a bench in an arbor not far from the main terrace. As I watched the magical Who’s Who laugh and drink, a sense of dread lingered. For me, Nona’s vision had cast a pall over the party.
Despite Hecate’s imprisonment, unanswered questions weighed on my mind. What was the key for? I’d tried the locks on several doors at Parsi, but I hadn’t been to my aunts’ menagerie. What better place to hide a weapon against Hecate?
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Talbot said.
I lifted a glass of champagne. “Here I am.”
“You’re not letting that omen thing get to you, are you?”
“It’s not that,” I said.
“Then what is it?”
“I can’t stop thinking that it’s not over.”
He clinked his glass with mine. “You know what they say. It’s not over until it’s over.”
I drained my glass. “Will it ever be over?”
He didn’t have an answer.