Tempted Read Online Free Page A

fate that he and Gryphon were the only living heirs to Lord Lucian, the leader of the Council of Elders. Since Gryphon already served with the Argonauts, that left Orpheus as the only eligible ándras to replace Lucian on the Council when he finally retired. But Orpheus was no lord. He was only out for himself. He obviously had no qualms about opening the portal, about letting Argoleans roam back and forth between their world and the human realm. Didn’t give a shit about the dangers that lurked there or the daemons that couldn’t wait to infiltrate Argolea and destroy their home. And he obviously didn’t give a flying fuck about the monarchy, if he was the one who had led Isadora to those witches.
    His jaw clenched. Before he could tear into Gryphon about his lazy-ass scheming brother, he spotted a door along the back wall and headed in that direction.
    “D,” Gryphon called. “Dammit.”
    The doorway led to a dimly lit hall that ran through the length of the building. From the far end, voices echoed.
    “Come on,” a male voice said. Orpheus’s voice. “Ignore what you heard and refocus. Act like you’re enjoying yourself. Attitude is half the battle.”
    “I am,” a female replied. “Stop bitching at me.”
    “I would if you’d just open yourself to this. We don’t have all night.”
    That darkness brewed deeper in Demetrius’s gut, like a mist rising up to envelop him. He moved around the corner and into the room.
    A female with long blond hair stood at a rectangular table, a bowl of what looked like water in front of her. For a moment Demetrius thought it was Isadora, but then he remembered that the last time he’d seen the princess, her hair had been short. And Isadora was thinner than this female, more wiry, and definitely prettier.
    The female’s hands hovered over the surface of the liquid and her eyes slid closed as she chanted softly to herself. Behind her and to the right, Orpheus stood with his feet apart and his arms folded over his chest, a scowl on his face as he watched.
    He was as tall as the Argonauts and, because he was Gryphon’s brother and hailed from Perseus’s line, just as muscular. But he wasn’t as well trained, and even though he was a scrapper, Demetrius knew he could take him in a hand-to-hand.
    As the water in the glass bowl swirled, the female chanted, stepped back, and lifted her hands outward. The water rose up, swirling higher until it was at least four feet tall, a mini cyclone twisting above the bowl.
    “Yes, that’s it,” Orpheus said, dropping his hands. Sandy brown hair fell across his forehead. “Keep concentrating. You’re doing it. You are fucking doing it. What do you see?”
    The muscles around the female’s eyes contracted. “Faces.”
    Demetrius stepped fully into the room. The female’s eyes popped open and shot in his direction.
    “Dammit, Aellô,” Orpheus said quickly. “Focus!”
    With the female’s concentration broken, the cyclone stopped spinning and gravity grabbed hold of the water, drawing it down to slap against the table and floor and spray over her and Orpheus.
    The female yelped. Demetrius went right after Orpheus. He grabbed hold of Orpheus’s shirtfront and slammed him against the wall. “Where is the princess?”
    “ Skata ,” Gryphon muttered. “Demetrius, let him go.”
    A sinister smile spread across Orpheus’s face. “Don’t tell me you boys lost her again. I guess the rumors are true. None of you are man enough to satisfy her after all.”
    Demetrius pulled forward, then slammed Orpheus back against the wall again, but before Orpheus’s body made contact he disappeared. Poofed right out of Demetrius’s hands.
    Demetrius’s eyes widened. He looked at his now-empty hands and whipped around to find Orpheus standing behind him, a murderous expression on his face.
    “Don’t fuck with me, Guardian. Aellô, we’re done here. Gather your stuff and head home.”
    The female cast each of them a nervous look but quickly