Tempted Read Online Free PDF

Gryphon asked.
    “The witch who took Isadora across the portal days ago.” Orpheus focused on the witch. “Where did they take her, Delia?”
    Unease passed over Delia’s face. “It’s the eve of the full moon, and the feast of Hecate draws close. This time of year the dark powers will do anything to break free of their bonds. I cast a binding spell on the Horae when you were here with them so others wouldn’t see what they were, but if Isis recognized them—”
    “Shit,” Orpheus muttered.
    Demetrius didn’t like the direction of the conversation, and that tingle in his skin was now a roaring vibration.
    “What?” Gryphon asked. “Man, I am having so much trouble following this conversation.”
    “The witch has taken her to Apophis,” Orpheus said from between clenched teeth.
    “The warlock?” Gryphon’s eyes grew wide.
    “Yeah, dammit.” Orpheus looked back at his brother. “There’s good and evil in this world, little brother, even among witches.” He turned back to the witch. “What do you know about their plans, Delia?”
    Delia wrung her hands together. “The word we’re hearing is that Apophis has banded forces with Atalanta.”
    Demetrius stiffened and the blackness inside jerked.
    “Son of a bitch,” Orpheus muttered. “They’re going to hand her over in exchange for freedom from their prison. Is that what you’re telling me?”
    “Yes,” Delia said with a pained expression.
    “How?” Gryphon asked. “And what prison?”
    Delia looked his way. “Apophis was once an ándras like any other male in our region. But two thousand years ago he discovered a way to harness the black arts and used them to fuel his immortality. As his strength in this realm grew, the covens knew the horror he would unleash if he was free to roam Argolea. They united their powers to confine him to Mount Parnithia. Trapped there, he constructed Thrace Castle around him, but he’s been recruiting those from our race to his side for years, and he’s never stopped searching for a way out.”
    Demetrius clenched his jaw. That was all they needed. A fucking warlock with godlike powers, set free in their realm to wreak havoc. And now he was working with Atalanta? Holy Hades.
    Orpheus looked back at Delia. “Did you know Isis had joined Apophis’s horde?”
    “No, I didn’t. But looking back…” She wrung her hands again. “She was acting strangely after you and the Horae went through the portal.”
    “Shit,” Orpheus muttered. “How long do we have?”
    “Not long. The feast of Hecate is all but upon us. At the full moon’s crest, Apophis and his band of witches will be able to open their own portal and send the princess across undetected. Once she’s there, Atalanta can then open the portal for the rest of them, if she so chooses.”
    “We need directions to Thrace Castle,” Gryphon said.
    “It’s protected by black magick. You’ll not get close.”
    “We’ll get in,” Demetrius growled. “How many man the gates?”
    Delia finally looked his way again. “At least fifty. But take heed, Guardian. Those in service to Apophis are not only of our kind. They’ve traded what’s left of their humanity to him in exchange for enhanced powers. And he uses that humanity to strengthen his immortality. Though his followers may look like common witches, they are not.”
    She glanced over her shoulder. A witch near the far wall came running. “Selene will take you as far as the outer wall. Her powers can mask you that far, but no farther. From there, it’ll be up to you. We can’t go in with you. Apophis will sense us. But I don’t have to tell you, if he and his minions are set free in the human realm…”
    Then Atalanta won’t be the only immortal being roaming the world with a major-ass case of pissed-off.
    “Understood.” Orpheus looked toward Gryphon again. “You might want to use that fancy medallion of yours and call your guardians. Three against fifty isn’t gonna cut it.”
    Gryphon