If she confessed all—after their victory—he would have to forgive her. Hold a grudge against your cherished female? Not for long.
Ophelia pressed a hand over her fluttering belly. So. Was she or wasn’t she? Was he or wasn’t he?
To find her consort and entwine this young? Was it even possible?
If so, could she have power, success and a lover?
No, no. She didn’t want a perma-bang. Except, she thought she maybe kind of, sort of...did. Secretly. Sometimes desperately.
Ophelia ducked her head. This. This was the real reason she’d avoided pleasure. To want it and lose it...oh, the pain. But to break her rule a third time and bomb...
No, she couldn’t risk it. She wouldn’t be so weak. What if she lost herself in the needing?
On the other hand, pleasure kept nymphs strong, and she needed to be as strong as possible for the task. And contenders for General could take a lover nowadays. They could have a career and a side slice.
On the other, other hand, Ophelia wasn’t like most contenders. She wasn’t fighting for the title alone but her sister’s respect. No sex for Nissa—no sex for Ophelia. No reason to let herself tangle with her true kryptonite: being needed in return.
But. Gah! Always there was a but nowadays. She and Nissa weren’t the same, either. Different strengths, different weaknesses, different requirements. What if Halo could fully satisfy Lady No O, ending the threat of the needing altogether? He didn’t strike her as a male who ever gave up.
Trembling, she locked her sights on him. Extra strength, tougher defenses. No needing, no near constant arousal. Possible rewards: helping Halo take down Erebus and total satiation. The risks: greater distraction and the total loss of everything she’d built. It would be one or the other.
No risks, no rewards.
Think of it. Her, the youngest contender for General in harpy history to take out a big bad, win an Astra and be satisfied sexually. Shouldn’t she go for it? Shouldn’t she find out if she was the Astra’s gravita or not?
The answer seemed fairly obvious to her. And, really, for all she knew, her first relationship had been a rookie mistake. The second might have been an anomaly of some kind. A third failure—or first success—should provide the full truth, nothing but the truth, once and for all.
Could Ophelia Falconcrest have it all?
10
Halo gathered multiple tomes. Some featured Hercules’s labors, others provided information about different species. Ophelia was quiet and pensive, reminding him of himself when he tracked a specific target, scheming all the different ways to strike. He felt the hot ping of her focus and knew her plans revolved around him. He did his best to avoid looking at her. No more temptation. No more distractions.
He prided himself on performing his duty, no matter the situation. He may not have much to offer his brothers in terms of affection, amusement, or excitement, but he always excelled at his assignments. The Astra could count on him to push through any hardship and succeed on their behalf.
He needed to prepare for the second battle. His enemy continued to run circles around him. Erebus had overcome the palace defenses installed by Halo himself, sneaking in a phantom, simply to deliver a message.
Things must change—so he would change them.
But what had the god meant when he’d promised to strike at Ophelia in other ways?
Fury hard-boiled Halo’s muscles. What other ways?
So much for no distractions.
He dropped his selection of books on Ophelia’s table. Thud. He didn’t care if she noticed the titles referencing nymphs or consorts, didn’t care if she supposed there was an eternal tie between them. But...
More and more he suspected she did, in fact, belong to him. The way his body reacted to her. This preoccupation with every part of her. Erebus’s delight in the circumstances. At the mere mention of a “stable of boy toys,” Halo had longed to geld each stallion. That longing hadn’t faded. This possessiveness...this jealousy. How was he supposed to shed them?
He eased into a seat next to his companion. Something the Commander had suggested earlier returned to Halo’s mind. Rearrange his priorities for a week, as an experiment. Seven days between tests meant he had time to explore diverse routes to triumph. One of those routes, according to Roc, included making Ophelia his primary concern. Roc suspected the harpy influenced Halo’s task the same way Taliyah had influenced Roc’s. For better or worse.
The argument made sense on multiple levels. Change had the ability to facilitate growth; growth carved out more room for more power. More power led to ascension. Catering to a gravita might be the biggest change of all for someone like Halo. In terms of numbers and odds, the Astra had lived eons without finding a fated female. Now, when the whole army hovered at the cusp of ascension, the leader discovered his mate and won his task with her aid. It stood to reason Halo, the second-in-command, would receive a similar opportunity to grow and rise.