“Yes, she is. Now you know why Ash keeps so many secrets from everyone. How would it look to all of you to know his beloved mother is the one who controls your enemies? The enemies who come out every night to prey on you and humanity. That’s why Ash hasn’t told any of you about the Spathi Daimons, such as Desiderius. Why Ash will always stay out of such conflicts. He’s not the big bad. His mother is.” She smirked at him. “Face it, Nick. Ash has been lying to all of you from the very beginning. Artemis doesn’t control him. He controls her. She lives in complete fear of him.”

And as Artemis’s niece and handmaiden, Satara would know.

Nick remembered the night he’d killed himself in front of Artemis. Satara was right. The goddess had been terrified of Acheron and his reaction to Nick’s death. That alone had caused her to bring Nick back to life.

Still, he couldn’t get Menyara’s words out of his mind. She was the one person he did trust. Without question or fail. “Menyara has never been wrong about anyone.”

“Menyara has never met a god who can alter someone’s thoughts and perceptions. Think about it, Nick. How many times have the Were-Hunters tampered with someone’s mind to make them forget they saw something preternatural?”

More times than he could count. “But Ash has always profraned doing that.”

“That’s what he says. Yet how often do people preach one thing then do another?”

Again, she was right.

She leaned against him and rubbed his biceps. “You are blessed with the truth, Nick. Nothing in the Dark-Hunter world is what it seems. Acheron has duped everyone … but you. The question is, are you going to let him continue to get away with hurting people for his mother or are you going to stop him? How many more people must die because Acheron is a cruel, sadistic bastard? It’s him or us, Nick. Whose side are you on?”

His own. To hell with the rest of them. But he didn’t want her to know that. Not yet, anyway.

She toyed with his hair. “Stryker has given you the means for vengeance. The only question is, are you man enough to take it?”

He curled his lip at her. “I’m not a man, Satara. I’m an immortal with god powers.”

She inclined her head to him. “And as long as you don’t forget that, Acheron is yours.”

Nick glanced back at the restaurant and the truth pierced him hard. He would have gladly sacrificed Kyrian and his family to have his mother back. Friendship was one thing. Family was another. Though Kyrian had been like a brother to him, he wasn’t blood. Nick had been willing to sell his soul for vengeance and he still was.