“Be true to us, Nick, and we can give you what you want most.”

Nick sneered at her. “You don’t know what I want.”

“Yes, I do. You want revenge and you want your mother back.”

“I can get my own revenge.”

“True, and we can give you your mom.”

He scowled at her. What the hell was she talking about now? The bitch was crazy. “Don’t be stupid. My mother’s dead. There’s no way back from that.”

She arched her brow at him. “Isn’t there? You’re here and yet you were once dead. As was Desiderius.” She snapped her fingers. An instant later, a tall, dark-haired man appeared beside them. At six foot four, Nick wasn’t used to many men who made him crane his neck, but this one did. And by the luminescent blue eyes, Nick knew exactly who and what this man was.

A Dream-Hunter.

Gods of sleep, they were sent from Olympus to help and protect dreamers. And through a pact with Acheron, many of them were sent to aid Dark-Hunters. To help them heal, especially when they were asleep, so that they could continue to protect mankind from the evil that preyed on them.

This wasn’t the first Dream-Hunter to approach him. Nick had sent M’Adoc away as soon as the god had offered to help Nick forget the pain of his mother’s death.

He never wanted to forget his mother or what had happened to her.

Nick jerked his chin toward the newcomer. “I don’t need his help.”

“Of course you don’t, Nicky. But Kratos can do the one thing even Acheron can’t do.”

“And that is?”

“Bring a soul out of its eternal rest and return it to the land of the living.”

Nick wasn’t stupid enough to buy what she was selling. “At what price?”

“An act of loyalty to us. You bring Kyrian’s child Marissa down to Kalosis and we will return your mother to this world.”

Still, he was skeptical. “You can’t do that.”

Satara gave him a smug smile. “Kratos. A demonstration, please.”

Before Nick could move, the Dream-Hunter touched him. His grip seared Nick’s skin, making it burn and crawl as images tore through him. He saw his mother in a garden, surrounded by roses. Her shoulder-length blond hair was glistening in the light while she laughed at a group of children who were playing around her.

A tear slid down his cheek as he saw her kind face again. “Mom,” he whispered.

His mother cocked her head as if she could hear him. “My Nicky,” she breathed. “I miss you.”

“I can take you into the Underworld,” the Dream-Hunter said. “But it won’t be easy.” He released Nick and the image of his mother instantly vanished.

Nick struggled to breathe. “How do I know I can trust you?”