by Linsey Hall
“You must be careful, Rowan.” Ladon’s eyes burned into me. “Everything relies on you, but you must choose the right way. Or you will lose everything you love.”
The dragons sent Maximus and me back to the Protectorate castle using their magic. When we arrived, the moon hung high overhead, gleaming brilliantly on the castle walls.
“I lost track of time,” I said.
Maximus rubbed a hand over his face, weariness in the gesture. “It’s been a while since we’ve slept.”
Adrenaline had kept me going before this, but it was wearing off now. Fast. From the look of the moon, it was the middle of the night. Which meant we’d been awake for twenty-four hours, all of which had been spent running and fighting and using magic.
I was so tapped out that a bowl of pudding would be stronger than me.
The castle was quiet now, incredibly so. Everyone had to be asleep. Or at least, everyone except the guards.
“Let’s go check the wall and see if the army is still out there,” I asked.
“We can ask the guards where everyone is, too.”
I reached for Maximus’s hand, and we started across the castle lawn, striding toward the exterior curtain wall.
I took the stairs two at a time, hurrying to the top of the ramparts. Fatigue filled every inch of my body as I moved. It was almost as if coming home and being safe made me realize how damned tired I was.
When I reached the top, I looked out over the forest that surrounded the castle. Hundreds of demons and humans still stood there, staring at us.
For the briefest second, adrenaline flooded my veins. Then it sapped away, and I was left shakier than ever.
But damn, the Titans were determined.
Caro and Ali approached from the left, gray circles under their eyes. They were clearly almost as exhausted as we were, but no way they’d fall asleep on guard duty.
Ali ran a hand through his shiny dark hair. He looked a lot like Aladdin from that kids’ movie. Slender and handsome and young. He was a Djinn with the power to possess the bodies of people and animals, and he was a badass fighter with that skill.
I’d hardly seen him lately, though. Hell, I’d hardly seen most of my friends. I couldn’t wait for the day where we could just hang out again.
But for now, we had a war to win.
“They haven’t moved at all?” I asked.
“Not a bit.” Caro shook her head, her short platinum bob shining in the light. “They just stare at us like a bunch of crazies.”
“They’d have to be crazy to follow the Titans,” Maximus said.
“Truth.” Ali grinned. “Did you have any luck?”
“Yes. But I’ll show you tomorrow.” If I tried to turn into a dragon right now, I’d definitely fall off the ramparts. “Where is everyone?”
“Asleep,” Caro said. “It’s one a.m., and most people haven’t slept in days. Several teams made progress over the last twenty-four hours, though, so everyone is resting up.”
“Perfect.” We’d gotten here just in time. Because damn, I really needed to join the team slumber party.
“Is there a meeting scheduled for tomorrow, then?” Maximus asked.
“Yep. Seven a.m. sharp. Kitchens.” Ali grinned again, this time even wider. “Can’t say I mind having our meetings where the food is.”
Caro laughed, though the sound was weighty with weariness, and punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Of course you don’t. You’d eat an old leather shoe and say it tasted good.”
“With the right seasoning, it could.”
Hmm, the way he was looking at her made this really seem like flirting. Interesting. “Okay, we’re going to head to bed, then. Unless you need us to cover for you up here?”
The idea made me want to cry, but I couldn’t leave my friends hanging if they were as exhausted as I was.
“Nope. We already got a good nap in,” Ali said. “We’re fine.”
“Awesome. See you later, and good luck.”
Maximus and I climbed down the stairs and started across the lawn toward the castle. Several of the mullioned windows gleamed like crystal, but most were dark.
It didn’t take us long to reach my apartment. The Menacing Menagerie were asleep on the couch, the three of them snoring in tandem. We tiptoed past them and fell into bed, barely managing to get off our shoes and outerwear.
I rolled over toward Maximus and laid my head on his chest. Memories of our time with Arachne flashed in my mind.
“Did you mean it?” I blurted. “When you said you loved me, did you mean it?”
He looked down, surprise on his handsome face. “Of course I meant it.”
He sounded so sure, and almost a little offended that I would even ask, that I smiled.
I snuggled closer to him. “Good. I meant it, too.”
“I know you meant it.” There was a smile in his voice. “You blurted it out like they were the last words you’d ever say.”
“I thought they would be.” The thought of that feeling shivered through me. It may have all turned out well, but that brief moment had been awful.
I wanted to talk more, but exhaustion pulled at me. It must have tugged at him, too, because he was silent.
As I drifted off to sleep, I thought of what Ladon had said about the darkness inside of me. What exactly had he meant by all that?
Was the darkness inside me really under control like I thought it was? Or had my acceptance of it just been a clever trick by my subconscious?
The next morning, Maximus and I visited the ramparts again before the meeting with the rest of the Protectorate. The army was still there, staring silently at us.
“What do you want to bet this group can appear at the Titans’ fortress within minutes if they call them?” I asked.
“Not taking that bet.” Maximus rubbed a hand against his chin. “But since you’re right, it’d probably be smart to find a way to trap them here so we don’t have to fight them along with the Titans.”
“Yeah. The Titans already had a pretty big human and demon army when I saw them last. I bet it’s only grown.”
“We’ll figure something out.” Maximus took my hand, and we walked back down the stairs, off the ramparts.
I’d finished my transition, but there was so much left to face. Not just an enormous army, but also my iffy skill with my new form.
“We have a few minutes before the meeting,” I said. “I think I’m going to practice transforming.”
“Good idea.” Maximus squeezed my hand.
“Don’t sound so relieved.” I grinned. “But I guess if you have a dragon on your side, it’s good if that dragon can do more than flop around.”
“I’d still love you if all you could do was flop.”
I laughed and let go of his hand. “I’m going to be the best dragon you ever saw.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
Fates, I hoped I could live up to my big words.
I stopped in the middle of the castle lawn and drew in a deep breath. There was no one outside right now except the guards on the castle wall. I’d checked, and it was no longer Ali and Caro, but rather some members of the Demon Hunters Unit that I didn’t know well.
Actually….
I looked at Maximus. “Will you go tell the guards not to shoot me if they see me in dragon form?”
“On it.” He loped back toward the wall to deliver the message.
Once I was alone, I drew in another breath. The quiet helped. Being alone with no one watching helped even more, actually.
It was just me and the dragon inside me, and we weren’t going to flop around like a fish out of water.
I called upon the dragon magic in my soul, feeling it spark along my veins. It was so strong and obvious, a different kind of magic than I’d ever felt before. Sometimes it was hard to call new magic to the surface, but not this. It was almost as if this magic had been waiting within me forever, ready to burst free.
It surged through my veins, rising to th
e surface in a rush. Magic glittered around me, a rainbow of color that flowed in front of my face, whirling like a tornado.
Within a second, I could feel my body expand. Wings grew, claws formed, my muscles became huge. Soon, my head was level with the second story of the castle. Two shocked faces peered out at me.
Uh-oh.
Now I had an audience.
I shoved the worry away and focused on how amazing it was to finally be a dragon. A dragon!
I used that awe and joy to propel myself upward into the sky. This time, I flew a little higher. Fifty feet, at least.
Then, my wings faltered.
I fell, plummeting back to earth and hitting the ground hard.
Damn it.
I climbed to my feet and tried again, surging upward on my wings. They were more than big enough. I wasn’t some big-assed dragon with tiny wings. I mean, I had some pretty big hindquarters, but I also had huge wings. I just needed to learn to use them.
I clawed my way upward, pumping my wings hard. My breath heaved in my lungs and little puffs of smoke burst from my lips, but I didn’t make it much farther this time either. Maybe sixty feet, at most. Considering I was at least thirty feet long, that was more like a jump than flying.
I hit the ground again, this time with a harder thud.
When I looked up, the entirety of the Protectorate was standing on the front steps of the castle. Every single one was staring at me. I swallowed hard.
Perfect. Just perfect.
11
The entire staff of the Protectorate stared at me. Most of them were holding juice boxes and bacon sandwiches, so they’d clearly come from the meeting in the kitchen.
Which I was now probably late for. I must have lost track of time while trying to fly.
I shifted back to my human form, insanely grateful to still be wearing clothes. The only thing worse than falling on your ass in front of your colleagues was then appearing naked afterward.
“Wow.” Jude nodded. “That’s cool.”
I grinned at her. “Yeah. I just need to learn to fly and shoot fire and stuff.”
“If you even can,” Lavender said snidely.
I glowered at my old nemesis. I hadn’t been in class lately, but the reason was obvious. Fighting the Titans was pretty much a full-time job. Lavender didn’t like it though.
And I didn’t like that her words echoed a very real fear of mine. What if I couldn’t do it?
I shook the thought away. I couldn’t let her see weakness, couldn’t let her see that I cared. So I just shrugged. “Even if I can’t, I’m still thirty feet long with giant fangs and claws, so I won’t be totally useless in a battle.”
Bree and Ana huffed out identical laughs.
“Okay, that’s enough,” Jude said. “We need to discuss the next steps. We’ve all got our breakfast, so let’s go to the Round Room.”
The crowd turned and filed in through the castle doors. Bree and Ana caught up with me, Cade and Lachlan at their sides.
“You’re a dragon!” Bree whispered.
“That’s so cool!” Ana said. “A freaking dragon!”
“Only if I can learn to fly and shoot fire and actually be a dragon.” Most of my little speech to Lavender had been bravado.
“Oh, you’ll get the hang of it.” Ana waved her hand to indicate it was nothing.
“Yeah, you’ll learn in no time,” Bree said.
“I sure hope you’re right.” I looked at Bree. “Did you get the power source in Thailand? The one that the Titans were after to power their bind-breaking device?”
Bree’s expression turned grim. “No. They beat me to it. By an hour, no more.”
“Oh damn.” That burned. And made my skin chill with nerves.
The Titans were one step closer to their goal. We’d known going after the power source was a longshot, but still, I’d hoped we’d succeed. The clock was really ticking down now.
“Don’t worry.” Ana patted Bree’s arm. “We’ll figure it out.”
“Yeah, we will.” The scent of bacon caught my nose, and my gaze zeroed in on the steps that led down to the kitchen. My stomach grumbled. “I’ll catch up with you in the Round Room.”
I glanced at Maximus, and he nodded as if he’d read my mind. Together, we raced down the kitchen stairs. Hans turned from his position at the stove and grinned, his mustache twitching.
“You’re in a hurry!” He’d always been good about noticing those things.
I’d barely stepped into the kitchen itself when he grabbed two juice boxes and chucked them at us. We each snagged one out of the air. He then grabbed two paper-wrapped sandwiches and threw them in a perfect arc.
I grabbed mine, delighted to feel that it was still warm, and smiled at him. “Thanks, Hans. You’re the best.”
“Thank you,” Maximus said.
Hans grinned and waved his hands. “Go, go! Save the world.”
“We’ll try.” I turned and raced up the stairs, Maximus behind me.
We sprinted toward the round room, and I did my best to ignore the scent of bacon that wafted from the sandwich.
We slipped into the Round Room just as the last person was taking their seat. We found two free spots at the table and sat. Quickly, I unwrapped my sandwich and took a bite, nearly groaning at the salty-savory taste of the bacon. The sandwich was huge, and I said a quick prayer of thanks to Hans.
“All right,” Jude said. “Clearly, Rowan has made some progress in her transition.”
“Just a bit of practice to go,” I said, trying to sound confident. Memories of flopping to my butt flashed through my head.
“Then let’s get the bad news out of the way first.” Jude clapped her hands together. “We failed to retrieve the power source that will power the Titans’ bind-breaking device. It was impossible—they were ahead of us all along, so there was nothing we could do.”
I liked that she didn’t blame Bree. And how could she? Bree was one of the most powerful supernaturals in existence. If she couldn’t do it, then it couldn’t be done. Simple as that.
“So,” Jude said. “That means they are moving ahead with their plan. But don’t worry. We’re moving ahead with ours.”
Okay, it was hard not to worry, but I liked Jude’s no-nonsense, forge-ahead attitude.
“We’ve located the Titans’ fortress using your directions, Rowan,” Jude said. “We’ve had recon teams out there looking for a way to get our army in. They haven’t had any luck, but we’re getting closer.”
Cade, Bree’s boyfriend, leaned forward. He was a jack-of-all-trades at the Protectorate and always took the most dangerous jobs. “As for the army, we’re working on that. Our numbers are growing, but we need more.”
“I think I have a few to add to the mix.” I told them about the Centaurs and the Cyclopes.
Cade nodded, a pleased expression on his face. “That will be immensely helpful. When it comes time for battle, we’ll get a message to them.”
“They’ll enjoy that.”
“That leaves our biggest problem—figuring out how to get the Titans back into Tartarus.”
“I believe we can help with that.” The familiar voice sounded from behind me, near the door.
I turned, spotting Queens Penthesilea and Hippolyta. This was only their second visit to the Protectorate.
“Impressive timing,” Jude said.
“We planned it that way.” Queen Penthesilea grinned.
“No we didn’t.” Queen Hippolyta nudged her sister with her shoulder. “We just got lucky.”
Queen Penthesilea chuckled. “Fine, that is the truth of it.”
They strode into the room. Before I could stand to give my seats to them, a couple of guys from the Demon Hunters Unit had vacated theirs. They looked at the queens with starry eyes. I couldn’t blame them. The Amazons were all strong and smart and hot. Pretty irresistible, really.
The queens sat gracefully, then turned to look from Jude to me.
“We’ve discovered t
hat there is a way to put the Titans back into Tartarus, but it won’t be easy,” Queen Penthesilea said.
I leaned forward. “How?”
Queen Hippolyta met my gaze. “You must visit Hera and hear it from her directly. We’ve gained her permission to give you her location. And if you are worthy, you will leave with the way to trap the Titans.”
Always with the worthiness. It was enough to give a girl a complex. But I just nodded. “Okay, I’ll do it.”
“I suggest you bring backup,” Queen Hippolyta said. “Quite a bit of it.”
Immediately, I looked at both my sisters. Sometime in the past couple weeks, it’d become a given that Maximus would come with me. But they also always had my back whenever I asked.
Both of them nodded immediately.
“A couple more wouldn’t hurt,” Queen Penthesilea said.
“I volunteer,” Cade said at the same time Lachlan raised his hand.
“That settles it,” Jude said. “The six of you will go to Hera. The rest of us will continue to build the army and plan our ambush. When you’ve returned, we’ll attack.”
My lips tugged up in a grim smile, and I nodded. “Let’s get this over with.”
Queen Hippolyta gave us the directions to reach Hera—who apparently no longer lived with Zeus on his mountain—and Lachlan created a portal for us to use.
I stepped into the ether, gasping as the magic sucked me in and spun me around. It spat me out on a tropical beach. Warm wind blew through my hair, and the scent of the sea caressed my skin. I raised my face to the sun and sighed, closing my eyes.
“I think I need a margarita,” I murmured.
“I need a week here,” Bree said.
I opened my eyes and looked around. The place was gorgeous—white sands, blue water lapping at the shore, the sound of tropical birds. The sun sparkled on the surface, creating thousands of diamonds that nearly blinded me.
I didn’t care though. I could stare at it for hours. Preferably from a hammock. With that margarita and a good book. Hell, I wouldn’t even care if it was a bad book at this point.
I needed a vacation.
We all did.
Everyone I knew looked like they’d just finished the tax season while working at an accounting firm.