I hastily followed the footsteps of Hansel, eager to put as much distance between me and the ghouls as possible. Those things were living nightmares. How did they come about—
Somehow, I just knew. They belonged to the destitute souls that had been killed during the Vassal War. My familiar rage of injustice returned. I pressed my hand against my head, willing it to go away. It dissipated, creeping back into the edges of my mind.
Together with the vassals, I entered the tunnels of the Ashmeda. As the name suggested, the place smelled of ash. At least, unlike in the visions, I heard no nightmare-fueling cries of death.
The insides were black, shiny marble, not the rocky surfaces I’d imagined. Lava dripped from the sides of the walls into little canals at the edges of the tunnel. The lava lit the tunnels with a menacing orange glow. After entering the passageway, I wondered if I might have been safer outside, next to the ghouls.
“I don’t think I have to tell you not to touch the lava,” Devon said with no hint of amusement.
“Why would I?” I asked. Not unless I wanted to get my fingers burned off.
“Because it’s pretty and it glows? That was why you touched the claw mark, anyway.”
His mention of that reminded me of Fenrir. Fenrir was the bravest puppy I’d ever come across. He didn’t cower at the magma, and walked proudly at Liam’s side.
We continued onward in silence for a while, more concerned with not getting our toes burned off than making small talk.
But I hated silence, and my mind needed distraction, so I broke the silence despite the threats around us. “So, the golden quilt, huh,” I said, not knowing where else to take the conversation. I left the thought dangling in midair, allowing one of the guys to follow it.
“Have you heard the stories about it?” Theo asked. He walked next to Devon. They led the way, while Liam trailed behind us with Fenrir. Hansel walked by my side, a hand hooked around my arm.
“There’s a story around everything in Haven, huh?”
“The goddesses love creating and telling their myths.”
“No,” I replied. “Haven’t heard anything about the quilt.”
“They belong to Aphrodite and Ares,” Theo said.
“Why am I not surprised?” The couple’s presence lingered all around the Ashmeda. Maybe after getting the quilt, we should return here to find more clues about their whereabouts.
Theo continued, “Aphrodite loved Ares so much that she cut off her beautiful locks and sent then to the dwarves of Mithril. With her hair, they weaved the quilt so they might have something to keep them warm and safe every night. Some say that she infused the essence of her soul into the quilt to increase its power.”
“Ew,” I said.
“Ew?” Theo echoed. “I think it’s a beautiful story. A sacrifice for love.”
“They probably fucked on that quilt,” I replied. “Nobody wants to get anywhere close to the sheets their parents fucked on.”
Theo looked at me like I was a conundrum. “Likewise, Ares wanted an object to prove his love for Aphrodite,” he continued. “He plucked a bone from his ribcage and gave it to the dwarves. With that, they carved a dagger that is said to cut through any material. But Ares’s penchant for violence interacted with the dagger. It makes its users want to destroy.”
“Which is good,” Liam added from behind us. “Because bloodlust is required to be ruthless in battle.”
“Is the dagger with the quilt?” I asked. Not that I cared. I really only wanted the quilt to protect Danna. Then again, I found it odd that I had to save my best friend’s life using my mother’s hair.
“Few know the whereabouts of the items. The only reason we’re here is Clotho’s direction.”
I waited for traps to spring out at us. This was supposed to be a deadly mountain, after all. Still, other than the magma and the ghouls outside, nothing life-threatening popped out at us.
Despite the relative peace, my mind couldn’t calm. My spine tingled, telling me something terrible was about to happen soon. I wrapped my hands around Hansel’s arm.
“Hm?” he said. “What’s wrong?” He must have sensed my unease.
I ground my teeth together then looked up at him, searching his turquoise eyes. Hansel stood two heads taller than me. His larger stature made me feel safer. Usually, the vassals’ presence would help calm my fear, but a strange, niggling feeling told me I might lose one of them soon. “I… I care for you,” I said. “I don’t want anything to happen to you three.”
“Three?” Liam asked.
“Yeah.” I nodded. “Devon, Theo, and Hansel.”
“What about me?”
“Uh. You can burn.” Of course, that wasn’t the truth. Part of me cared for Liam, too, but he hadn’t reformed his asshole-like ways, so why would I admit to wanting him?
“I hate you.”
“The feeling is mutual.”
I continued to clutch Hansel’s arm as we walked down the passageway.
At the end of the route was a large room with an entrance framed by two wings carved in stone. Something glowed inside the room, pulsing with an effervescent yellow light. For a moment, I had to squint to adjust to the blinding glow. It hurt to look at the room, but I could still see clearly. The room, unlike the black tiles of the tunnel, was a clean ivory white. Carvings of cupids embellished the tiles. Each tile existed as an art piece, and the decorations on them looked eerily happy.
I always questioned the too-happy shit, because that was how people hid the dark stuff. The serial killers were always the guys with the best smiles.
“Strange,” Theo said as we stepped into the room. “We’re still not getting eaten alive.” He pointed to the silky blanket in front of us. In the middle of the enclosure, two pedestals stood. The quilt lay on top of one of them. It looked fluffy enough for me to lick it.
“Licking your own mother’s hair?” Liam asked. “Not the cleanliest thing to do.”
“It’s pretty.” I never thought I’d see a blanket sparkle like it. It looked like it’d been made of gold itself. I wanted nothing more than to sink my fingers into its luscious material.
“Again with that,” Liam said. “Can you exercise some self-control, woman?”
“I’m a free bird.”
I reached to touch it, but before my fingertips grazed the object, the dagger on the other pedestal called for me. It was gorgeous. It was as golden as the quilt, and although the dagger was equal to the quilt in beauty, it proved far more tempting.
It drew my attention. I distanced myself from Aphrodite’s quilt and neared Ares’s creation. I lingered over the dagger, hesitant about picking it up.
But then the temptation grew too overwhelming. I reached out and curved my fingers over its polished hilt. Engravings of arrows curved around the blade, and the weapon was curved upward in a menacing arc.
I could use this to kill.
I looked at Devon, whose striking yellow eyes pierced me.
“Cara,” he said. “You’re not supposed to be holding that.”
Redness edged into my vision, and anger took control of me.
The heritage of my parents had returned to plague me, and I was forced to do something I would deeply regret.
Afterword
Thank you for reading! The next book of the Goddess Academy series, The Goddess Legacy, will be available 6 July, 2019.
Also by Clara Hartley
Sera’s Curse
Bane of Dragons (Book 1)
Curse of Dragons (Book 2)
Salvation of Dragons (Book 3)
Fall of Dragons (Book 4)
Soul of a Dragon (Same universe as Sera’s Curse)
Obsidian Wings (Book 1)
Shadowed Lies (Book 2)
Fractured Souls (Book 3)
Golden Embrace (Companion novel)
Secrets of the Fallen
Harem of Sin (Book 1)
Depths of Hell (Book 2)
Ashes of Heaven (Book 3) (Coming Soon)
Institute of Rebels (Book 1)
Mortems and Mavericks (Book 2)
Waking the Goddess Page 15