A whimper escaped me when he pulled away and laid down. He brought me to him and wrapped his arm around me. My body fit perfectly against his; I rested my head on his chest and got as close as I could get to him. I ran my hand down his chest and to the top of his pants, playing with the hem there. I wanted him, and I was surprised he wasn’t taking advantage of the situation.
Aiden sighed and pushed my hand away. “Not now, love. I refuse to take any sort of advantage of you.”
“You’re not taking advantage,” I insisted and tried to return my hand to his pants.
He laughed. “You’ve had too much rum to think straight. Now go to sleep, and we will continue our journey in the morning.”
I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep in the dark cave; but with Aiden beside me and the familiar sensation of his digits in my locks, my eyelids became heavy as I drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Rae.”
The seductive whisper of Aiden’s Irish accent trailed down my skin as his fingers played along my leg. My brain was cloudy, but my skin was ablaze from his touch.
“Rae.”
His voice was more persistent now as I clung to him, begged him not to break the spell we were under. He felt so good next to me and made me feel safer than I’d ever been before. I wanted to get lost in his arms, but something was trying to tug me away from him. I wasn’t ready to go yet. Suddenly, I felt a pair of rough hands on my shoulders. They pulled me from Aiden’s arms and began to shake me.
I cried out and sat up, immediately fighting against the arms that held me. The fire had died down and left me in darkness. As I realized I was dreaming, my thoughts flashed to where Aiden was. I tried to escape the hands of whoever held me. A hand flew over my mouth.
“It’s me, lass.”
My hands gripped his arms and breathed a sigh of relief. He pulled me to him so he could whisper in my ear. “We are not alone any longer. There is something coming down the tunnel ahead.”
I nodded in understanding, and he stood up in front of me. Slowly, I stood up behind him and reached for my sword. I could hear him pull his sword from its resting place as he took a few steps away from me. His hand grabbed ahold of mine and led me forward a few steps. I couldn’t hear or see anything without a light. I wondered how he knew something was coming.
Aiden let go of my hand for a second. A flame suddenly appeared in front of us, and I saw Aiden holding a log on fire in front of him. He led us into the tunnel, and I crept closely behind him. I wasn’t looking forward to what awaited us next. The lamia was dangerous but no match for the both of us. Worse things could be waiting for us up ahead.
Loud scurrying rang out in the tunnel and made my skin crawl. That didn’t sound good.
“Aiden,” I said in warning as I reached out to take his arm.
His body seized up for a moment. He heard it too, but he still continued on. I wasn’t sure if he knew what it was, but I had an idea. The sound alone made me want to run in fear. I hoped I was wrong. If I wasn’t, it was one of the creepiest tales of lore I knew.
“Would you stop,” I hissed.
He turned to look at me in irritation. “What is it now?”
“I think I know what that is…”
“I’m not worried about it.”
Before I could explain, he continued to walk. I huffed in frustration as I followed him and tried to swallow the fear in my gut. I readied my sword in front of me and prepared myself for the sight I really really didn’t want to see.
When the torch lit up the face of a beautiful woman, Aiden stopped. Her face was pale with two large blue eyes staring back at us. Her blonde hair was cut short atop her head in a pixie cut. There was nothing about her that wasn’t appealing, with her pink cheeks and seductive smile.
I tugged on Aiden’s arm to pull him back, but he shook me off him. My skin crawled.
“Get away from it,” I whispered and tried again.
Aiden pushed me back from him, and I cursed inwardly. It was too late; she had him in her charms.
He smiled with that cocky smile of his as he spoke. “Hello there, lass. What brings a beauty like you down here?”
I scowled, hating the feeling of jealousy that hit me. It was part of the arachne’s powers. They could charm men or women in a way that rivaled even a mermaid’s powers. If one were to catch a peek at just their face, they were a goner.
Thankfully for Aiden, he had me.
I grabbed ahold of his shirt and jerked him backwards. He stumbled and looked at me in anger as I stepped in front of him.
“What are you doing?”
“Saving your ass,” I snapped and turned to point my sword toward the girl. I swallowed my fear and swung with all my might, hearing Aiden cry out in disagreement behind me.
The arachne brought up one large, hairy spider leg to swipe at me, but my sword cut through it. She cried out and brought up another, connecting with my legs and knocking me to the ground.
“Bloody hell,” I heard Aiden say as the creature stepped closer to us.
The cave behind her illuminated with fire, as if someone lit all the torches. We weren’t alone. There were more of them. I looked to Aiden for help, but he was still too shocked by what he saw in front of him.
Her back hit the top of the tunnel. With the body of a massive black and grey spider, her face was the only attractive thing on her. Bile rose in my throat at the actual sight, and I held my sword up between us. Her mouth opened into a wicked smile, rows upon rows of sharp fangs shined down at me ready for dinner.
As she lowered her mouth toward me, I sliced my sword at her again. She ducked away and snapped at me again, only to get a mouthful of steel.
“Raewyn!” Aiden shouted as he snapped out of his stupor and came to aid me against the monster.
He swung his sword. It sliced into her front left leg, and she screamed. She stepped back from me, making the scurrying sound I heard earlier. I backed away from her and rubbed my arms, trying to clear the goose bumps from them.
Ew, ew, ew!
Aiden’s hands grabbed my underarms and pulled me to my feet. He forced me behind him and held up his sword just as a threatening roar came from behind the female.
“What was that?” he asked.
“Her mate?”
He looked back at me with shock in his eyes but then shrugged. “Aye, we will destroy him too.”
With a fierce nod I stepped forward to slice at the beast with my sword. She retreated from us, walking backward until we were facing the larger room with the torches. If we followed her into the room, we would also be facing her mate. Potentially. Unless there was more than just to two of them.
I sighed with relief as I saw there was only one other inside, but that didn’t make the sight much easier to take in. Her mate was slightly smaller than her but stronger in bulk. He was black with yellow eyes, his face that of an average man instead of a breathtaking one to match hers. The males of the species were never as pretty as the women because this was the way they hunted. The women drew out the prey and then the men jumped in.
Aiden ran forward toward the male and began to swing his sword around. I took the opportunity to turn toward the female to attempt to finish her off. I advanced on her with my sword held high, slicing it into the air until she was backed against the wall. She cowered and looked to her mate for help, but he was too preoccupied with the pirate.
For a moment, I almost felt sorry for her. Then I remembered she tried to kill me. Since she was weak and terrified, I hoped she’d make for an easy kill.
I ducked down to run underneath her, hoping none of her hair touched me. She was so nasty. I shoved my sword into her stomach and ran forward, dragging the sword across her skin until I reached the other side. Her foot flew out and kicked me to the ground behind her. I hit the dirt with a thud and crawled out of the way. When I reached the wall, I threw my back against it and looked back at her. Her intestines fell to the ground, followed by her body. My
hand flew over my mouth to keep me from throwing up. I gagged and moved my eyes to the other side of the cave.
The male roared angrily as his eyes roamed from her lifeless body to mine. He threw one of his legs out at Aiden, slamming him into a nearby wall, and started walking toward me. I held my sword covered in the female’s blood in front of me.
“Aiden!” I screamed and looked over to where he laid.
When he didn’t move, I ran toward the monster without another thought. The idea of him being hurt fueled me. My eyes didn’t leave his unmoving body on the ground as I ducked out of the way of the monster.
I slid across the ground and thumped beside of Aiden. My sword hit the ground and I started to shake him.
“Aiden, you have to get up.”
He didn’t move.
I shook him again and looked up to see the male staring me down. I killed his mate, and now he wanted to kill mine. “Aiden!” I grabbed his shirt and pulled him up, shaking him harder. When his face crinkled in pain, relief flooded through me.
“What the bloody—”
The monster's arm swung at me, cutting his question short as the monster pushed me away from him and rolled me across the dirt floor. When I stopped, I groaned from the aching in my body and looked up to where the captain and the arachne stood.
Aiden put his sword into its sheath and balled his hands into fists. As the arachne leaned his face down toward him, Aiden reared his arm back and slammed his fist into the unsuspecting giant’s head. The monster paused for a moment before collapsing to the ground.
I pushed myself off the floor, ignoring the pain in my limbs, and rushed over to where they were. Grabbing Aiden’s arm, I pointed toward the exit. “Come on, we better get out of here before he wakes up.”
Aiden smiled down at me and chuckled. “I don’t think he will be getting up for a while.”
I scoffed at his cockiness and headed toward the tunnel. Aiden picked up my sword and followed behind me, continuing to chuckle in amusement at his take down of the beast. I figured if you punched anything in the face hard enough, it would lose consciousness; it wasn’t as impressive as he was making it out to be.
“This way, lass,” he said and pulled me to the right, into a different tunnel. “We are almost there. Apparently there is some big adversary in this room. He may be scary, just let me handle it.”
“I think I’ve proved myself enough.” I stopped in front of him. “I don’t need you to try and protect me the whole way.”
“Maybe not.” He ran his hand through my hair and smiled down at me with worry in his eyes. “But I don’t want to take the chance something could happen to you.”
“Who dares come into my home?” a loud voice boomed from up ahead.
I recognized the deep growl immediately—a minotaur. One used to reside in the castle on Camilla Island. He was a guard, and we had been the best of friends. I was never sure why he would become so protective of a young girl, but I was always glad to have him by my side. Once I went underneath the surface, I never saw him again. Just hearing the voice brought back a flood of memories I had kept dormant. Could it be him?
“Raewyn,” Aiden said, chastising me as he reached out to grab ahold of my arm.
Shaking him off me, I raced into the other room. My hopes were high, and I wasn’t thinking straight. There was a small chance it was him, but I wanted to be the first one to set eyes on the beast.
I stopped dead in my tracks as my eyes settled on the seven-foot minotaur in front of me. He had the black face of a bull with impressive horns on either side of the top of his head. A metal septum piercing sat in his nose, making him look incredibly tough along with his dark skin pulled taunt over his large muscles. In his hand he held a long axe, which he pointed toward me.
“Who are you?”
Although the disappointment tore me up inside, I started to approach him. “I’m Raewyn.”
He wasn’t my childhood friend. I didn’t know who he was, but just the thought of being in the room with a minotaur made me want to get closer.
“What are you doing here?” His voice still quaked throughout the room, rumbling deep in his chest as his black eyes peered down at me.
“I’ve come to get the stone of prosperity.”
“You cannot have it!” He sliced the axe through the air.
Aiden came to stand beside him and pulled his sword from his side. “Be careful, this one is dangerous.”
A small smile tugged at the edge of my lips. Dangerous he looked, but he was a mortal creature. If I could get close enough to him, I could use my charms to help us out. I just prayed they worked like they were supposed to, since it didn’t work on Aiden. They’d worked on Hayes, but this was a mythical creature.
“I’ve got this. Don’t worry,” I whispered under my breath and hoped I was right. I wasn’t sure if we would defeat him otherwise.
I walked up to the creature and smiled sweetly. He snorted as I got close, looking down at me in anger, but I could see the confusion filling his eyes.
“Has no one approached you before?” I asked.
He growled deep in his chest and shook his head. Maybe I had lost my mind, approaching such an intimidating creature as if I had no worry in the world, but I wanted to show I wasn’t afraid. I needed to prove I was confident and ooze charm with everything I had. It was almost as if a shimmer flowed over my skin, making me look perfect, and I could feel my magic working.
Thank the Goddess.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“That is none of your business.”
“But I want to get to know you a little better.” I bit my lip and reached out to brush my hand across his bicep.
He stepped back from me. “What are you?”
“Just a girl,” I said innocently and took a step toward him. I reached out to run my hands down his chest and onto his stomach. I could hear Aiden’s snarl of protest as the minotaur closed his eyes. “I bet you’re so lonely down here.”
“Yes, and…I do not have a name.” He opened his eyes. I could see the swirling of the black orbs, meaning everything was working the way I wanted it to.
“So sad,” I whispered and shook my head in concern. “Perhaps we should give you one. A handsome minotaur like you should have something strong and fierce.”
He grunted in agreement.
I looked back at Aiden. “What do you think?” I could see the anger in his eyes at the way I was treating the monster, mixed with surprise at how easy the minotaur responded to me. I pursed my lips and gestured my head toward the doorway. If he could get to it and get it open, I could take care of the minotaur.
“I. Don’t. Know,” he spat unhappily but put his sword back in its sheath. He eyed the minotaur as if he would kill him but slowly began to make his way around him. He was jealous again, and I smiled.
“Where are you going?” the minotaur growled, his eyes cast at Aiden.
I turned back around and took his hand in mine. “It’s okay, don’t worry about him. He’s no one of importance.”
Aiden huffed at the comment, but the minotaur focused on me again. “No, he’s not.”
I rubbed his large hand with my mine as I began talking to him about possible names and his life. It was a silly conversation to have in such a dangerous situation, but it appeared to catch his interest. He longed for someone to care for him, and he was very lonely in the caves by himself with only monsters to keep him company. Minotaurs weren’t usually evil; they were mostly misunderstood.
Each chance I could, I let my gaze travel over to where Aiden was fiddling with the lock on the door. He was working quickly, getting irritated whenever his lock picking skills failed him. With a final grunt, the lock slipped open and he looked to me in urgency.
I reached up and took ahold of the minotaur’s shoulders. He leaned forward so I could whisper in his ear. I had to keep him busy while Aiden opened the door, keep his mind off the sounds of it.
“I think we could be very ve
ry good friends,” I said softly, letting my breath settle into his ear. His hand tightened on mine as I pulled away.
“What is wrong?” He asked and ran his hand down my hair.
“Oh nothing,” I said nonchalantly as I dropped my hand from him.
Using my charms was always something that made the adrenaline roar in my veins; it made me feel powerful.
“Rae!” Aiden exclaimed from the doorway.
I looked over to see him pushing the door open and motioning for me to follow him.
Pushing myself up onto my tiptoes, I placed a kiss on the minotaur’s cheek. “I must be going.”
As I stepped away from him, he frowned. “Did you only speak with me so that you could go for the treasure?”
“No. No, dear minotaur.” I slowly backed away from him. Sure, I felt sorry for him being so alone with no one to talk to, but I had to use my charms to get what Aiden and I needed.
The minotaur’s large hand reached out to grab ahold of my arm, and I gasped.
“All you had to do was ask, my lady.” His large eyes looked down at me as he smiled. “Whatever it is that you want, I hope that you enjoy it. But…can we settle on a name before you go?”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “How about Dand? Where I come from, it means warrior.”
“I love it. Thank you,” he agreed and let go of me. “Please be safe.”
With one last smile, I turned and went to join Aiden in the other room. Victory filled me. I hadn’t lost my charm after all. There was just something different about Aiden. I had once thought it evil, but now I wasn’t sure what it was.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Dirt flew up in the air as the large door slammed behind us with a thud. Aiden pulled me to him to shield me from the debris. We would not be getting out the way we came in. We’d have to find another way out of there. Just the thought of being stuck in the cave made my stomach sink.
“I don’t know how you did what you just did, but I’m not going to let it go,” Aiden said as he stepped back from me. I could still see he didn’t appreciate the way I handled things, but we were safe now. “We will be talking about it once we get out of this mess.”
The Mermaid's Pearl (Tears of the Deep Book 1) Page 18