A Promise of Fire

by Amanda Bouchet

  “Selena did that. It’s what healers do when you’re so close to death they have to enchant your blood to get it flowing again. They draw it out on a knife, chant over it while you lie there struggling for your final breaths, and then smear it back on and hope for the best.”

  “There must be a dozen,” he says grimly, counting both arms. “Andromeda caused this?”

  “She tried beating the truth out of me several times. Unsuccessfully.”

  His lips flatten into a tight seam, eliminating that distracting curve. “You’re not one to break under torture.”

  There’s respect in his voice, which I choose to ignore. I roll my sleeve back down. “I’d rather die, so don’t bother trying.”

  Griffin’s eyebrows slam down. “Cat—”

  I pop up, brush myself off, and return to my bedroll without letting him finish. My blanket is cold. Oddly, so am I.

  Griffin shakes Kato awake, and Kato takes over watch while Griffin spreads his bedding on the ground about ten feet from mine. In a matter of minutes, he appears to be asleep. I argue with myself for a while and then drag my things closer to his, stopping four feet away.

  Perfect. Just like with the rope.

  Something flashes, and I realize it’s Kato’s teeth. He’s grinning at me. I make a rude hand gesture and roll over, turning my back before he can retaliate.

  “You could come closer.” Griffin’s gravelly voice rumbles over me in the dark, teasing.

  My pulse leaps, and I flush with embarrassment. “I don’t think so.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  “I hate you.”

  He’s silent for a moment and then very deliberately says, “I hate you, too.”

  His lie rips through me along with the truth, searing my bones and charring my organs, especially my heart.

  CHAPTER 14

  “Hades, Hera, and Hestia!” Flynn curses, pointing up. “What in the Underworld is that?”

  I squint into the sun. Oh my Gods! “A She-Dragon.”

  Everyone turns to me, and as much as I love having four handsome men gape at me in stupefaction, right now, I could do without.

  “What do we do?” Griffin asks urgently.

  Magical creatures rarely stray from the Ice Plains. To southerners, they’re almost mythological. “Scurry like mice.”

  “Be serious!”

  “I am serious! Run!”

  There’s a lake in the distance, maybe two miles away. I press my heels to my horse’s sides, spurring him into a gallop.

  “Cat!” Griffin shouts, chasing after me. “Where are you going?”

  “The lake!” I yell over my shoulder.

  “There’s no cover!”

  “There’s no cover anywhere!”

  Racing alongside me, he reaches over in a move worthy of a circus acrobat and draws on my reins, pulling hard. “There’s no cover there. Here, there are…” He glances around. “Rocks.”

  “Rocks won’t help us against a Dragon!”

  “And water will?”

  “I don’t know! Maybe.”

  His eyes flick to the sky. “We’ll never make it. She’s moving too fast.”

  I’m afraid to look up, almost cringing when I do. Her features are recognizable now. There’s no doubt the monster is Sybaris, which means Alpha Fisa is driving her telepathically. When this moment came, if it came, I always thought I’d scream, or run, or panic, but the closer she gets, the more dazed and numb I become. My thoughts grind to a halt. I feel rooted in place, blank. I think I’ve discovered the true measure of terror.

  “My Gods,” Griffin says on an exhale, his tone part horror, part awe. I can’t blame him. Sybaris’s upper body is that of a beautiful woman, albeit huge. Silky blonde hair trails behind her in a long wave. Inhuman, her lower body is covered in reptilian scales that run the spectrum from sea green to shiny black. Her dark wings are sinew-veined and talon-tipped, smacking the air with a sinister pounding. Powerful hind legs end in massive feet with sharp, hooked claws, each one the size of my entire foot. I’ve seen her pop a man Griffin’s size. To her, it was like crushing a bug.

  “Alpha Fisa sent Sybaris for me.” I sound scared, which scares me even more. “She wants me alive. Separate from me, and there’s a chance she won’t kill you.” I jerk my reins out of Griffin’s hand. “Go!” I yell.

  I don’t want my horse to die, either. He’s strong and steady and seems to like me. I was just getting around to naming him. I was going to call him Panotii because of his freakishly large ears, just like those elusive tribesmen in the north. I slip off his back and start running.

  Griffin curses and gallops after me.

  I stop and turn, drawing my sword. “Back off, idiot!”

  “I won’t leave you!” he thunders.

  “Neither will we,” Kato says, skidding to a halt on my other side.

  Oh Gods! They’re all going to die.

  Sybaris shrieks, and I shake my head, trying to dislodge the more disturbing sound overlapping her eerie call, an echo of triumphant laughter only I can hear.

  “Can we fight her?” Griffin asks.

  I push Andromeda out of my head with a brutal mental shove, hoping I make her ears bleed. “Sybaris is enormous. She breathes fire. She devours people.” I shake my head, my eyes as huge as throwing discs. “No.”

  “Can you control her?”

  Does he have that much faith in me? “I said I might be able to drive a Dragon. I’ve never done it, and Andromeda’s magic is stronger than mine. She’s had years of practice. There’s no way I can break her hold on Sybaris.”

  He looks up, his jaw clenching. Sybaris’s wings flap, immense and leathery, two ominous shadows stretching across the cerulean sky. His gaze drops back to mine. “You could try.”

  My heart tumbles in my chest. “I will. But only if you four back off. I mean it. If you come anywhere near me, I swear to the Gods I’ll jump on her back and tell her to take me home.”

  Did I just say home? I feel sick.

  Griffin looks like he’s about to leap off Brown Horse and tackle me. “I thought you weren’t part of the team! That it’s idiotic to sacrifice yourself for someone else.”

  “It is!” I snap, looking at each man in turn. It’s probably the last time I’ll see them.

  “Cat—” Flynn starts.

  “Shut up!” I say. “And…don’t die.”

  I run. I leave them and the horses, and I run faster than I’ve ever run in my life. Sybaris swerves, adjusting her course to follow me. I lead her as far from the Sintans as I can before she cuts me off in an explosion of dust and fire. I skid to a stop and draw on the power inside me. Desma’s colors burst over the Dragon’s scales along with Otis’s fire whip and a scorching blast of Chimera’s Fire.

  Sybaris dances away from the flames, unscathed, but her eyes turn wary, and she halts her progress in my direction. A voice with Andromeda’s inflection floats from her gargantuan mouth. “Child of Fisa, I have found you.”

  “I won’t go back!”

  “Who are your companions?”

  Trust Alpha Fisa to go straight for the jugular. Andromeda can’t see us. She connects to Sybaris’s thoughts, not her eyes. All she knows is that Sybaris sees a woman who is me, four men, and five horses.

  “Sintans,” I say, watching them inch closer out of the corner of my eye. “No one.”

  Andromeda has always believed that Fisans are the gift of the Gods, Tarvans are tolerable, and Sintans are pond scum. Apart from the ex-royals and a few select nobles, they don’t have enough magic.

  “Sintans. Expendable, then.”

  My eyes widen as Sybaris opens her mouth. Her gaping maw ignites and flames pour forth, scorching the ground at the Sintans’ feet. The horses rear, scrambling back, and the men shout in alarm. A shower of sparks erupts from the Drago
n’s nostrils, catching a low-lying bush on fire. One lands on my hand, singeing my skin before my body absorbs the magic and heals.

  I gawk at my unmarred skin. I can absorb the magic of creatures? I can absorb the magic of creatures!

  Sybaris opens her mouth again, no doubt for the kill. Before I even realize what I’m doing, I jump in front of the flames. The torrent condenses, tightening on me as my blood pulses to seize the magic.

  Dragon’s Breath slams into me. It lifts me off my feet and sweeps me along its flaming path. My clothing ignites. My braid unravels, my hair whipping around my head in a savage dance of fire and sparks. My skin blisters, and I scream, burning alive for the second time in a matter of weeks. Like a rag doll, I tumble through the surge, the pain so fierce my body starts shutting down, overwhelmed.

  Through a haze of red and black and agony, I hear Andromeda’s bellow garble with Sybaris’s roaring breath. The Dragon chokes back her fire, and the inferno cuts off before reaching the Sintans. I drop, skidding and rolling until the momentum dies.

  My moan is pathetic. I can’t move. I can hardly breathe. This kind of torment has no words. It’s indescribable. Darkness beckons me, the kind of endless night where peace might actually find me on the other side. The lure is so strong I reach for it, desperate for the pain to end.

  Griffin drags my failing consciousness back to the surface, shouting my name. I can’t have him running over to me. Dragon’s Breath might not harm him, but Sybaris could still kill him in a hundred different ways. I roll to my knees, shaking and panting. I thank the Gods when healing begins. Under my ruined clothing, my skin restores itself in a rush, my body finding strength and balance again. I stand as the last of the pain fades, a slow smile stretching my lips.

  Power like I’ve never known before settles deep within my frame. I stretch out my arms and flex my hands, feeling ancient, terrifying magic surge through my veins and leap to my bidding. For a stunning, magnificent second, I feel my heritage like never before. I feel invincible.

  With a laugh that sounds a lot like Andromeda’s creepy mirth, I throw my shoulders back, look Sybaris straight in the eye, and then release a cascade of flames from my wide-open mouth.

  Sybaris dives to the right. Too late. A raw scorch mark mars her face and shoulder, leaving the left side of her scalp charred to the bone. A hunk of hair slides to the ground, sizzling.

  “Ha!” I shout, and by Gods do I ever mean it.

  Sybaris’s eyes roll in her head. She snarls and bucks, beating her gigantic wings against the earth and creating a maelstrom of dust and heat. I duck, shielding my face from the pelting grit.

  Andromeda’s words slide out of Sybaris’s singed mouth, cool as ever. “You’ve learned new tricks.”

  I have other tricks, too, but the second I disappear, she’ll take it out on Griffin and the others. Besides, Sybaris can track me by scent, so unless I fried her nose, I can’t take the risk. I don’t want Andromeda knowing I can disappear anyway. It would explain too much, and I can’t stomach giving her the satisfaction.

  Sybaris’s magic makes me stronger than I’ve ever been before. I run at her and leap as high as I can, striking with my sword. I can’t reach her head, or even her neck, so I slash at her bare chest from underneath.

  Sybaris shrieks and swipes at me with her claws, overcoming Andromeda’s control in her pain and rage. I drop and roll, springing back up as she thunders toward me.

  “Enough!” Alpha Fisa’s command holds such absolute authority that I almost cower like I used to.

  Sybaris changes course with stupefying suddenness. She leaps over me and charges the Sintans, reaching them in two flaps of her enormous wings. Her mouth opens wide, igniting.

  “Wait!” I cry.

  She stops, fire rolling between her jaws. I throw my sword down and hold up my hands. They shake, and my heart pounds, pumping dread. At least I have the satisfaction of knowing Mother failed. I don’t hate everyone. I won’t sacrifice anyone.

  Sybaris turns to me, and I think back to what Mother tried to teach me about creature driving. I never did it—not once—just to spite her, and for the first time I regret my stubbornness.

  Focusing, I probe Sybaris’s mind, encountering first darkness and then a sheet of ice—Andromeda’s hold on the Dragon. I dig deeper, but my mental push slips, sliding off a barrier of powerful magic. Sybaris shakes her head, flicking off my untrained effort at compulsion as easily as she would a pesky fly. It takes mere seconds for me to know this isn’t going to work.

  My stomach drops, and my eyes meet Griffin’s. His widen, and then in a flash of glistening scales and blistered skin, Sybaris grabs me and throws me on her back. Powerful hindquarters propel us high into the air. Within seconds, the whistle of the wind and the leathery thump of wings drown out Griffin’s heart-wrenching roar.

  I squeeze my eyes shut against a shattering sense of loss. Eight years of freedom wasn’t nearly enough. I haven’t even begun to live. Tears sting my eyes, only partially from the thin air and biting wind. I feel hard, brittle things inside me begin to crack, and I almost look back. The need to see Griffin one last time is both overwhelming and terrifying, proving just how much of a fool I am. I keep my eyes closed so I won’t look down. I can’t bear to see what I’m leaving behind.

  When I open my eyes again, we’re over the lake. I can’t help imagining us on the bank, Panotii, Brown Horse, and the others drinking their fill, me diving deep, Griffin thinking about who knows what, Kato whittling, Carver being an ass, and Flynn cooking a meal for everyone, all of them sitting too close to the fire.

  My vision is so compelling that I start slipping off Sybaris’s back. She tilts, shifting me back into place, and I almost regret not falling. From this height, I’d die the second I hit the lake.

  What was the point of all this, anyway? Why did Poseidon even want me with Griffin? I guess I’ll never know. I’ll never escape again. Andromeda will make sure of that.

  I shudder, imagining the methods she might use, and for the first time in my life, I wish I hadn’t survived.

  Chilled to the marrow by the knowledge of what my future holds, my eyes lock on the lake again with sudden clarity. Every muscle in my body tenses, and my breath stalls in my lungs. I can’t go back. I can’t let her have me. I’d rather die in the deep.

  Not leaving myself time to second-guess, I twist and leap off Sybaris’s back. Andromeda’s screech splits my ears. Ragged clothes flap. Air pounds my skin. Wind whips at my hair. My heart breaks and explodes.

  The water glows like the inside of an oyster shell, iridescent and bright. Fear, regret, relief—I feel it all as I throw my arms wide with no choice left but to embrace the end.

  The water below me churns, changing shape in a rush of eddies and waves. An enormous hand rises from the lake. A living waterfall, the cascade surges up, rushing skyward in a tumble of foaming crests. Liquid fingers form, cushioning my fall, cradling me, wonderfully cool, infinitely protective.

  “Daughter of my heart.”

  “Poseidon!” I almost weep from joy.

  “You are brave, but foolish.”

  My heart pounds against my ribs so hard I think they’ll break. “What was I supposed to do?”

  A deep, hearty laugh resonates in my head. “The Gods give you gifts, and you do not think to use them?”

  “If I’d turned invisible she would have killed them.”

  “Do you care?”

  “Shouldn’t I? You sent Beta Sinta to me.”

  “Gave him to you,” Poseidon corrects.

  What’s that supposed to mean? “Why?”

  “Healing.” Poseidon’s voice increases in volume and echoes in my head, the word overlapping dozens of times in a way that makes my brain hurt.

  “I don’t understand!”

  The hand gently sweeps me toward the shore and then disappears from un
der me, dissolving into the lake along with any answers I might have gotten. I swim five strokes and then crawl up the bank, limp from an overload of emotion. I start shaking and can’t stop.

  A high-pitched cry rends the air. I drag my gaze toward the noise and see Sybaris spiral into a dive, heading straight for me.

  I pull myself together. Sort of. I manage to stand up.

  What gift did Poseidon mean? Sybaris won’t breathe fire at me now that she knows I can breathe it back, and I won’t turn invisible and run away when Griffin and the others can still be used against me. I rack my brain. There must be something.

  Hades! The Cerberus figurine!

  I plunge my hand into what’s left of my pocket. My fingers close around cool metal, and I draw out the figurine. Three golden heads swivel in my direction, ruby eyes glinting, and bark.

  Mighty Gods on Olympus!

  Sybaris crashes down in front of me, spitting mad. So is Andromeda. “You could have died!” she explodes.

  “So? How many times did you almost kill me yourself?”

  “You are protected by Gods.” There’s an undertone of stunned interest in her voice. I ignore how that makes me feel and hurl the Cerberus figurine at Sybaris’s head, praying to Poseidon, Hades, and anyone else who might be listening that something useful will happen.

  The tiny gold statue hits the Dragon and explodes into the real Cerberus. He snarls, his gargantuan jaws snapping once before latching onto her neck in three places. Canines the size of my forearms puncture her flesh and start the gory process of ripping out her throat. Cerberus’s hind claws shred her stomach scales, tearing through them to expose the blood and muscle underneath. He’s strong and ferocious and completely unexpected. Sybaris’s eyes go wide and then blank. It happens fast, without even a gurgle. Dragon blood stains the bank and drains into the lake, its power stinging my skin. I absorb the magic, feeling layer upon layer of it coil deep inside my body.

  Cerberus keeps chomping and maiming, apparently just for fun. Finally satisfied, he turns six burning eyes on me, growling deep in his throats. He’s horrifying. Ugly. Vicious. I’ve always liked him.