She threw herself into Ares’s arms. He invited her eagerly and drew her lips against his. He tasted of blood and pain and victory.
“You’re safe,” Aphrodite said, sensing tears prickling the sides of her eyes.
Ares caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. “We both are. Together. Let us leave this destruction.”
Chapter Sixteen
My eyes opened to red skies above. My body quaked. I latched on to consciousness, gasping through the racing of my heart. A sense of panic raced through me. Anxiety shook its way through my body.
A firm hand wrapped itself around my arm. “Hey, you all right?” It slipped from my arm, then moved to warmly cup my forehead. I was panting and could hear my pulse throbbing through my ears.
“Aphrodite,” I said. “Ares. They were…”
I shifted, then realized I was lying against someone. A hand belonging to that person pulled my hair away from my face and tucked it behind my ear. I turned around to see who I was lying on. It was Devon.
Hansel kneeled before me. “You saw them?”
“In my vision. I think… I think I was seeing flashes of the Vassal War. Aphrodite was parted from Ares for some reason.”
“Do you have a clue about where they might be?”
“I don’t know.” My thoughts were a jumble, my emotions thrown into a chaotic mess. “They were mostly images. Not many hints going around. But at least I now know that Aphrodite was madly in love with Ares.”
“Not a surprise.” Hansel shrugged. “She was the love goddess. And they are your parents…”
“They’re still alive. Somewhere. They talked about leaving the war, so I’m guessing they’re in hiding.”
Devon pulled me closer toward him and hummed softly, attempting to soothe me. It helped. But only a little. The environment around me looked angry. The red clouds weren’t helping the anxiety. The air here was hot and thick and made breathing a challenge. I noticed a stream of magma flowing a few dozen yards away. Vultures circled overhead. Even from this distance, I noticed their ribs sticking out from their frail bodies.
I needed a chill pill. And maybe some of that banana lotion Theo had passed me earlier to soothe the aching of my limbs. Did he bring any of that with him?
“Take deep breaths, Cara,” Devon said.
Theo was sitting next to Hansel, peering at me with worry. Only Liam wasn’t by my side. He sat about twenty feet away from us with Fenrir snuggled up against his leg. He seemed distant, like his thoughts had travelled someplace else. He was probably thinking about something diabolical, so devious I didn’t want to imagine it. Eating babies, maybe.
Ugh. Listening to those cries of death through Aphrodite’s memory were making my thoughts way too morbid.
I sniffed. A smoky, ashen scent, similar to what I’d experienced in my vision, surrounded me. “Where are we?” I asked.
“The Ashmeda,” Hansel said. “We’re at the base of it. This is where the Vassal War ended. The mountains used to be lush, green, filled with wildlife. They never recovered after the war.”
I squinted at my surroundings. No wonder it looked familiar. The rubble and buildings were gone, but the same distinct atmosphere of death and bleakness covered the place. I focused on a particular spot. Years of change had made that area too different to be recognizable, but instinct told me that this was where Aphrodite had reunited with Ares. Why did I feel a connection to them? It was more than what a daughter should experience. It felt like the secrets of their past lay close. Too close. Within me, in fact. That, frankly, concerned me.
“You gave me a scare there, slipping from the pegasus,” Hansel said.
I heard a whinny beside me. I glanced to my left. The pegasi were next to us, some of them preening their feathers.
“We caught you midair, but you were knocked out cold. Devon wanted to bring you to the springs, but you ordered us to head to the Ashmeda as soon as possible because of Danna.”
“There was a huge quarrel about that,” Devon said.
“You guys had a spat over my well-being?” I asked. Was it normal to be this touched? I’d never felt this level of concern from anyone. The people at the orphanage mostly focused on keeping me alive, and Lydia wasn’t exactly the most devoted mother. Devon’s embrace made me feel safe and welcomed. Like I belonged. I blew out a deep, calming sigh.
“What else?” Hansel asked.
I sucked in deep breaths to calm my racing emotions. They’d settled into a buzz. “We should get the quilt.”
Devon helped me stand up. “Are you sure you don’t want to take a longer break?” My strength had returned, and I didn’t need his support. Still, he held me like he might help a sick patient. My feet were planted firmly on the ground, and once I got my bearings, he wrapped an arm around my waist.
I raised a brow. “What time is it?”
“About to hit twilight.”
“Then we best hurry. I don’t know how long our expedition in the mountains will be, and we want to get the quilt to Danna before she falls asleep.” I placed my hand on my parched throat. “I don’t suppose anybody around here has water?”
Devon scowled, then pinned Hansel with an accusatory look. “I told you we should have stopped at the springs.”
“I’ll survive.” Not well, and perhaps my voice would turn scratchy from thirst, but I was recovering from my lightheadedness. Still, we were about to walk into a deathtrap. “I hope. So, where’s the entrance?” I placed my hands on my hips, happy to feel my energy returning to me. Images from the vision continued to flash through my thoughts, but they were fading into the back of my mind.
Hansel pointed over my shoulder. I spun to look.
Did I say that my energy was returning?
The sight caused it to drain from me almost immediately. The mountains were jagged, pointy tips reaching toward the sky. Emaciated vultures circled it. Before the entrance were heaps of skeletons, stripped of flesh. Ghouls flitted around the entrance. They left behind smoky, ghostly trails. Vultures that dared cross their paths were torn apart immediately.
“Liam!” Theo called. “Get your ass over here. We’re heading in.”
I stifled a whimper.
Liam looked too comfortable snuggled up to Fenrir like that. The magical bond they now shared would make even unicorns jealous. Liam lazily turned his head toward us.
“Coming!” he shouted back, treating this expedition as if it were a hike through a casual mountain trail, instead of something life-threatening.
“Hey, Hansel,” I said. “Can you take a look at my ass?”
“What?” he asked.
“Take a look at my ass.”
“Why?”
“Just want to make sure I didn’t shit my pants.”
He squinted, not really getting where I was coming from, but obliged anyway. “It’s round and perky and not stained from an accident, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
“The compliments were unnecessary,” I said. “But thank you.”
I balled my hands into fists and faced the entrance of the Ashmeda mountains. I’d faced a giant wolf, way too many serpents, and gone through puberty.
I could deal with this, too.
“Clotho didn’t warn us about the ghouls,” I said, hiding from their line of sight. I watched them as they tore apart another unfortunate vulture. Blood spewed from the poor bird, but the ghouls swallowed the vulture’s essence immediately after, eagerly sucking it into their fog-like bodies. On closer inspection, I noticed that the ghouls had rows of razor-sharp teeth, built for the sole purpose of shredding and tearing flesh apart.
I imagined myself ending up like one of those vultures.
Turning gray and dying in my sleep sounded like a much better death in comparison.
“Yeah,” Liam said, almost sounding bored. “Because we don’t have to worry about them.” I heard his shoes crunching the rock beneath. “Over here.”
“Huh?” I asked.
Liam had disappe
ared when I turned to look at him.
I cocked my head. “Where’d he go?”
“Into this convenient side entrance, apparently,” Hansel said, following Liam.
“It can’t be that easy,” I said.
“You’re complaining?” Theo asked with a chuckle. “It’s not often things turn out better than expected. Just appreciate it when things go your way.” His chuckle sounded too loud, so I made a shushing noise. What if one of the ghouls heard us? I thought I met one of their gazes, and my stomach dropped, but it flew away, not noticing me. My palms had turned clammy from that encounter.
“All right,” I said. “Let’s head in before they spot us.”
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.
Book Three
Prologue
It’s not often I wanted to kil
l someone when watching them eat, but Jenny couldn’t chew neatly for the life of her. I hated Jenny, and not just because she got crumbs all around her cheeks when she bit into her sandwich. She didn’t like me either, so the feeling was mutual.
Jenny was ten, like me.
Unlike me, however, she had parents. I’d always wanted parents. After school, the moms and dads would come pick up their little kids and check up on their day. Me, however? Often, it was Mrs. Markle who took me back to the orphanage at two in the afternoon once classes ended. She showed no tender care whatsoever. Mostly, she seemed to hate her job, displaying little concern for my well-being, and really, that was all I was to her—a job. If Mrs. Markle had something to attend to, Mr. Davidson would come pick me up, and he showed less enthusiasm in my care than even she did.
Jenny displayed the mashed-up contents of her mouth as she chewed. I regretted looking in her direction. On top of being disgusting, the way Jenny ate was annoying. She wouldn’t stop making that smacking noise that stirred the angry part of me I’d always tried to suppress and keep hidden. I brought my sandwich to my lips, bit into it gently, and chewed like a decent human being would, with my mouth closed and softly. I was hoping that Jenny might get the hint.
She didn’t.
Instead, she pointed in my direction with her stubby forefinger and blurted, “Your hair’s still ugly.”
Anger sparked in me, though only a little. I was getting better at controlling my rage. The teachers kept sending me to detention for lashing out, but that hadn’t happened for ten days. I took calm, deep breaths, willing the anger to go away. I needed better control of myself if I didn’t want to be sent to where all the naughty kids went—the Westside preschool. The principal had warned me about that, and she’d made me very scared. I’d heard that in Westside, the bullies were twice as big, and they didn’t just throw insults, but punches, too. I was smaller than the other kids and had no doubt that I’d get knocked around if I ended up there.
I eyed Jenny warily, wondering what her next insult might be.
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