Chapter 6
“We have to go, B,” Raven says. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. The faster we leave, the quicker we can return and get this all over with.” I step out of Jayden’s arms.
“Everyone is waiting for us in the parking lot.” Raven leads the way.
“I need my bag.” I turn to the dorms.
“Already got it. I went to the dorms while you guys were seeing the healer.” She waves for me to follow.
My shoulders slump with defeat. I don’t have any more excuses not to get on the road now. My feet are like lead as I follow Raven with Jayden at my side.
The others appear just as miserable as we make our way to the SUV that’s waiting for us. Dax is glaring at everyone, clearly still angry that he’s being left behind.
“You guys have everything worked out for the battle here?” I ask Thad and Adrian.
“Yeah, we are as prepared as we can be,” Thad says. “Everyone got to their zones pretty quickly. With minimal complaints.”
“We’re good here.” Adrian hugs me. “You focus on what you have to do. You gave us our best chance, Beth. We’ll be okay.”
A tear trails down my cheek. “Okay, I get it. This is important. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”
“I still don’t see why Ben can’t go in your place,” Dax shouts.
Adrian glares over his shoulder at Dax. “We need Ben here. Kira needs to be the one to get the hammer. I can’t say anything else so don’t ask.”
“Then I should be with her,” Dax snarls.
“And do what, Dax? You know how the magic works. You’ve seen it.” I poke him in the chest. “You can’t go into the forge with her so what do you plan to do? You’re of more use here.”
“I can be there when she comes out,” he roars. “Protect her from what happened to Draven last time.”
Jayden, Thad, and Greyson all move in front of me, a wall of muscle between me and the son of Ares. I glance at Raven with an eye roll but honestly, I’m thankful they are protecting me from the idiot because I’m one wrong move away from losing it completely.
“Don’t you dare yell at her,” Jayden growls. “I’m not afraid of you, Dax. I don’t have to lift a finger to take you down if you so much as look at her wrong again.”
“You’re not the only one hurting here, idiot,” Raven says. “Why should you get to go when others stay behind? You have only been on two missions with us and one of them only halfway through. Drop it.”
“No. Not when Kira is in danger when she goes.” Dax steps forward, hands balled into fists at his sides.
“Take one more wrong step, Dax.” Thad shoves him in the chest.
“This isn’t on Beth,” Adrian says. “She has to leave someone behind too. What in Hades is wrong with you?”
“They were given a choice, and I wasn’t,” Dax screams.
“And look at that,” Thad says. “They chose the path that gives us the best shot at winning instead of acting like a spoiled child pissed off because they don’t get their way like some people.”
“Guys, I appreciate the backup, but this isn’t necessary. We don’t want to say something we’ll regret later.” I try to squeeze between Thad and Jayden, but they are immoveable.
“Spoiled child?” Dax scoffs, ignoring my request for them to all calm the fuck down. “My whole world is going on that mission, and I’m left here babysitting a bunch of demigods, half of whom can barely swing a sword and I’m being called a spoiled child.”
“Dax,” Kira shouts. “Stop this fucking shit right now. I love you, but they are right. You’re being a baby about this. I’ll see you when we get back.” Kira turns away and walks to the SUV.
“Damn idiot,” Draven says. “You just ruined any chance of a real goodbye with our girl. I hope you don’t live to regret that.”
“Let’s not put that into the universe.” I wave him away.
“You’re right.” Draven nods. “That wasn’t a great thing to say.”
“Fine,” Dax growls. “Safe travels and get back here as fast as possible.”
Dax storms off, his hands clenched into fists. He’s going to be a problem if he can’t get over himself.
“Should someone go after him? I feel like he’s going to be a loose cannon around here.”
“Don’t worry, baby.” Jayden grips my waist. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Are you sure you can handle it? I hate that we are leaving like this.” I step into him.
“I’ve got him. If he doesn’t stop, I’ll chain him until he calms the fuck down.”
“Okay, I have the shell if you need me. Adrian knows how to contact me on it or at least he has before.” I lean my head against his chest.
I grip Jayden’s shirt and squeeze my eyes shut, not ready to leave, even though I know we have to. There are so many unknowns. What-ifs could run amok in my brain the whole time.
“You’ll be back with the hammer before you know it, love. Focus on that. I’m gonna miss you like crazy.”
“I’m going to miss you so much. It’s like the fates cut off a limb when they did this. We’ve been through so much together, and then for the final battle we’re forced to separate? It’s barbaric.”
He’s become my rock even though for a while at the beginning I didn’t want him around. Now, it’s difficult to breathe without him. How can I trust that he’ll survive what’s to come without me? I shouldn’t have to because we should be together.
“We’ll be fine and once we win, we can just take a vacation or rest for like a year.” Jayden kisses me softly.
“You think we’ll get a year before the shifter war starts?” I raise a brow at him.
“Probably not, but we don’t have to fight in the shifter war.”
“You know why we do. If it hadn’t been for this war, there wouldn’t be a problem for the shifters.” I shake my head.
“And not one person would blame you if you said fuck it. I don’t want to fight, baby. You’ve been through so much already.”
“So have you,” I point out. “Me, you, Raven, and Greyson have been through all of this together. I’m not the only one who needs a rest.”
“We’ll get rest one way or the other. Trust me. Once this is over, I’m never letting you out of my sight again.” He rests his chin on my head.
“Promise?”
“Baby, I’m going to become the worst kind of stalker. I don’t want to let you go.”
“I look forward to you stalking me for the rest of our very long lives.” Tears threaten to fall even through the lighthearted conversation.
“You can bet your ass I will always find you.” He kisses my forehead. “For now, though, my love, you need to get on the road. Did Greyson contact Tristan yet?”
“I don’t know. Probably not.” I sigh. “You’re right, we need to go.”
“I love you, Beth. I’ll see you before you know it.” His mouth slams down on mine.
The kiss is too quick, and I lean forward as he breaks it. I never want it to end but we each have tasks to complete this time. It doesn’t make it any easier to leave him.
“I love you too,” I whisper.
“Beth, we have visitors,” Raven calls over.
I turn to the SUV and find a giant standing next to Artemis. I nod to Orion and walk toward them.
“Artemis, what are you doing here? We’re getting ready to head out.” I glance between the goddess and the giant.
“You holding up okay, baby sis?” Artemis asks.
“By a thread, if I’m completely honest.” I shrug.
“It will be okay, you made the right decision, but I knew you would. You’re too selfless for your own good.” She pats my shoulder.
“Yeah, and the fates capitalized on that for sure.” I scoff.
“The old hags aren’t so bad. They are at least making up for their mistakes.” Artemis shakes her head.
“And what about Nereus? Is he making up for anything?” I ask.
“Nereus? That old goat will go to oblivion believing everything he did was for the good of all. He was right about you, though. You’re the one who can save all and you will step up because it’s not in you to back down.”
“It’s not. So what are you doing here?” I ask.
“We have come to help,” she says with a wicked grin.
“Why do I have a feeling that your help is going to cause chaos?”
Raven scoffs. “Her help always comes with a healthy dose of chaos.”
“I mean, you’re not wrong.” I nod.
A lion prowls forward and sits by Artemis’ side, staring at me with familiar eyes. Artemis absently scratches at the lion’s mane. He’s the beautiful beast that we freed from the zoo in Oklahoma City.
“Hey, buddy.” I pat the lion’s giant head.
“We are here to help fortify the academy. The battle lines have been drawn in Olympus and fighting will start soon. The weather around here is probably going to be chaotic for a bit until this all ends.” Artemis pats the lion.
“They’re starting the battle in Olympus already?” I ask. “What is that going to accomplish?”
“Not a damn thing. It never does when the gods fight among themselves.” Artemis grins.
“I don’t think I’ll ever understand this world fully.” I shake my head.
“The battle there is just a distraction. We’re giving you time to slip into the forge, but I’m warning you, time is of the essence. The gods won’t fight each other forever. You need to get that hammer and get back here.”
“No one wants that more than me, Artemis.” I glance over my shoulder at Jayden. “I’m leaving my heart behind.”
“I’ve got them here, baby sister. I’ll make sure they are safe until you get back. That’s what Orion and I are here for. At least until Zeus calls us back to Olympus. That’s when the fun begins.” She grins.
“I appreciate you looking after them for me. Jayden is in charge of the academy and has people working on every line of defense. Hopefully, I can get the hammer without the queen noticing and everything goes to plan.”
“Nothing ever goes to plan.” Artemis chuckles. “Hunters to me.”
“What the fuck are they doing here?” I ask when ten impossibly beautiful warriors materialize around us.
“They’ve come to help as well. We’ll keep everyone safe.”
“Your hunters will keep them safe from afar, preferably from the perimeter.” I narrow my eyes at the one who was hitting on Jayden when we first met Artemis’ girls.
“I don’t think that’s the wisest idea, but they understand what the limits are here, Beth.” Artemis pats my shoulder.
“They better. For virginal hunters, they sure like flirting, and if I find out any of them came near Jayden, I will make it my mission to find a way to kill them.” I stare down the girl from before.