46. Chapter 46
forty-six
Rodi
“ T here’s a clearing a few miles east. There, I can shift again, and we can fly the last part,” Ripley says as the mountain is now behind us.
“We’re here?” I ask, stepping beside him. My body is no longer sore from the journey as Ripley let me rest a little longer than planned. But the withdrawal from Hephaestus’s marks still has its claws in me.
“Nythralia is only a few hours from here, but yes, we’re in Vermyllion territory now.” A smile spreads on his face and he takes a deep breath. “Home,” he adds.
The density of the forest changes and a clearing shows. But as I try to keep up, a familiar warmth crawls beneath my skin, spreading through my entire body until I stop in my tracks. My breathing shallows as tears prick my eyes.
I knew it. I knew they were okay.
“What’s wrong?” Ripley asks as I don’t move.
“They’re here,” I breathe, and his brows crease.
“Who’s here?”
I clutch my chest as my thighs rub together. It’s been a while since I’ve felt a dragon calling for me.
Slowly, I turn, my gaze fixed on the mountain.
They have to be here, somewhere…
“Ares and Ethan are here,” I whisper as leaves bristle, twigs snap, and I push myself off the tree.
“Ares? He’s here?” Ripley’s unease makes my heart tighten. “We have to go,” he urges, taking my hand and trying to tug me with him.
But I don’t move. I don’t dare to as I wait for them to come closer.
“Little rider,” a whisper comes in the soft breeze that tickles past my cheek.
Strength flows through my veins, and I grip it with all my might as my head whips at Ripley.
“Leave,” I order, my voice harsh and true. He groans as he tries to fight it, fight my command.
“I need a moment, Ripley. That’s all I’m asking,” I say.
He turns, gritting his teeth as pained words push through them. “You can’t do this, Rodi!”
I might not know everything, but I do know he has to go. He has to be safe until I know what has taken place between Ares and the Vermyllion Drakes.
As he has protected me in his way, I will protect him in mine .
I fully turn and face Ripley, narrowing my eyes and lowering my head. Heat and power build low in my stomach, beginning to rise as our eyes lock. He’s being stubborn because I think a part of him cares.
But there’s also a part of him that hates Ares. I can’t risk him getting a hot head and going after Ares for whatever he did in the past. The best way to keep everyone safe is for everyone to be separated right now until the full truth is revealed.
“I need to do this. I need to see them,” I insist as my fingers curl into fists. “And you need to go somewhere for at least a little while. I’ll be safe.”
Ripley scoffs a little before grimacing, still fighting the wave of control I sent his way. “I don’t see how anyone can be safe around someone like him.”
His words sting, even if he’s not talking about me. He’s talking about someone I love, and I can’t properly wrap my mind around Ares being so hated. So feared.
“Well, I do. Now, go.”
Ripley’s face hardens, but he obeys this time and takes off, leaving me alone among the trees. The clearing is so close, but I don’t feel a tug in that direction. That’s not where I sense them.
Another breeze coasts through the air, familiar scents and voices drifting past my ear.
“Little rider…”
“She’s close…”
I whip around in the direction that the wind is coming from, warmth blooming within me and spreading everywhere as the smell of them fills my nose. It nearly brings tears to my eyes because it has felt like a decade since I last saw them. But I always knew they were alive.
Ares’ voice breaks through the hazy fog in my mind. “Come to me, Aphrodite. ”
Adrenaline races through my veins as his voice echoes in my head, hooking me in like a trance. I break out into a run, speeding through the trees and dodging around bushes as I follow the scents and sounds.
Soon, everything starts to blur and blend together, confusion ringing through me as I scan around. I don’t even know what direction I came from or where I was heading. My chest rises and falls with heavy, slightly panicked breaths.
What if they’re not really here, and I’m lost?
Callused hands grip my arms from behind, and a gasp breaks free. I tear myself away and spin around, balling my hands into fists on instinct.
“Rodi.”
My jaw drops as I stare at Ares and Ethan, their hollowed cheeks, the burn marks on Ethan’s skin. Their bodies look weighed down and hurt, but it’s them, right in front of me.
“You’re… real?” I breathe out as tears burn my eyes.
The side of Ares’ mouth turns up as he nods. “We found you. Finally.” He sighs, the tension in his shoulders fading as I blink away the tears, not wanting them to cloud my sight.
Ethan gazes at me. “We’ve been looking for days.”
They came looking for me. They never gave up.
My heart flutters as I crash against Ares’ chest and tears stream down my face. I reach out and grab Ethan’s shirt, dragging him forward so that I can wrap my arms around both of them.
Ethan lets out a tired but joyful laugh as he trails his fingers through my hair. “I can’t believe it.”
“We got her back,” Ares whispers as he holds the small of my back, anchoring me to his body.
My form molds into theirs as their warmth seeps into my skin, spreading until all the soreness fades .
I pull back and look at them, my heart aching at how beaten they look. “Are you okay? What happened?”
Ares and Ethan share a tired look with each other. Ethan lets out a weak laugh. “That’s a very long, complicated story.”
“We saw you in Sunfire Fang. Grayson was helping us track you,” Ares explains before his expression darkens a little. “Before we could reach you, you flew off on the back of a Vermyllion.”
I swallow as my chest tightens. “It’s Ripley. He looked out for me while I was stuck with Hephaestus,” I explain. “I didn’t know you two were there.”
Ares’ jaw tenses as his eyes sweep around the area. “Where is he?”
I frown as the atmosphere shifts from a happy one to a tense one. We’re supposed to be reuniting and celebrating the fact that we’re all still alive despite Hephaestus’s intentions to destroy our lives as we know them.
“I told him to go off somewhere while I talk to you. I know something happened between you and the Vermyllions,” I say.
Ares swallows hard as he glances between Ethan and me. “Rodi…”
I step closer to him, giving him a pleading look. “You have to tell me, please. I… I’m starting to remember things from the past.”
Ares’ eyes widen. “How’s that possible? How are you remembering?”
I have no idea what’s going on, but something about the Vermyllions and getting closer and closer to Nythralia are changing things. I feel closer to my past self than ever before, but there are too many missing pieces of this puzzle.
If Ares can fill in the gaps, maybe I can remember things. Maybe I can take control of this power that courses through my veins and wield it in the war to come .
“I don’t know, but it’s happening. I need you to help me remember the rest,” I say as I take his hands. He’s my only chance at learning the full truth, even if it’s a hard one to hear.
Ares looks unsure, his body rigid as he almost leans away from me. “I don’t know… You’re probably not supposed to remember for a reason.”
“You can’t keep her in the dark, Ares. It’s not fair,” Ethan says as his brows draw together.
“You don’t know either?” I ask.
Ethan shakes his head. “He hasn’t told me anything.”
“Ares, please,” I say as I reach up and cup his face. “You have to be honest with me… With us.”
Ares’ face softens after a moment as he sighs. “You may not love me after I tell you the truth.”
I swallow hard, fighting the lump in my throat. I don’t believe that to be true, but I have no idea what he’s going to tell me.
Ares glances over at Ethan, guilt appearing in his eyes. He drags his fingers through his hair and nods. “Let’s find a safe place to settle in for the night. Then, I’ll tell you everything.”
My stomach flips in nervousness, but this is what I’ve been waiting for. The final pieces of the puzzle! The key to unlock who I truly am and what I have lived through!
“I’ll start a fire,” Ethan volunteers as we move through the trees until we find a small but hidden clearing among the greenery. He digs around in bushes and other undergrowth, finding twigs and dry leaves.
While Ares fully clears the clearing of branches and rocks so that we can sleep on flat, unobstructed ground, I walk over to Ethan, my hand grazing his back. “I was so worried about you two.”
Ethan pauses from gathering a pile of leaves. He straightens up and smiles at me, relief overtaking his face. “Did Hephaestus hurt you? ”
My mind drifts back to all the lashes. The pain. The sadness. The torment. Just the thought makes my chest tighten and my heart hurt. “He…”
My trailing off is enough for Ethan to realize what happened. He doesn’t know the details, but he doesn’t have to in order to sense how much I went through while we were separated. I was in hell without them.
“We’ll take him down, Rodi,” Ethan promises me as sheer determination glints in his eyes.
“You could get hurt. Killed. All of us,” I tell him, already able to imagine the bloodshed when Hephaestus finds us. I can only imagine how pissed he is that I slipped away with Ripley.
Ethan shakes his head as he steps closer to me, reaching up to brush a strand of hair out of my face. “It doesn’t matter. He’ll keep coming after you.”
“Why can’t we just hide away, then? Where he’ll never find us? Why do we have to go to war?” I question him as panic rises in my chest.
Ethan cups my cheek as he meets my eyes. “We can’t run forever. That isn’t a life.”
“Isn’t that better than being dead?”
A bittersweet look forms on his face. “Not to me and Ares. I guess you have to ask that question of yourself.”
I don’t know the answer.
Ethan leans forward and gently kisses my other cheek before gathering all the leaves and twigs. “I’ll get the fire started. You should sit and relax.”
Sit and relax? There’s no possible way for me to do that when I know what’s coming next.
The truth.
Swallowing hard, I sit by the fire once Ethan gets it started, my heart racing as Ares sits to my left. The reflection of the fire glows in his eyes as he stares at the flames, matching his fiery spirit that so many people are scared of.
Should I be scared too?
Ethan sits down across from me, his eyes shifting from me to Ares. “We’re ready when you are.”
Ares sighs as he lowers his eyes. “I’ll never be ready…”