Chapter 32
RHI
The beast from my nightmares stares down at me, a ravenous glint in his petrifying gaze. His lips peel back in a sinister grin, and a puddle of yellow-tinged saliva drops to the ground with a sickening splat!
“Rhiannon.” His voice crawls across my skin like a swarm of centipedes, a torment of sound and snarls.
“Such a pleasure to see you again.” He inhales, mouth parting further, revealing a blackened, forked tongue.
“The King’s scent is all over you. Hm. Interesting that you overlook the monster thriving beneath his skin. ”
Leviathan must hear my heart skip a beat, because somehow, his grin widens.
“Ah. So you haven’t seen it yet.” His abnormally long tongue curves around his snout, which I gather is the equivalent to licking his lips.
“I may have haunted your nightmares, but he will consume everything. Your thoughts. Your flesh. Your very soul.”
“Liar!” Anger replaces my fear at what Leviathan implies. “Nick would never harm me. He and I are tethered beyond what Fate has forged. We are—”
“Soulmates. Yes.” Leviathan’s three eyes fall to my left hand and linger, the same way Isa’s did.
He releases a garbled sound, something like choked laughter.
“Adorable that you think the two of you have a happy ending. The beast beneath his skin has no regard for your bond, only your flesh.” A low growl sounds from his throat. “As do I.”
I hear an ominous whoosh from behind and immediately duck, narrowly missing the spiked tip of Leviathan’s tail hurtling toward me. Scrambling to my feet, I run behind one of the taller mounds of gold, attempting to catch my bearings.
How the fuck am I supposed to defeat him? I suppose I could bite him again, if I can get close enough, but I have no access to my Scylla otherwise. I have no use of the snakeheads, especially my mirror vision, which would certainly come in handy—
I again duck as Leviathan’s clawed hand swipes across the hill, and I dart forward to escape his grasp.
A sharp, curved talon catches my back, tearing through leather and shredding the skin beneath.
I cry out in agony and crumble forward, rolling out of the way just as Leviathan’s gaping maw snaps down where I just lay.
His jaw becomes trapped within the earth, buying me some time as I crawl away and hide within a tunnel of treasure.
Warmth spills down the center of my back, followed by the stretch of searing burn. The sharp, metallic tang of blood fills my nostrils. I wince as I reach behind me, feeling the open tear and serrated flesh. When I pull back, my fingers are coated in blood.
Rhi, what’s wrong? Nick’s voice is frantic and pained.
Leviathan.
I’m coming. I’ll find out where you are, and I will come to you.
No, I grit out. If you do, there’s no telling what will happen. I beat him once. I can do it again.
Yeah, with my girls by my side and three snake-heads.
Let’s not focus on that.
Rhi… Nick pleads.
Get out of my head, Nick. I need to think.
“Where are you, Rhiannon?” Leviathan’s terrifying timbre thunders around me. “I can smell you. Your blood fucking sings to me.”
His voice is closer now, his footsteps rumbling in his wake.
Leviathan’s hind leg is visible, and behind it, I have a clear shot to the portal. If I can make it there, I win.
I’m free.
I crouch, preparing to run. Leviathan is still, the position of his hind leg leading me to believe his front is facing away from me. I draw in a deep breath then burst from the tunnel with all the speed I can muster.
The path is still clear, Leviathan seemingly preoccupied, and I exert every ounce of strength I have, propelling my legs to move as fast as possible, bringing me closer to my escape.
I skid to an abrupt halt as Leviathan’s wide, open mouth drops right in front of me, blocking the mere five or so feet I had left.
I swallow a cry of outrage, and my eyes widen in horror as glowing embers gather in the back of his throat.
My reflexes don’t kick in in time, and although I leap sideways from the path of blazing fire spewing from his mouth, the underside of my right arm gets caught in the crossfire—literally.
My head smacks the corner of a gilded chest. Stars explode behind my eyelids as pain lances through my skull. The smell of burnt flesh turns my stomach, and as I struggle to push myself into an upright position, a dreadful thought surges.
I’m not healing—not as fast as I am supposed to, anyway.
The flesh at my back is still torn. White hot pain ricochets up my arm. Blood pours from an open wound on my forehead.
And Leviathan’s dragon-like snout is directly in my face.
What sounds like a satisfied chuckle escapes his fanged mouth. “You are exactly where I want you, Rhiannon.” He inhales. “Discouraged. Desperate. Your scent reeks of despair.” His black tongue again darts around his lips. “It’s intoxicating.”
Leviathan swiftly wraps my body in his large, clawed hand, careful to keep any part of his body away from mouth. The tip of one of the claws digs into my upper thigh, and I bite my lip to keep from crying out.
“Oh, how I’ve dreamt of having you in this position. And this time, there is no one commanding me not to kill you.”
“Nick will kill you if you harm me,” I point out, blood coating my bottom lip.
Another rumble of dangerous laughter. “I cannot be killed, you stupid girl. And trust me, without you as a distraction, my nephew will easily find himself between another woman’s thighs. Perhaps that lovely demoness he plans to make Queen. With you gone, he won’t have a choice.”
“He wouldn’t.” My voice cracks.
“He will. Had you not shown up, he would indeed have married Isadora. He may have fought the urge to fuck her while his heart held on to the idea of you, but that would have faded in time—just as it will once I eat you.”
He squeezes me within his grasp, the claw burrowing further beneath my skin.
This time, I do cry out in agony, tears blurring my vision.
Leviathan laughs as he releases me, and I land on the ground, clutching my leg.
Blood oozes from the wound in my upper thigh, the new pain joining forces with the pain in my arm, head, and back.
Leviathan rears back, his mouth open and ready to devour me whole.
I’ve never felt so helpless.
When all seems lost, don’t forget to look for them too.
Liv’s words rocket across my brain like a shooting star.
Blinking through my tears, I stare past the looming monster towards the portal, towards my escape.
Two pairs of fists bang on the outer shell of it, seemingly try to break through.
Two more figures stand and shout unintelligible words, almost as if they are yelling at me, urging me on.
I’d like to think it’s them, but I don’t want to be let down, don’t want to be dangled a thread of hope with hardly anything to grasp.
The figures finally come into focus, and I immediately make out their characteristics: Scar’s frightened hazel eyes, Astrid’s brilliant blonde hair, Zo’s myriad of tattoos, B’s terrified expression. A part of my brain fights that they can’t be here. They must be a hallucination from the pain.
Still, the urge to run towards them, to see them one last time, is so insurmountable and consuming, my fingers find the hilt of the dagger Nick gave me.
Leviathan lurches forward, but at the last minute, I roll to the side as fast as my body allows, plunging the dagger into the center blue eye. I yank it free as Leviathan rears back, roaring in pain, shaking his head and tail.
My eyes immediately find the girls, and I take off toward them in a broken run, fighting through the streaks of agony shooting down my right leg.
Leviathan continues to thrash behind me, his gargantuan tail driving into the walls, shaking the foundation of the cavern. Enormous, jagged rocks fall from the ceiling, another obstacle hindering my escape as I narrowly dodge being crushed.
I keep my gaze lasered on the girls as I half run, half limp. Whatever they are, a hallucination or a trick of the Labyrinth, they are what compel my agonized limbs to push harder, my burning lungs to keep breathing, my aching heart to beat.
Closer. I am so damn close.
I find myself sprawled on my back as a rock falls a few feet in front of me and explodes, shards of stone flying about. I don’t raise my hand in time, and a sharp sting slides across my cheek, releasing a trickle of blood.
Glancing behind me just once, Leviathan is still clawing at that one eye, seemingly in blinding pain. But then his head snaps toward me, and he releases a monstrous roar before charging at me.
Heart nearly exploding from panic, I leap to my feet, closing the distance to my escape. Only feet now. As I get closer, the intelligible shouts become more coherent.
“Keep running, Rhi!” Scarlett’s terrified voice screams.
“Don’t look back!” Astrid yells.
“You’re almost there!” B shouts.
“Keep going! We’ve got you, Rhi!”
The final voice is Zo.
Oh my gods. I choke down a sob. It’s them. It’s really fucking them.
Another angry roar rattles the entire cavern, and I climb up the small dirt hill, the portal merely inches away.
I manage to get only my right hand through, warm air enveloping my fingers.
The ground shakes, throwing me off balance, and for a horrifying moment, I think I’ll tumble backwards.
But another set of fingers close around mine, and I’m yanked through the portal just as Leviathan’s jaw snaps behind me.