Chapter Twenty-Nine
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
“Tripp Nightshade!”
He whipped around to see Elara charging toward him.
“Stay there, flitter-mouse. The fumes are toxic, and with your body fresh from a transition, we don’t know how it will react.”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she demanded, and ignoring his suggestion to stop, she joined him on the summit. As she peered over the edge, she gripped his forearm, digging her nails in when she saw the bubbling lava. “Holy shitballs! Hermes said you intended to jump into the crater! Are you fucking insane?”
He almost laughed. Almost. Had the situation not been so dire, he might’ve. Fired-up Elara was his favorite, ranking right up there with Flustered Elara. With her cheeks flushed, eyes flashing, and fists clenched, she was prepared for battle, and it gave him a charge.
“I may be, yes,” he said.
“There will be no jumping into the volcano. Do I make myself clear?”
“Elara—”
“No! I mean it, Tripp. We have two hours left. We can figure this out.”
He gripped her shoulders. “Listen to me?—”
“No!” Her sudden onslaught of tears nearly took him out at the knees. “No, Tripp. Two hours. There’s still time. And look”—she pointed at the boots—“no light, so whatever you’re doing isn’t right.”
“It won’t light up until I go in.” He hauled her close, confident he was correct. “Hermes all but said it.”
“He’s a fucking Trickster! He probably wants you boiled like a lobster before telling you you’re wrong.”
Tripp laughed, surprised he could.
Elara smiled, and it was the sweetest he’d ever seen. “Besides, when I offered to go in, he told me a sacrifice wasn’t needed. He said, “It wasn’t as simple as that.’”
Tripp studied her earnest face. “Those were his exact words?”
“Yes.”
What the hell was he missing? Hermes was a master at using innuendoes for clues, and he’d told Elara about Tripp’s location for a reason. But what? The sulfuric fumes were getting to him, making it difficult to think.
Maybe the Trickster meant it wasn’t as simple as Elara going in, but Tripp was the sacrifice? Hermes had confirmed it when Tripp asked about personal sacrifice.
“What is personal to me?” he asked her.
“What?”
“If I said I had to offer a personal sacrifice, what would you think I meant by it?”
“You would give up something or someone you love.”
Her reply hit like a sledgehammer to the head. “Hermes is mad if he thinks I’d sacrifice you,” he said savagely.
Elara paled.
In the next instant, her chin came up. “Do it.”
“What?”
“Tripp, you have to do it. Toss me in.”
“Fuck no! You’re as crazy as he is if you think I will.”
Lava arched up, splashing over the side of the crater, and Tripp barely managed to shift Elara in time to avoid her getting burned. He held her in a fierce embrace, unwilling to do what was necessary to save them and the town below.
She struggled against his hold, freeing herself enough to touch his face and gain his attention. “We have to try this. I’m dead either way.”
Gazing up at him as she was, with her endearing face and wide blue eyes, Tripp recalled a popular Christmas cartoon. Without fail, he watched it every year, weirdly captivated by it since the day it aired. Now, he understood why. He couldn’t prevent his grin.
“I just realized who you remind me of,” he said.
Her brows met. “I remind you of someone?”
“Mmhmm.” He glanced down the mountain toward Witchmere. The sun was setting, and holiday lights were barely visible in the distance. The scene resembled a real-life Whoville. “Cindy Lou Who.”
“From the Grinch?” her tone was a mixture of disbelief and amusement. “Why do I find it hard to imagine you watching a Jim Carrey movie?”
“No, not that one. The original animation.”
“That makes more sense—not.” She rolled her red-rimmed, bloodshot eyes.
“It does from my viewpoint,” he assured her. “And it’s understandable why his heart grew ten times that day.”
“I was always in love with Max. He was so happy and adorable with his big eyes and single antler,” she said with a melancholy smile. “I wanted a puppy just like him.”
“If we had a future, I’d get you that puppy.”
“I’d fall harder for you than I already have,” she assured him. Sobering, she asked, “What now?”
“I have to try on the off chance it’s me.”
“Don’t do it, Tripp. Please .”
“A not-so-trustworthy source said it’s what all the cool kids are doing these days.”
She laughed through her tears and kissed him. “You’re an idiot.”
They were delaying the inevitable, but he didn’t care. If she survived, she’d need memories of their lighthearted banter to see her through the hard times.
She leisurely trailed her fingers over the contours of his shoulders.
“You’re only going to miss my glorious shoulders when I go.”
“Glorious, glorious. They’re worthy of the extra praise. Yours are the best I’ve seen.” Smiling through her tears, she said, “I’ll miss these desperately if you go.”
“Makes sense. All water nymphs are attracted to men with broad shoulders.”
“Really?” Pausing, she squinted up at him. “Are you making that up?”
“Nope. Probably a subliminal belief we’re great swimmers.”
“There you go with the sex talk again. Bragging about your swimmers.”
He laughed. “I love you, Elara Elizabeth. Never doubt it, okay?”
“I know you do. I feel it here.” Pressing a hand to her heart, she choked back a sob. “Maybe we go together? You fall, I fall.”
“No. If this works, you deserve to live and love again.”
“But I won’t.”
“You will, flitter-mouse. You’re a Titan with centuries ahead of you. There’s bound to be another gorgeous man with glorious, glorious shoulders.” And Gods, did he hate the idea of her with another! But for her, he pasted on a smile.
“No dimples. You’re being fake,” she accused.
“It’s because I don’t want to imagine you with anyone else but me,” he admitted with a genuine smile. “It makes me want to rip this mountain apart.”
“Good. Jealousy is healthy in a relationship.”
“It’s not.”
“You’re not an expert. You couldn’t even commit until yesterday.”
He laughed. “I love how, in such severe circumstances, you maintain your humor.”
“I’m told it’s one of my most attractive qualities. That and my love of salami.”
Tripp wasn’t aware of sitting and clutching her tightly to his chest or of the tears free-flowing down his cheeks until she kissed them away.
“It’s a damned good thing our location is exclusive,” he choked out. “I’d be forced to hand in my man card if the other Gods saw me like this.”
“True. I’d be forced to champion you,” she agreed with a bittersweet smile. “But I’d do it. For you, Tripp Nightshade. You’re worth everything.”
She climbed to her feet, holding out her hand. “Come on. It’s time to throw me into the volcano.”
“You’re cracked in the head if you think I’m going to.”
From a short distance away, Hermes stood, cloaked and listening to the star-crossed lovers bicker about sacrificing themselves on the other’s behalf.
“Don’t be a shitbag. Light the last jewel already!”
“Ah, Stormy, my love! I see you’re spying on me from your underwater lair,” he said through their telepathic connection. “I was wondering when you’d interfere.”
“She’s my sister. Do you honestly believe I’d trust her welfare to anyone else?”
He chuckled. “I was counting on your protective instincts to kick in.”
“Why?”
“So you’d talk to me again,” he admitted. “I miss you.”
“Gargle a nutsack, shitbag. This is for her , not you.”
He laughed as he lit the stone. “And that is for you . Happy?”
“Pfft.”
The silence grew, and if it weren’t for the lightest buzzing in his ears, he’d have believed she’d disconnected.
“Thank you, Hermes.”
“What can I say? I’m fond of the girl. She’s got spunk. Like you.” He rubbed the area over his heart, wishing things could be different and Storm could forgive him. But she’d held a grudge for over a century, and her stance hadn’t softened.
“I’ll grant you one more favor. But it better be a worthy one, nothing to do with sex when you’re horny,” she said.
Laughing, he nodded. “Duly noted.”
There was another long pause before she said, “Do you think my father will stay in Witchmere this time?”
“Perhaps. He only left to protect Elara and Payton.”
“So he says.”
“So he says,” Hermes repeated. “You should come here, Stormy.”
“I’ll think about it.” And with that sassy reply, the buzzing in his ears stopped, severing their connection.
“I love you, Stormy,” he whispered. “I always have.”
The movement beneath them knocked Tripp and Elara to the ground. Layer after layer of earth piled on, killing the toxic smell and covering the river of lava prepared to erupt.
He almost rubbed his eyes in his disbelief.
“Tripp?”
“I see it, too.”
“The stone?” she asked.
“No, the volcano went back to sleep.” But he dragged his gaze away to look at her boots. “Thank Messia!”
“No, thank me,” Hermes said, approaching in his cocksure, arrogant way. Tucked within the crook of one arm was a tiny black kitten. He handed it to Elara after Tripp helped her to her feet. “Hex 2.0.”
Her china-blue eyes were liquid pools of love.
“Cindy Lou Who gets her Christmas after all,” Tripp murmured.
Laughing, she rubbed her nose against the creature.
“Still want a Max?” he asked, stroking the kitten’s dainty head.
“Absofreakinglutely!”
“No kids, but enough animals for a petting zoo?”
She grinned. “It’s like you know me.”
“Better than you can ever imagine,” he agreed. Tripp offered a hand to Hermes. “I should break your pretty face, but I’m feeling a little euphoric at the moment.”
“It’s the sulfur. Your generosity will pass.” Gesturing to the boots, Hermes said, “I’ll need those back now.”
“No! I earned them. Get yourself a different pair.”
“Sorry, kid, but their return isn’t up for debate.”
Tripp eased the kitten from her grasp. “Please, for the love of Witchmere and my glorious, glorious shoulders, give him those fucking boots.”
Sitting, she removed them, giving the fatal footwear one last hug and stroking the jewels. “Be kinder to the next owner,” she said to the blasted things before handing them to Hermes.
Tripp fought a laugh and lost. “Snow’s coming in. You’ll need to conjure another pair, or your feet will freeze.”
“Or I can climb on your back, and you can carry me home.” She shot him a flirty smile. “It will give me time to admire your glorious, glorious shoulders.”
Hermes worked a single lace free of its mooring and attached a multifaceted amethyst.
“Here, love. A gift to remember me by.”
“Oh, I doubt I’ll forget, but thank you.” She held up the stone, admiring it in the fading light. “Who will get them next?”
“Not sure. They’ll find their rightful owner after their magic is restored to full strength.”
He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Take care of yourself, love. If you need me, call out my name, and I’ll be there.” With a wicked glance for Tripp, he leaned closer to Elara. “But don’t mistake us during sex and scream my name, or it might get awkward.”
“Too bad the volcano isn’t still active. I’d take great delight tossing you in,” Tripp said dryly.
“That’s my cue to leave!” Hermes smiled down at the kitten. “That’s one lucky p?—”
“Hermes!”
“Keep your panties on, cousin. I was going to say ‘pet.’”
Elara laughed and hugged him. “Sure you were. Get going, scoundrel.”