Chapter 8
“Here.”
Dante held out his hand, offering something wrapped in parchment paper.
I stared at him.
He pushed the food at me. “If you don’t eat something, every creature in a ten-mile radius is going to come running.” He tilted his head. “It would be a shame, given that Logan has kindly volunteered to investigate the spooky cave.” He grinned. “Your words.”
Rolling my eyes, I snatched up the wrapped provisions, my belly so empty it felt like it was about to cannibalize itself. “You know there are going to be dragons who eat damsels or something equally horrible in there.”
He chuckled. “You’re no damsel.”
“Damn straight,” I agreed.
He glared at me. “Now eat.”
The thought of food made my stomach rumble again, a sound that had Dante’s eyebrow shooting up.
Okay, maybe I was giving away our position and I should probably eat something.
One thing was certain; dying and coming back had not changed the fact that I needed food. Quite the opposite. I seemed to be starving all the time, and marching through a forest that constantly tried to kill us wasn’t helping matters.
Tearing off the paper, I shoved half of the bar into my mouth and chewed, releasing my frustration with my molars.
My Hunter eyed me with a hint of amusement. The effect was a pleasant one on his otherwise darkened features.
I was too hungry to worry about my lack of manners and when I had the bar gone in under two minutes, he offered another.
This time, I was able to eat it a little slower and actually tasted some of it.
“What is this stuff?” I asked around a mouthful. My tastebuds were pleased by some sort of grains, mixed with a berry I didn’t think I’d ever tasted, and a nutty flavor that almost reminded me of almonds, but with a deeper complexity.
“Granola bars, basically. They’re my recipe with some of the ingredients I sourced from the Academy’s food stores.
” He shrugged, his Hunter eyes scanning the terrain.
“The Academy doesn’t just get food from earth, anymore.
Some of this probably came from this realm, actually.
I source the sort of ingredients that carry the most energy in them. ”
“So you’ve upgraded from mystery soup, then,” I said, smirking as I recalled his place back at Fortune Academy underneath the Arena.
He chuckled. “Yeah. I’ve had time on my hands, you could say.”
That dark expression returned.
I glanced at the bag where he’d pulled the bars. “You got anything else in there?”
He shrugged. “Supplements for meat. We’ll get a small fire going after Logan manages to hunt up some game, but we can’t keep it up for longer than that. Not in the forest at night.”
I managed a half-hearted smile. “I know. I didn’t do that badly during the survivalist skills they drilled into us in class.”
“You’ve never done badly with anything.”
A shockwave rumbled out across the ground, a distinct sensation of demonic power shuddering up my spine.
I glanced the way it had come, wondering how Hendrik was doing. Setting up defensive wards that would give us warning if Lucifer’s essence came for us in the night seemed like a good idea, but I worried how much magic he was using.
I’d already failed Olivia. I couldn’t bear it if he sacrificed himself for me too.
“Do you think Hendrik’s got it under control?” I asked, glancing at the Hunter. “He’s using a lot of energy.”
Dante rubbed the scars around his wrist. “He’ll be fine.”
I had a feeling that perhaps the Dark Mage wasn’t the one I should be worried about.
Hendrik’s energy boasted a simmering cauldron of power that I’d never felt before, not like this. I wondered if he’d talk to me about it.
Olivia’s sacrifice could have changed his clan, or it could simply be the changes he’d undergone during my absence.
I wasn’t angry with him about Olivia—he hadn’t pushed her to do anything. But the grief and rage were still so deep and thinking about what she’d sacrificed sent a knife through my heart. Every time I looked at him it brought up all the conflicting emotions.
Perhaps I just needed time.
“Time helps,” he told me, obviously having heard my thoughts.
Dante’s words had me stiffening and I looked over at him, jaw going tight.
He watched me patiently and the understanding in his eyes made me feel even worse.
Eyes burning, I looked away.
“Lily.”
He cupped my cheek and forced my eyes to his, though, refusing to let me hide away from him.
He dragged his thumb over my lower lip, his touch sending a rush of heat through me.
“She saved us, too. She protected the Academy, us, you; gave us time to figure out a plan. And I know she’s your friend.
” He dropped his forehead to mine. “None of us could have handled losing you again.”
I leaned against him. His arm came around my waist and I snuggled into him, grateful for his warmth and the chance to rest my weary, aching body.
My wings felt like leaden weights. Even with the leather supports, I felt like I’d never get used to the weight.
If I had to come back to life with wings, couldn’t I just come back with the muscles I needed to use them? It only seemed fair.
Life isn’t fair, Lils, I told myself.
A noise sounded, followed by the distinct sensation of Heaven and Hell.
Which luckily meant Orion and Kaito had returned. I offered them a wan smile as they emerged from the brush.
My demigod’s freckles blazed with sunlight, a sharp contrast to Kaito’s ominous shadows that stretched out at his feet—enlarging the silhouette of his horns. I spotted a whisper of dark wings across the ground, although Kaito didn’t have wings.
Perhaps his previous form once did.
“Logan finished scouting out the cave,” Orion said.
“It went back around two-hundred feet before we reached a dead end. There’s a hot spring in there, too.
He traced the source already—it’s from a space too small for anything bigger than your new friend to get through,” he said, indicating Uni sniffing the underbrush near my feet.
Uni squeaked and gave Orion a baleful look.
Orion returned it with a disgruntled one of his own, which made me chuckle.
“He doesn’t like me,” Orion said with a scowl before meeting my gaze again.
“I don’t see what the problem is—I’m not the one who put the little rodent in the forest and had a pack of wolves and a bunch of mangy cats chasing after it.
” He cast an accusatory glare at my wolf.
“I knew Uni could handle himself. Don’t get your halo bent out of shape,” Logan said, shoving him playfully as he walked by.
“My halo?” Orion said, sounding insulted, a priceless expression of disgust spreading across his face.
“Gods have halos, don’t they?” Logan grinned, pointing at Orion’s head. “Although yours is missing. Maybe you haven’t earned it yet.”
“That’s angels, you ass, not Greek gods.” Orion rubbed his temple and groaned. “I’m surrounded by idiots.”
I burst into laughter and leaned against Dante, feeling more at ease with my Virtues since my return. This felt like how it should be, friendly banter rather than all of them drowning in grief, some of them trying to kill each other.
Except, Cole wasn’t here, and our distance from him strained the hold he had on me and all of my Virtues. I didn’t miss the fact that a short reprieve seemed to do all of us some good, even if I still planned on dealing with Cole later.
Dante tightened his arm around me and the sexual heat pulsing from him just about made my bones melt. “I… ah… I think I’m going to go look for that hot spring,” I said, nudging Dante away. “Logan, you were going to hunt something for us to eat?” Because yeah, I was still starving.
He nodded, eyes shimmering with moonlight in the growing darkness. “Yes, I’ll find us something.”
Uni squeaked.
Logan rolled his eyes. “Okay, no uni-hares for dinner. I promise.”
“And you’re sure the cave is unclaimed?” I asked, more concerned about us being eaten alive in our sleep than Uni having to eat a family relative for dinner.
Logan grunted. “I would have scented a creature if anything had claimed it. Nothing has been in there for a long time.”
That only made me more suspicious, because why wouldn’t any of the creatures we’d come across so far not want a big roomy cave all to itself?
The speculation didn’t matter, though. We needed shelter for the night and I was growing more exhausted by the minute, as were my Virtues.
I straightened. “Okay, well, after we eat, I’ll take first shift.” If anything did come to investigate the cave, I’d make sure my Virtues were protected.
“No.” Kaito took my hand and stroked his thumb over my knuckles. “You’re still growing into your new form, Lily. And you can’t afford to be weakened. We’ve been training and preparing for this. Protecting you is part of our job. Let us do it.”
“I…” After a brief hesitation, I nodded. I was so tired, plus I’d suck at sentry duty anyway. “Okay.”
As I turned away from them, I saw Hendrik ducking into the cave and met his eyes briefly. I gave a hesitant smile and the familiar half-curve of his lips appeared, making me feel a little better.
Faint red lights pulsed high on the cavern walls, lighting the way as I headed toward the hot spring.
The magic tickled my nose, each orb releasing a blood and roses scent as I walked by. I felt his eyes on me as I moved deeper into the shadows, and my heart skipped a beat when my Hunter joined him.
Neither of them moved to join me and I had mixed feelings about it. They were all but burning with sensual heat, Hendrik and Dante, but ever since we’d pushed into the Enchanted Forest, there had been an odd tension between them.
I’d felt the cold edge of Hendrik’s anger. It was a poisoned blade that left one bleeding and in agony.
This was different.
I reached the hot spring and sighed. The glistening pool was so welcoming, crystal clear water glittering atop a turquoise painting. Steam rose from the surface, promising to soothe all of my sore muscles.