Chapter 25
Ara
The soundof the waves crashing against the shore wasn’t enough to help me find comfort. It had been two days since Nyx left me with Dion and I was struggling to keep myself from commandeering a ship to return to Athos.
I stared at the water, hoping to find some solace in the foam that washed ashore. It was dark, the ocean before me an endless expanse of black. There was no moon tonight, making it even more ominous than usual.
I turned to see the path I’d traveled, still illuminated by sparkling fae lights that Dion had left to light the way for the goddess. At least he said that was why he lit the path. I wondered if it was because I’d traversed the trail in the dark last night for a moment of peace by the water.
In another life, I might have enjoyed living on this island. It certainly would have been better than serving at a temple. Dion’s maenads avoided me, but when I saw them, they seemed happy. I caught them gardening and painting and splashing in a river. They didn’t spend all their time catering to the god. They seemed to do it because they wanted to.
Though, I knew there were things I wasn’t privy to, and I wasn’t foolish enough to think that Dion’s reputation was all false. If I learned anything from my time with the fae and the gods, it was that reputations were earned. And they were rarely inflated.
“I thought I might find you down here.”
“Don’t tell me you can read minds,” I said to Dion as he stepped into the soft sand.
He lifted a brow. “Thinking about me, were you?”
“About how different your island is from what I thought it would be,” I admitted.
“You’re different than I thought you’d be, too,” he said.
Neither of us offered any followup and I don’t think either of us wanted it. He stood there next to me, staring into the dark sea for a long while. Finally, he spoke, “She’s back. She sent me to find you.”
I nodded, keeping my attention on the sea.
“She’s going to push you harder this time,” he warned.
“It is the final challenge.” I’d spent the last several days imagining all the terrible ways she could torture me for her own amusement.
“The stories about her are true, you know.”
“I know.” I glanced over at Dion, hating that his expression didn’t hide his concern.
“Do you know that it’s alright to do what’s best for you? To allow yourself happiness? To let yourself live,” he said.
“I’m not sure I know how to do that,” I admitted.
“All the things you’ve done have been brave, there’s no doubt about that. But have you ever stopped to wonder if the people you continue to sacrifice yourself for would do the same for you? Do they deserve what you do for them?”
“I can’t let myself ask those questions,” I said.
“You should. You should always ask those questions. Because everyone else always asks them,” he replied.
“The only question I ask is whether or not I can live with myself if I don’t help.”
“You’re far too good for any of them,” he said with a sigh. “Come on, she’s waiting.”
Reluctantly, I followed him back to the house.
Nyx was waiting outside, holding a glass of wine in her hand.
“He’d choose her even if they weren’t mates,” Dion suddenly said.
I glanced at the god, my brow furrowing.
“I didn’t ask your opinion,” Nyx replied. “And I certainly don’t need you here right now. You may leave.”
Dion squeezed my shoulder. “Remember what I said.” He walked into his house, leaving me alone with the goddess of night.
“Is that what this is actually about?” I asked. “Not humans or how they treated you, but the fact that you don’t think I’m good enough for your son?”
“This can be about more than one thing,” she replied.
“I got you out of your prison for him,” I reminded her.
“And then he took your magic. Why wouldn’t you want revenge on him?” she asked. “You could have left him to find someone else and you could go fuck Dion or find some human to fill your needs.”
I wrinkled my nose. “I’m not with your son because of my—needs.” Well, not just that, but I wasn’t about to explain that to her.
“We’ll see about that.” She held out the glass. “Drink.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“Your third challenge,” she said.
I walked over to her and took the glass. I’d agreed to the challenges, so it wasn’t like I could decline. If she wanted me dead, she’d have done it already. Or maybe this was it. She had made it clear she was going to try to eliminate me with each of the challenges.
“Go on, now,” she encouraged.
“Can I ask one favor of you?” I asked, the glass poised at my lips.
She lifted a brow and gave a noncommittal shrug.
“If I don’t survive, tell Ryvin the truth. Tell him what happened to me and the part you played in it.” I kept my eyes locked on hers, waiting for her to flinch.
Instead, she smirked. “Tell him yourself when you next see him.”
I tried to mask my confusion.
“Now, stop delaying. I’d like to be done with you.” She inclined her head, her eyes dropping to the wineglass. “Drink it all.”
I’d faced death more times than I could recall at this point, what was once more? Faking greater bravery than I actually had, I took a tentative sip. When nothing happened, I took another sip. Then I knocked back the rest of the glass in a few large glugs.
Nyx took the glass from my hand and tossed it aside. “Time to go.”
The ground was unsteady, the world tilting slightly. She was going in and out of focus.
She lifted her arms and clouds of darkness billowed up around her. They wrapped around me, holding me like a bundle of soft cloth. I felt weightless, but I wasn’t sure if it was her magic or the wine.
Just as I was almost enjoying the soft rocking sensation of Nyx’s shadows, they dissipated. I knew I was on solid ground, even though I was swaying and struggling to keep myself upright.
“It’s kicking in faster than I anticipated,” Nyx said. “I might have miscalculated the dosage.”
Her words hardly registered as I stared in shocked amazement at the portal in the center of the labyrinth. “We’re in Konos.”
“Where we first met,” she said. “Well, at least where you first met me as I am. The emaciated version in the prison didn’t ever feel like me.”
“What are we doing here?” My tongue felt thick.
“I’m giving you a choice,” Nyx said. “I saw you choose your people over your sisters, but it was a situation that would let you live as a hero. You’d be revered, loved, and hold even more power as the new queen on Athos.”
“That’s why you think I did that?” I stared at her in disbelief.
“Of course. It didn’t prove that you were willing to save your city. It proved that you valued your own life.”
“That’s not what happened.” My throat felt tight as I recalled what it had felt like when I thought my sisters were gone. I wasn’t sure I’d have survived to claim the title.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m not making that mistake again,” she said. “This time, you can choose yourself or you can choose your mate.”
My eyes widened. “What did you do to him?”
“I didn’t do anything. But he’s still about to die. You were dosed with a slow acting poison. You have some time before your body starts shutting down.”
“What?” My pulse kicked up.
“This portal can take you to the zarchonii fields in Telos, where you’ll find the cure by eating the flowers. Or you can take it to where Ryvin is nearing his final breaths. You can’t do both,” she said.
“You really are a monster. Your own son?”
“What will it be, Princess of Athos?” she asked, the smile on her lips making me feel sick.
“Ryvin.” There was no hesitation. No second thoughts. No need to waste time thinking. “Get me there, now.”
She lifted a brow. “There is no portal where he is to get you to Telos. No zarchonii flowers to save you.”
“You know why you hate humans so much?” I snapped. “It’s because you can’t love. You can’t begin to comprehend that our fragile little lives might be worth it to us because we can find beauty and joy in the small moments and the people around us. You don’t deserve the temple they’re building dedicated to you in Athos. I hope they forget you and you fade away with all the other ancient gods nobody can remember.”
“That would be something, wouldn’t it? It’s a pity you won’t be around to see it happen.” She shoved me into the portal.
I stumbled into darkness, landing on my hands and knees. Something sharp dug into my palm and I recoiled when I realized it was a bone fragment. Very slowly, I stood, working to get my bearings through the spinning of my vision.
The space I was in was dimly lit and the stench was making my stomach churn. I was in the mouth of a cave, the only light coming from behind me, where a fire crackled near the entrance.
Carefully, I turned, doing my best to keep my movements slow and silent. I was standing in a pile of bones and every time they shifted, I froze, hoping I wasn’t making too much noise.
Then I saw them. Ryvin and Vanth were both hanging from a wall, tied up like insects in a spider’s web.
I didn’t even try to stay quiet as I raced toward them. Their eyes were closed, but their breathing was steady. I reached for Ryvin, shaking him gently. “Ryvin, wake up.”
His brow furrowed and he groaned. I made a relieved cry, surprising myself with the sound. Ryvin opened his eyes, then narrowed them, as if it was painful to keep them open. “Ara?” His voice was hoarse.
“Thank the gods you’re still alive. I’m going to get you two out of here.” I shook Vanth. “Wake up, come on. Wake up.”
“Ara?” Vanth was just as groggy as Ryvin.
“I’m here, I’m going to get you both down.” I started working on the knots holding Ryvin to the wall.
“You have to get out of here,” Ryvin said. “Please, go. Before he returns.”
“Before who returns?” I was curious, but there was no way I was going to leave them in this cave.
“The cyclops,” Ryvin replied.
My hands stilled for a moment, taking in the new information. A cyclops. They were impossibly strong and extremely difficult to kill. They were some of the gods’ favorite creations. Extremely skilled with making weapons, they’d been given abilities to survive that humans certainly didn’t possess.
I returned to working the knots. “Then we better hurry before he returns.”
I finished Ryvin’s bindings and he fell from the wall, landing hard. “Sorry!” I hurried to help him up, then turned my attention to the shifter.
“You two go, don’t waste time with me,” Vanth said.
“You know me better than that,” I said.
“How are you here?” Ryvin asked, moving alongside me to help with some of the other knots. At least he appeared in relatively good health.
“Your mother sent me to help you,” I said, adjusting the truth just a little, so I didn’t worry him. If we got out of here safely, I could say my goodbyes and explain more.
“She’s lying to you,” Vanth said.
“I know,” Ryvin agreed.
I stayed silent and finished the last knot on my side, allowing Vanth to fall from the wall. He landed more gracefully than Ryvin had. The shifter rubbed his arms where the ropes had left red marks. “We need to get away from here.”
“We have to find the sorceress,” Ryvin said. “And I don’t think her pet cyclops is going to let us reach her if he’s still breathing.”
Vanth leaned down and picked up a long bone that was probably from a leg. “The eye is the only weakness.”
“How do we reach it? I can’t use my shadows,” Ryvin said.
Guilt squeezed in around me. “Was that my fault? I used them.”
“No, there’s something preventing magic here,” he clarified.
I started walking toward the entrance. The fire was still crackling away, and I noticed that a massive roasting spit was positioned above it. It was large enough to support a man. A chill ran down my spine. He was preparing to eat my friends.
“Where are you going?” Rvyin asked.
“I have an idea.” I stepped out of the cave, Ryivn and Vanth behind me. My steps were a little uneven and there was a spin on the world around me. I knew I wasn’t going to be the best person for the task.
“I need both of you up there.” I pointed to the rocky opening of the cave. “When he arrives, you jump on him.”
“What are you going to do?” Ryvin asked.
“I’m the bait.”