Chapter 8
“Let’s go get him!”
Those are all the words I need to hear. My body springs up before my brain fully engages. “Let’s go!”
I take a step and hiss, my hand flying to my hip. Now that the shock of seeing a Hellhound turn into Maximus is fading, a sharp, stinging fire radiates from my side.
Ludo stiffens. His mismatched minotaur eyes snap to my waist.
—Blood. Nymph bleeds—
The atmosphere in the tunnel shifts instantly from relief to suffocation.
“You’re hurt?” Donovan is there in a second, his hands hovering over me, terrified to touch in case he makes it worse. “Tee? What happened?”
“I’m fine,” I lie, trying to step back. “I just hit the wall when we were scrambling away from Cujo over there.”
Max goes dead pale. The grin vanishes from his face, replaced by a look of absolute horror. “I hurt you?” His voice drops to a rough, broken whisper. “I did that?”
“No, Max, you didn’t touch me, I just—”
“Show me,” Alexis commands. He doesn't ask. He pushes Donovan’s hands aside and lifts the hem of my hoodie.
A jagged scrape runs along my waist, oozing bright red blood where the unforgiving stone sliced my skin. It’s a graze, nothing more, but the reaction from the men is terrifying.
Cosmo stares at the blood, his upper lip curling. But it’s not disgust at the wound—it’s fury. The air around him starts to crackle with static. “You caused this,” he hisses at Max.
“Sit,” Alexis rumbles. He gently forces me down onto a flat rock.
—I failed. Allowed you to be wounded—
“Lu, no! You didn’t fail, it’s a scratch!”
Maximus drops to his knees next to his cousin. Every bit of his wild, careless energy is gone. “I’m so sorry,” he chokes out.
Ludo growls and Donovan pushes Maximus to one side. “Out of the way, Larsen. You’ve already done enough damage.”
Maximus nods, and shuffles out of the way.
“Stop it, all of you. I’m fine.”
Alexis rips a strip of fabric from the bottom of his tee. “Let me wipe away the blood, take a look.”
Donovan wraps his arms around me from behind, and I lean into his body, resigning myself to the fuss. “I’ve got you, baby. I’ve got you.”
I look over at Maximus. He’s standing off by himself looking devastated. Ludo’s minotaur is glaring at him. Even Cosmo looks pissed as all hell.
You’d think I was dying.
It should be overwhelming. Instead, it makes me feel safer, more cared for, than I have in my entire life.
“It’s shallow, just a scratch,” Alexis announces.
That almost makes me smile, but times a-wasting. “Now that’s dealt with, can we please go and find Wes?”
I’m trying not to get impatient, but each second we are not trying to track him down is a second squandered.
“Are you alright to walk? I can carry you,” Donovan offers.
Good Gods!
I spring up, hiding the wince from where I know bruises are forming. “Let’s go!”
I’m about to take point when a giant arm bars the way.
—Nymph. Wait—
“No more waiting, Ludo.”
—Hundreds of miles. A maze. I must lead—
A maze. Right. I take a breath. It’s not going to help anything if I get us lost, but when I think of Wes wandering blindly through this massive tunnel network?
“Sorry, Lu. You go ahead.”
Ludo takes point, not going as fast as I would like. Alexis and Donovan hover around me, but I focus on the fact that Wes is alive and he can’t have gone far.
He was hanging with that Maximus idiot just a few hours ago.
So we walk on in the gloom, calling out for Wes.
Alexis and Cosmo cast more illumination spells, and little spheres float along, lighting our path.
It would be nice if either of them knew a way to conjure up some water, but alas.
Maximus is talking with Alexis at the back of our party. He’s very much on my shit list.
When I saw that hellhound attacking my professor, a fear as I’ve never known nearly destroyed me. Why did the jerk have to scare us like that?
That Maximus douche better watch out, or I’ll get Ludo to make him sorry.
I must release a growl because Donovan lays a hand on my back. “You doing alright, Tee-Tee?”
“I was just thinking that it was cruel of Maximus to pretend-attack Alexis. Why didn’t he just tell us who he was?”
Donovan can clearly hear the ice in my voice. “I know, Babe, I know. Max doesn’t think through the consequences of things; he’s…what's the word? He’s a…”
“Twat,” I supply.
—And an immature, untrained dog—
Ludo’s silent assessment makes me smile. “That he is,” I reply.
Donovan raises an eyebrow.
“Sorry, replying to Ludo.”
“That trick is going to take some getting used to,” he replies. I can hear the smile in his voice.
—Want me to carry you?— Ludo asks.
“I’m good,” I tell the minotaur. “Do you know where we’re heading?”
—I take you outside…you wait out…I go in again…find other boy—
Hmm, I don’t know about that. “Is it a good plan to split up? How long do you think it will take?”
Ludo picks up the pace slightly. —could be a long time…but you need outside—
The tunnels keep twisting and turning, but Ludo never hesitates on which fork to take.
I can’t stop staring at his minotaur body.
Below the waist, Lu has a thick, coarse pelt of white hair.
His torso, however, remains smooth, human, and outstandingly buff.
The white hair starts again at his neck and extends over his head, leaving only the dark, intelligent, but still mismatched eyes visible.
“Is it like having a GPS inside you?” Donovan asks him as Ludo takes a sharp left.
—I have target…outside…so I know the way—
I relay Ludo’s answer to Donovan. He grins. “That’s so cool. Oh, wait, you said target? Didn’t you mean a bull's-eye?”
Have I missed Donovan’s terrible jokes?
Yes, I have.
The next tunnel is much wider; a welcome relief from the oppressive narrowness. Donovan moves next to me and takes my hand in his, squeezing it gently. “If you get tired, I can shift and give you a ride again.”
“I’m not tired,” I reply, though a dryness claws at my throat, “just thirsty.”
“Yeah, me too.” His grip on my hand tightens, then he twists his head to one side. “Are you sure you don’t know any water-producing spells, Cosmo? I thought you were the highest-ranked Elite at Validus Vale or some such bullshit.”
“One cannot produce matter where it doesn’t exist,” Alexis says.
“That’s not how magic works. We don't just wave our hands and summon things from the void. Every spell has a source, a cost. To conjure water from literal nothing would be an absurd expenditure of power, assuming it was even possible.”
“Sometimes I forget you’re not a real professor,” I say, turning around and smiling at him.
“Professor?” asks Maximus.
“I’ve been masquerading as a teacher at Validus Vale while trying to find you,” Alexis explains.
I don’t hide my grin when Cosmo explodes. “What the fuck!” he splutters. “How many more secrets are you keeping from me? And wait just a minute, you were a fake, but you still gave me detention? You fucking prick.”
Donovan and Maximus join me in laughing, which makes Cosmo even more irate. Ludo pauses, turning to look at us all.
—Rest for a moment, difficult climb coming—
“Hey, guys. Lu says we should take five, the trail gets harder soon.”
Nobody protests. The lack of water is making this journey increasingly uncomfortable. Leaning against the rough, damp wall, I try to ignore the dryness in my mouth, but it’s a losing battle. My thoughts are conjuring iced lemonades and hot tea, sparkling fountains and gushing waterfalls.
The torturous images are so vivid they feel almost real.
Huh?
An unfamiliar, tingling sensation is stirring deep within my chest. As soon as I notice it, the feeling of warmth begins to spread like wildfire.
What is that?
The sensation intensifies, growing insistent. A deep hum resonates in my core, a dormant current suddenly surging with purpose. My thighs clench. What the heck is going on with me? Am I about to have an orgasm?
I cast a look around the cavern. Have one of those wankers put a ‘Horny Theo' spell on me?
Gods. Energy courses through my belly, compelling me to surrender. It claims every nerve ending.
Suddenly, I know what I must do. And it’s not stick my hand down my panties—thankfully.
I turn, pressing my hands against the cold, unyielding tunnel wall, and channel what I now realize is the magic within me. My arms tremble as the vibrant power throbs along my limbs.
The energy is both wild and inherently familiar.
Why I’m compelled to push my force into this cold cavern wall, I don’t know. But push and strain I do, willing my efforts to be enough.
Enough for what?
And as suddenly as the sensation started, it stops again. Stepping back, I open my eyes.
“Tee-Tee!” Donovan yells in shock.
In front of me, water trickles down the rock face, a thin, shimmering stream that catches the dim light. It flows from a newly formed crevice, a small, miraculous spring in the heart of the desolate tunnel.
The men are gathered around me, their faces illuminated by the glowing orbs, their expressions a mixture of awe and disbelief.
“Um, well, there’s water now, I guess,” I whisper, not quite believing what has just happened. The magic, the power, it was mine.
“DUDE! I love a girl who knows how to get wet!” Maximus yells over Alexis’s shoulder. I ignore his irritating crassness and refocus on the wonder of the moment.
I made water.
And godsdamn—I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck. Magic is hard work.
Magic!
That means I’m no longer a dud.
That means MY SPARK HAS WOKEN UP!
I don’t know how, but I am absolutely sure my very essence is now undeniably awake. Magic flows through my veins as effortlessly as blood.
When my thoughts settle, a quiet, exhausted, contentment takes over my body. So this is what it feels like.
Donovan clutches my face in his hands. “Way to super-nova your power, Tee-Tee.” There’s a broad smile on his lips, and his turquoise eyes are swirling with emotion. “Though if anyone is going to defy expectations, it’s obviously going to be you, my clever little witch.”
"Kiss me," I breathe, the demand slipping out before I can stop it.
He doesn't hesitate. He crushes his mouth to mine, hard and hungry. I melt into him, the exhaustion of the spell vanishing under the heat of his body. He pushes me back against the damp rock wall, his thigh slotting between my legs, pressing right against the ache the magic woke up.
"Gods, baby," he groans against my lips.
I wind my hands into his hair, ready to climb him right here in the tunnel, when a throat clears loudly.
“Must you?” Cosmo snaps.
Donovan breaks the kiss but keeps me pinned, resting his forehead against mine for a second before turning to glare at Cosmo. He doesn't let go of my waist. "Yes, I must, and show my girl the respect she’s due. She’s just made water for fucks sake. She’s a miracle.”
Cosmo snorts. “Miracle is a little overblown, but I’ll admit, she seems to have her uses.”
Gently letting go of my body, Donovan moves towards Cosmo, pushing a finger into his shoulder. “Theo probably has more power than the rest of us combined,” he growls. “Time you changed your tune, Cos.”
I turn my gaze to Cosmo. “It’s OK, Donovan. He’s probably just intimidated by my greatness.”
A laugh echoes down the tunnel. I glance past Cosmo to Alexis. He nods his approval. Lol.
Now I’ve got magic—plus Donovan, Ludo, and Alexis at my back—my days of being intimidated by Cosmo Drakeward are over. I take another cupped hand of the cool water and delight in the way the liquid soothes my throat.
But all the pleasure evaporates when I picture Wes down here.
Lost and thirsty.
“Breaks over,” I say, straightening up. “Let’s go.”