“I’d appreciate that.” I mumble around a yawn. “Sorry. That was rude. I must be more drained than I thought.”
“It’s quite alright, you’ve been a lovely companion this last hour.” She says, lifting her wing like a blanket. I surprise myself as I hop up onto the giant bed and lay down with my head on her huge claws, using the closest one like a pillow. She tucks her wing around me gently, sealing in the warmth from her body.
“Mind if I ask, do you really eat people?”
“Bit late to be asking that, isn’t it?” She laughs. “I’ve only ever eaten one person and he tasted awful. It’s not something I ever wish to do again, but it does make a great threat.”
“Yes. Yes it does.” I whisper, closing my eyes.
I’m almost asleep when I swear I hear her whisper, “Sweet dreams, my friend. I’ll watch over you this night and many more to come.”
TWENTY-FIVE
SETH
We’ve been trapped in this damn cell for hours. I have no idea why Zeus thought it would be a good idea to cage us, but it’s a pretty effective punishment considering all we’ve done is argue over how we’re going to get out of here to find Ryxa.
I’m not even sure what the time is when someone finally comes storming into the dungeon with a light far too bright.
“Well, you three really know how to piss people off, don’t you?” Ares laughs as he leans on the bars of the cage. “I hope you all got plenty of rest, especially if you’re going to make it to Hecatate’s cavern in time to rescue your human.” He waves his hand and the cell door opens.
“What do you mean-.” I don’t get the chance to finish asking the question before Ares vanishes.
“They wouldn’t throw her into the dragon’s cavern to die, would they?” I ask, looking at my brothers in panic.
“It would certainly explain why they locked us in a cage. They must have needed time to find her and then take her there.” Kier replies, his voice rising with every word.
“No point standing around arguing over it.” Ty says, walking towards the exit. “If he’s telling the truth then she needs us. Now, not in twenty minutes when we finally stop arguing.”
“Well, let’s go then.” I call over my shoulder as I race up the passageway ahead of them.
We make good time, crossing the entire castle grounds in minutes when it would usually take half an hour at least. I’m not even sure how we manage to run that fast, but I don’t question our luck as we stop in front of the door we were told to never try opening.
“Let’s hope she’s not in the mood for human.” I mutter as I push the level that opens the door.
Together we step into the room, letting the door close behind us. The mechanism that opens the inner door won’t activate if the outer door is open. I only know that because we did some research on the entire palace when we first arrived. Our father, Typhon, drilled into us from an early age that you can’t live somewhere safely if you don’t know the layout.
Kier is the first through the door and into the cavern. He doesn’t hesitate like I do, but the moment I see the shoeprints in the light coating of dust, I know she’s here. On silent feet, we creep through the first cavern, searching for any signs of our girl or the dragon.
The footsteps in the dust seem to vanish about a hundred yards into the cavern, which makes my heart stop for a second before I shake the fear of losing Ryxa away. There’s no blood on the ground, so either the dragon didn’t eat her or she’s exceptionally good at eating without making a mess.
After far too long, we emerge into a second cavern. This one is smaller, but it isn’t empty. The huge, green dragon is sound asleep, curled up in a ball with her wing folded out oddly at her side. Movement beneath the wing has me creeping closer.
“That’s far enough. I will not allow you to harm my friend.” The female voice comes from the dragon, shocking me into stopping so suddenly that Kier runs right into my back.
“Dragons can talk?” Ty mutters.
“And we can hear very well. Why are you sneaking into my home?” She growls, tucking her wing tighter to her side.
“We’re looking for someone. She’s about five foot seven, long silvery-blonde hair, exceptional beauty but her most striking features are her icy blue eyes. They almost appear clear at times.”
“What do you want with this girl?”
I hold my hand up, stopping my brothers from moving any closer. “Well, we actually thought we were rescuing her from you. Ares said-.”
“Ares, again? My friend, that God has clearly lost his mind if he's sending you and now these boys here.”
“It’s okay, Hecatate, these are the Gods I was telling you about.” Hearing her voice come from under the wing is like hearing an angel speak for the first time. I completely understand why Kier insists on calling her Angel now.