“Angel!” I called.
My hellhound grinned and swam toward us. When he reached me, he shook his hide excitedly and splashed water all over Héctor’s and my face.
“Damn hound,” Héctor grunted.
I hugged my hellhound’s two heads, and his rough tongues rolled out and licked my jaw. I scratched the back of his ears and ordered him to track Axel and Paxton.
“I haven’t seen Lucifer and Ares anywhere either,” Zak said.
“I hope they drowned,” I said. “If not, there’s no justice in the universe.”
“We’ll stab them as soon as they surface,” Héctor said. “We have the advantage now.”
I nodded my agreement and reluctantly left Héctor’s lap. He wasn’t willing to let me go, either, but we had tasks at hand.
Lucifer and Ares never came out of the water. Neither did my mates.
CHAPTER 6
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Héctor, Zak, and I shouted for Axel and Paxton again and again. A surge of anxiety churned in my stomach, worse than lethal acid.
I wanted to dive back into the water to look for them, but both Héctor and Zak objected vehemently. I didn’t want either of them to get into the rapids and become lost as well.
Finally Zak stopped on the riverbank, frowning. “I feel magic where we stand. I think something is messing with us.”
Héctor nodded, but didn’t elaborate.
“Please don’t tell me that Paxton and Axel are in a parallel universe,” I said anxiously, pulling Héctor’s wet sleeve.
Anything could happen in the Void. Most likely bad things.
“We don’t know it yet, Lamb,” Héctor said, pulling me to his side. “We’re blind in this realm, but we’ll manage. We’ll find them.”
“We need to stick together,” I said desperately. I was at my wit’s end.
“We’ll figure it out,” Zak said.
“On second thought, it’s better we let them come to us,” Héctor said. “You’re our anchor, Lamb. They’ll come to you.” He gave me a warning look, though it was still brimmed with fondness. “But if you run around wild, they’ll lose your trail.”
“I’m not running around wild!” I said.
Héctor brushed a kiss above my eyelids and stopped the rest of my protest.
The three of us trod back upstream where we had jumped, then traced back down the bank. My hellhound trotted ahead of us to track the scent of my missing demigods. Other than the rushing river, cliffs on either side, and the long, narrow shore, there wasn’t a soul in sight, except for Zak, Héctor, Angel, and me.
I shivered in the frigid wind. My damp clothes sticking to my skin only made me shudder more.
“We’ll wait here and get our mate warm and dry before we continue,” Zak decided.
“We don’t want my Lamb to catch a cold,” Héctor agreed.
“I’ve never caught a cold in my life,” I countered them.
“Your magic might not protect you in the Void,” Héctor said. “Quit arguing.”
Right, my mates ruled half of the Earth, and they weren’t used to anyone contesting them. They tried to treat me as an equal to their best ability, but often their old dominant habits would surface, especially when it concerned my safety and wellbeing.