Gimme!She made grabby hands.
Her father held it just out of her reach. “Like Roc, Roux will have thirty days to win or lose his task. If you cannot kill him, you have only to keep him trapped in the Ation realm. When the thirty days ends, the curse will fall upon all Astra, and killing Roux will no longer be a problem for you.”
With firstone in her possession, how could she fail? But. What her father proposed struck her as too easy. Too good. A trap?
Why set her up, though? What could be his end goal?
Granted, Erebus cared nothing for her or her safety. He never had, and he never would. And most days, she didn’t care. He wasn’t worth an emotion. Long ago, he’d attacked Harpina, murdering hundreds of innocent harpies, all to coerce her mother into spending the night with him to conceive Blythe. He was a bona fide monster.
After she ended Roux’s life, she intended to target Erebus. The Astra were right to detest him. The Dark One had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. He was pure evil, loyal only to himself, and lacking any type of moral compass. But for now, she needed him.The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
“You were born to defeat the Astra from the inside out,” he said. A mantra she’d heard before. “Do things my way, and you will succeed. Nothing will stop you.”
Still her instincts pinged. Something more was going on here. “Why don’tyouventure into Ation?”
“And give the residents another male to covet?” He spread his arms, as if he were some kind of prize. “Believe me. You’ll want them focused solely on Roux.”
Her attention returned to the Astra. He jerked up his head, meeting her gaze, and she gasped. He could see her?
His lids slitted, and his lips compressed into a thin line. But. He didn’t leap into a defense position. He scanned the chamber, crimson sparks burning brighter and brighter in his irises.
Hmm. Maybe hecouldn’tsee her. She waited, curious to learn what he’d do next.
Moving as slow as molasses, he unfolded from the bed. The sheer breadth of him swallowed up the space, making the square footage seem to shrink. After cracking the bones in his neck, he rolled back his shoulders. Preparing for battle?
Erebus chortled with glee. “I don’t know how, but one or both of us has been detected. How wonderful. How wonderful indeed.”
Wonderful? Not really the word she’d pick.
“Best you go, my dear, before it’s too late.” Her father brandished a hand toward a wall, where a large red door with strange symbols carved into the wood appeared.
Roux ran his tongue over his teeth. “Show yourself. Come on. Don’t be shy now.”
“I grow tired of waiting, daughter.” Erebus waved the dagger in her direction. “Will you win, or will you lose?”
Blythe looked between the two males, wanting to face off with Roux here and now but also eager to oversee his vengeance. What if this was her only way into Ation?
“I’ll go.” Wings rippling, she swiped the firstone dagger and its sheath. A hum of power slipped up her arm, and she nodded with satisfaction. Right decision.
Growing more determined by the second, she strode over and twisted the red door’s knob. An overwarm handle. No, not just overwarm but searing. She hissed as pain flared, but she didn’t let go of her prize.
Determined, she pushed her way through the block...
Suddenly, she stood in the center of a damp, dark cave. Cold air roused goose bumps on her exposed flesh. But she couldn’t complain. The air carried an intoxicating scent. Like nothing she’d ever encountered.
She looked here and there. Rocky walls speckled with crystal surrounded her. A steadydrip,dripof water filled her ears. Hmm.
Thiswas the infamous Ation? Yes, the smell rocked. But the sights left something to be desired.
She gazed over her shoulder, intending to snap questions at her father. Her jaw dropped. The door. It was gone. Had vanished as if it had never existed.
Deep breath in, out. If Erebus had sent her anywhere other than Ation... No, surely not. Why would he do so? He might not care about her well-being, but he despised the Astra as much as she did. She—movement behind her!
Wings buzzing, Blythe whipped around, sliding the dagger from the pouch. A shadow traveled closer in a blink, swooping down and punching the top of her sternum. Impact sent her stumbling back amid a chorus of feminine laughter.
Thankfully, she recovered quickly. Wait. The being hadn’t punched her sternum; no, the being had punched through the bone, meeting Blythe’s spirit and adhering some kind of ruby to it. A ruby that manifested in her flesh only a blink later.
What was...why... A flood of weakness infiltrated her limbs.So dizzy.In seconds, she was tottering. Usually, such feebleness came when a harpy’s wings were pinned. But hers remained free. Even still, only iron determination kept her upright with the dagger in her hand as her strength continued to drain.