Blinking stupidly, Terena had no response. Looking down at the cuffs she was about to speak when he rose.
“I should not be here,” he said softly as if to himself. “But I had to see her again. And then when he put you down here…”
Terena screwed her lips in confusion. What was he talking about?
“Your friends will come for you. But you can free yourself. You are more powerful than you know. Hermes is afraid of you. He’s afraid of… your sister. And he’s afraid of me.”
He rose, moving away from the bars. Terena shifting, trying to stand, but she was too weak.
“Who are you?”
The man glanced at her over his shoulder. Everything about him was hidden by shadows, as if they coated his very skin. She could see nothing of his features beyond the cold glitter of his dark eyes and the shine of his black hair.
“We will meet again, daughter of Ares.”
Terena lifted onto a knee when the man evaporated before her eyes.
Rydon snuckout of his tent to look for Daris. Hermes thought to punish him, Daris, and Sonah by making them sleep outside the palace where the rest of his army was encamped. Or perhaps he thought it better to keep them far from the dungeons where Terena was being held. The shifter, Leander, was in the palace, far from Sonah, ensuring her continued compliance.
As Rydon moved, shouts sounded from the southern side of the camp. Slowing, Rydon frowned, turning his head as he strained to hear what was going on.
Seconds later, firelight arced above him, hitting tents and blazing to life. Rydon cursed, pivoting and racing for Sonah’s tent. The interior was dark, and he stumbled to a halt before he saw the shadowed lump of her body. She was asleep, curled up on her side with furs tucked around her.
Lunging forward, Rydon dropped to his knees, grabbing the furs and tossing them before grabbing hold of Sonah’s shift andyanking her toward him. Yelping, Sonah’s arms flailed out, one hand catching him on the side of his jaw.
“Sonah! Get up! We’re under attack!”
Sonah mumbled something incoherent, but Rydon ignored her as he hauled her up beside him. He searched frantically for her clothes.
“Where the fuck are your clothes? Get dressed! Hurry! Meet me in Daris’s tent. Sonah!” Rydon grabbed the girl by her shoulders as she rubbed at her eyes and yawned. How the fuck could she sleep so soundly after everything?
He gripped her chin, his face so close to hers he could see the whites of her startled, puffy eyes. “Listen! We’re under attack. Get to Daris. West of here, two tents over.”
“Wait, what?”
Rydon shouted a curse, dropping the tent flap as he turned back to her. “Get fucking dressed! And get to Daris! Two tents over. Go west!”
“Which way is west?”
Rydon closed his eyes and clamped his mouth shut. The shouts outside the tent were growing louder. Closer. Someone rushed past, and Rydon spared a glance over his shoulder before he waved his arm at Sonah.
“Turn right outside your tent,” he bit out through clenched teeth. Without another word, he strode out of the tent. Rydon was jarred by a running soldier, grabbing the man’s breastplate instinctively and hurling him out of his path.
He took off running, weaving through the tents as he made his way back to the palace. If he could use this attack to rescue Terena, they could leave with Sonah and the others while Hermes dealt with whatever the fuck this was.
Skidding to a stop, he gawked at the sight before him. An enormous wolf tore through the camp, cutting down Hermes’smen. More wolves appeared, running and grabbing up any soldier in their paths.
Just as Rydon made to turn away, he spotted a giant of a man fling a soldier toward him. Ducking at the last moment, Rydon shot back up as the man sailed over him, and a smile broke out on his face as the giant turned and Rydon saw who it was.
“Melanos!”
The god pivoted, his eyes darting around, and Rydon called out again. Stifling the curse that came to his lips, Rydon raced between tents, dodging past men fighting off the terrifying wolves. Water surged over a group of soldiers to his right, swallowing them up and sweeping them away as the water moved unnaturally toward more of Hermes’s men.
Rydon stared for a second before turning to run.
“Melanos!”
The god spotted him as Rydon stopped running and clapped him on the shoulder, almost knocking Rydon down.
