As I righted myself in the boat, a loud splash echoed before a creature suddenly emerged from the murky depths, screaming loudly. Its long, pale green body was indeed serpentine, with wide, orange frills on each side of its head that flared out as it screamed. Its eyes were pure black, and its mouth was full of sharp, jagged teeth, perfect for ripping and tearing.
I ducked down to fumble for the spear at the bottom of the boat. The serpent’s teeth clashed together instead of getting my flesh, and Calix’s long pole swung into it, hitting it in its midsection and causing it to scream once more before diving back into the water.
“What in Tartarus?” I panted, hefting the spear into my hand.
“Stay ready, that thing definitely isn’t done,” Calix instructed, his eyes surveying the water darkly. He was practically bristling, and I knew he wouldn’t move an inch until the threat to me was taken care of.
“I will, but you need to get us moving.” I insisted sternly. “You focus on steering like a good boy, and I’ll take care of fighting the brutal river monster.” I smiled cheekily, but he wasn’t having it, his eyes narrowing at me.
“Asteria—”
“I can take care of it,” I promised, grabbing his hand. “Trust me.”
“Always.” He sighed at my plea, a small smile forming. “I just can’t help but worry about you.”
“Well, worry about getting us over this river,” I smirked. “Teamwork.”
He huffed a laugh, shaking his head, but he moved back to the front of the boat to focus on steering. The paths kept changing, the maze of flame closing in some places, opening in new ones, but we were slowly getting closer and closer to the other side. As long as whatever that serpent monster was didn’t get us, we would get through this.
And I certainly wasn’t going down thanks to an overpowered snake.
I watched the water, noticing the small bubbles and ripples coming closer from the left. My fingers curled around the spear, and as it got closer, I breathed in deeply, readying myself.
It erupted from the water silently this time, but I heaved the spear forward. Its black eyes narrowed to slits as it cut to the right, and I just barely clipped one of the fins running down its back before hitting the water. I swore as it disappeared into the depths once more. My eyes shot in every direction, feeling the paranoia growing, knowing that it could come from anywhere.
I heard it before I saw it, and I spun around quickly, bringing the spear up—but not fast enough. Sharp teeth cut through the flesh of my shoulder, and I screamed in agony. It felt like serrated daggers were slicing into my bones as its teeth sank deeper.
“Asteria!” Calix shouted as he turned toward me, but I was already moving. I forced myself to push through the pain—and Nox, I’d never felt anything so painful. Even Cyrus’s dagger didn’t hurt like this. Moving with its jaw locked around my shoulder was like liquid fire shooting through me. But I managed to get the spear into my other hand, the monster too busy slurping my blood to notice.
I rammed the spear through its neck, and its teeth finally released me as it screamed. It tried to slink back to the water, but the spear in its neck kept it in place. The snake-like monster began to thrash around, and I struggled to hold onto the weapon as it slithered, tears running down my eyes from the overwhelming agony. We struggled, both of us injured, but as the thing flailed backward, I tipped that way, too, and we hit just the right angle for the spear to slide out of its neck.
I watched it despair as it fell back into the water.
The green hue of its blood spread around the boat, making the already murky water impossible to see through. I reached up to grab my throbbing shoulder, but Calix was already there.
“Asteria, look at me!” he shouted, panic lacing his voice, and I realized he must have been calling me. I shook my head, trying to bring myself back into focus. His hand was over the wound, putting pressure on it, but the pain lessened—absurdly quickly. My eyes narrowed as I lifted Calix’s hand and looked at where jagged teeth had sunk in.
Blood stained my shoulder and Calix’s hand, but the holes in my skin were completely gone already. Fae healing was a Tartarus of a thing. I had only experienced it once, but I’d been so close to dying then that I couldn’t really appreciate it.
“I’m okay.” I panted, my shock fading as my body relaxed. Calix’s forehead hit mine, his own breath harsh in my ears. “Sorry I scared you.”
He pressed a kiss to my forehead before leaning back to meet my eyes. “Let’s not do that again.”
I laughed hoarsely, nodding in agreement. We were still not quite at the other side of the river, however, and while I’d injured that beast, it wasn’t dead. I certainly didn’t want to see it any angrier than it’d already been.
“That thing is going to be pissed, so we should probably get moving again before it comes back,” I suggested. Calix seemed torn, his fingers running softly over my shoulder, but his eyes cut over to the bank of the river. I smiled softly, it was cute that he was still worried about me, but decidedly unnecessary.
“Come on, I want off this river,” I told him firmly, and Calix sighed, nodding reluctantly. He began to steer us once more, navigating the maze as he looked back and forth, seeing patterns in the flames I couldn’t discern myself. But it was working, and I thanked the gods something was going right.
I kept watch on the water, the spear back in my hand as I waited. Hopefully, it was off, licking its wound and leaving us in peace. When I started to see movement in the water again, I braced myself, sitting low with my spear up. The anticipation was killing me. The slow movement, the lapping of the water against the boat, my knuckles creaking as I tightened my grip…
It surged up from the river, its teeth bared and eyes slit as it stared me down. I watched it carefully, and shifted subtly to the left so I could move quickly out of the way as it made to bite, and threw myself in that direction fully as I brought the spear forward and thrust upward, piercing its midsection. It screamed shrilly, the flared frills on its head waving back and forth. But as it flailed upward, I followed its movement with the spear, cutting through the thinner skin of its underside and opening it up from mid-body to its jaw.
It squirmed around the spear, shrieking and yelling, but as the spear finished its arc, the snake-monster’s mouth split in two as I pulled it free. I watched with satisfaction as the thing fell, finally dead. It’s foul body half draped on the side of the small boat.
I hadn’t even realized we were near the other side of the river, but we came to a sudden stop at the bank. I panted, looking at Calix, who was smiling proudly at me. I laughed incredulously, throwing the green-tinted spear down and reaching over to hug him. He dragged me over, away from the disgusting monster, and into his arms. I hung from his neck, burying my face in his shoulder as my adrenaline waned.
When we pulled back, I looked around to get my bearings, and saw there was only a long, rocky path leading downhill from where the Styx flowed.
