Jake growled.
“Yeah, they don't you guys either.” I made a face. “She was wearing Hades's amulet too. It was bad. So, I scared some striges, sending them off in their general direction and startled the centaurs. They dropped her, I grabbed her, and got her away.”
“That won you a place in the Isles?” Cyrus asked.
“I haven't finished yet.” I grimaced at him and then took a slow sip of my coffee.
Cyrus rolled his eyes.
“Now, where was I? Oh, yeah. So Wren told me why she was there and how she needed to get to the Blessed Isles to—”
“Hold on. We go to the Blessed Isles if we die?” Lex asked.
“Of course you do. Where else would you go after serving a god?”
“I just never thought about it.” He shared a look with the others.
“What? Rethinking life? Seeing death as early retirement?” I lifted a brow. “I'll tell you what. I'll meet you there.”
“Don't even joke about dying, Salina.” Cyrus rubbed a hand over his face, massaging his eyes. “Fuck.”
“Okay, shit. Relax,” I muttered. Then I went on, “Anyway, I led Wren to the bridge, which is guarded by a hydra, and told her about the hydra. My part was done. I was going to leave her to it, and I did, but I ended up watching over her from the trees. I knew she wouldn't do well without me. That girl was a mess before I possessed her.” I shook my head.
“Salina,” Lex growled.
“I'm getting to it. For fuck's sake, learn some patience,” I huffed. “So, off Wren went to save her man, certain that Hades's amulet would stop the hydra from attacking her.” I rolled my eyes. “I told her the thing had nine heads. Nine heads mean nine brains and nine times the chance that one of them wouldn't give a fuck about Hades's amulet. It also meant eighteen eyes. And she had to cross a crystal bridge. Crystal. As in transparent. Butdid she listen to me? No, she had to go save her man. She was in love, and love makes you dumb.”
I took another sip of coffee while the men grimaced at each other.
“Wren thought she was prepared, but she froze as soon as she saw the monster. I mean, yeah.” I shrugged. “It's fucking terrifying. Nine heads! Big, monstrous, sea serpenty heads full of sharp teeth. And they were all focused on Wren. There she was, looking like the little bird she was named after. Prey to a massive predator. Well, as pathetic as she is, Wren's my girl. She and I are tight. There was no fucking way that I would let her face that thing alone. So I ran out to the edge of the water and shouted at her to buck up, buttercup.”
“Buck up, buttercup?” Cyrus snorted a laugh.
“It's my thing.” I glared at him.
He stopped laughing.
“You see, I hadn't told her who I was. I didn't want that weighing on her, you know?” I swallowed past my suddenly dry throat. Emotions rose. I wasn't prepared for that, but I forged on. “When I said that, she recognized me. And it bolstered her courage. She held up her amulet and pulled a Gandalf—you know, 'You will let me pass.’”
Jake scowled. “That's not what Gandalf said.”
The other two gaped at him.
“What?” Jake huffed. “That's not the line. Gandalf said, 'You cannot pass.'”
“I thought he said, 'You shall not pass?'” Cyrus asked.
“No, he's right,” Lex said. “It's misquoted a lot. He says, ‘You cannot pass.’”
“Oh, my God, are you done?” I growled. “Do you want to hear about my awesome deed or would you rather discuss elves and hobbits?”
The men hung their heads.
“No, we're good. Go on,” Cyrus said.
“So, anyway.” I rolled my eyes. “It didn't work. The hydra didn't give a shit about that amulet. But Wren had one more trick up her sleeve, or rather, in the amulet. There was a tiny dagger hidden in that thing. My girl pulled that dagger and faced off with—” I had to stop, my throat constricting as the scene whooshed into technicolor detail in my mind. There Wren was again, looking so little, so fragile compared to that monster. But she didn't back down. Not my Wren.
“Salina?”
