“I think Phoebe is right. Your magic is responding to being in the Unseelie realm. Listen to it the way you listen to your intuition. Trust it, okay?”
Koios nodded and reached for the orb again. He pushed it against the bottom of the inset. The wall shifted and an opening appeared.
“I’ll go first,” Phoebe said. “If it’s keyed to metal magic, I’m the only one other than my brother who can proceed.”
“Phoebe, wait?—”
“Follow behind me, Koios.”
Ben glanced at Logan, waiting for the alpha’s direction.
“Follow her,” Logan said. “We’ll watch your backs.”
Jack shot Ben a look.Be careful.
Ben nodded. He stayed behind Koios as Phoebe crept forward into the narrow opening. Luckily, they didn’t have to go far. Phoebe stopped suddenly and Koios gasped.
“Ben, quick.”
Ben darted forward and found Garzaxie huddled in a ball on the cold stone floor. He dropped to his knees beside the tiny hobgoblin and checked his upper arm for a pulse. Their circulatory system worked differently. Fortunately Ben was well-versed in their needs and was able to find a heartbeat.
“Garzaxie,” Ben said as he did a quick limb check. “Come on. Wake up. It’s Ben Jerrick. Talk to me, my friend.”
Garzaxie groaned and blinked open his huge eyes. “Ben Jerrick, friend of Cosmo.”
“It’s me. I’m here. What can I do to help you?” Ben slipped off his backpack as he spoke and opened the larger pocket. He slipped on gloves before pressing a compress to a large bleeding wound above Garzaxie’s eyes.
“Did you bring the broken one?”
Ben glanced over his shoulder. “I did. Koios is here. I also have his twin sister.”
Garzaxie coughed as he looked over Ben’s shoulder. Koios knelt down beside Ben. “I’m here. You had Tyson ask for me. Why?”
“Tyson,” Garzaxie said. He grabbed Ben’s arm and squeezed.
“He’s alive,” Ben said. “We were able to get him stabilized. That’s the last I know before we came to help you.”
“I knew you’d come,” Garzaxie said. “Cosmo…the manticore took his hair. Powerful spell cast. Using faun song to kill Silenus.”
“My goddess,” Taj gasped. “If Cosmo kills his mate, then he’ll die as well. They completed the ritual hunt. Their fates are bound together.”
“Where are they?” Ben asked.
“Throne room.” Garzaxie coughed. Blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth. “Thudlez there.”
“We’ll save your mate,” Koios swore, taking Garzaxie’s hand in his. “We’re going to end this once and for all.”
“He fears you, the cursed one,” Garzaxie said.
Koios glanced at Ben. That beautiful brain of his worked so fast. “The manticore knows of the curse?” Koios asked.
“Yes. Fears the metal gods and their unknown magics.”
Ben continued patching up as many wounds as he could on Garzaxie, but the hobgoblin would heal best with time and his mate at his side.
“We’ve got to get to the throne room,” Ben said. “If Cosmo is using his faun song…we don’t have much time.”
“Garzaxie, the orb that allowed us to enter this room, can we retrieve it? Can it be keyed to lead us to the manticore?”
