I stumbled onto the deck and coughed up cold, bloody water. Falling to my knees, I observed the destroyed corpse of the hydra, where eight stumps hung limp on its unmoving body.
Seth boarded behind me. He glanced at me, then the corpse, and broke out into a laugh.
“Maiden’s grace!” He grabbed his arm. “Did you just kill a fuckinghydra?”
Seth sounded downright giddy.Giddy.
“Seas,” Eleos cursed. “I thought you were about to obliterateme.”
“Oh gods.” I staggered to my feet. “If I’d known you were here, I wouldn’t have—”
The sound of movement cut me off. Whirling around, I watched as the hydra’s body stirred. The stumps rose from thewater, new flesh forming on their ends as the heads started to regrow.
If hydras were real, why should I have doubted the tales of their regrowing heads?
Cut their heads off, and more regrow. Had I doomed us?
Grabbing the oar, Eleos plunged it into the lake and pushed the boat forward.
“Eleos,” Seth called. “We’re going to need your plan after all.”
Eleos shoved the oar into my hands. “Row,” he ordered, pulling a dagger from his belt.
Obeying, I thrust the oar back into the water, rowing as quickly as my flimsy arms allowed. Pain throbbed through my arm, and I strained to ignore it.
Eleos ripped the dagger across his arm, severing an artery. A waterfall of blood gushed down his wrist, rushing in an upside-down arc as it streamed toward the floor before rising toward Seth’s outstretched hand.
The first head reformed as pink flesh before scales emerged to cover the blood and bone. A second followed, jaws snapping as its blue eyes swung in our direction. The remaining heads followed suit until the creature was whole again.
I ducked as the spell Seth was channeling took shape above our heads: an enormous crimson arrow like that of a ballista, or a harpoon. With a wave of his hand, Seth sent it flying into the hydra. The artillery tore through the furthest neck before slamming it into the wall, pinning one of its heads in place.
Pressing a hand to his bleeding arm, Eleos stared down the monster, eye twitching in concentration. The aggression in the hydra’s eyes dimmed, and its thrashing movements slowed. Its irises shrank, and its body language changed.
The pinned head thrashed and flailed like an animal caught in a trap. One by one, the heads dove beneath the water, as though desperately seeking shelter. Clumsily slamming into the walls, the hydra fled from us.
Fled.
It wasscared. I blinked at Eleos in disbelief. Had he done that?
Could psyches bewitchmonsters, too?
The cavern trembled again, and a boulder dislodged from theceiling, crashing into the lake behind us. A wave ripped toward us, catching our tiny boat in its midst and driving us forward. I slammed into the bow and clutched its soaked wood for dear life.
Wood scraped against rock. Our boat struck something solid and ground to a halt. I was tossed onto smooth, hard stone, landing on my bad elbow before rolling over myself. Groaning in pain, I pressed my palm into the ground and pushed my head up.
Eleos and Seth had landed nearby, no more gracefully than I had. The assassin found his feet first and limped to my side. He pulled me into his arms, eyes flaring in concern when I hissed in pain.
“Are you hurt?” Seth asked, helping me stand.
“If I wasn’t,” I said, cradling my injured elbow. “I might start thinkingIwas a god.”
A small smile tugged at Seth’s lips. He touched his arm, where the hydra’s teeth had penetrated his wing and grazed his skin. “Three wounded arms, for one hydra. Not bad.” He turned to Eleos. “I guess your plan worked, after all. Do you frighten dragons often?”
Clamping a hand on his bleeding arm, Eleos shook his head. “Before today, I’d never seen one. But, it’s incredible what can happen when you stop tothink, no?” Sarcasm dripped from his words. He glanced at me, observed me briefly, and returned his gaze to Seth.
Eleos’ expression shifted, eyes narrowing, lips drawing into a thin line. Striding forward, he raised his good arm and curled his fingers into a fist.
Crack. Eleos punched Seth square in the nose, with enough force to snap Seth’s head to the side.
