Despite the horror of what Flynn had found ahead, the jars, the ritual, the twisted science of Keeper Marissa, a profound, illogical sense of safety wrapped around me. With Flynn taking point with feral intensity, his body angled low and his amber eyes tracking movement in the dark, and Kaelen scouting the flanks, his sword glowing with a dull, threatening heat that cast long shadows against the walls, I felt untouchable. Elias moved like a wraith in our wake, silent and watchful, his copper hair flashing like a warning beacon in the gloom.
To the rest of the world, they were the Olympian Princes,monsters, calamitous forces of nature, living weapons forged to act as bait for a cosmic horror. But here, in this suffocating dark tunnel, they were my shield.
My mind, however, refused to stay quiet. Denied physical exertion, my brain seized on the anxiety clawing at my chest, drifting dangerously back to the conversation we’d had before Flynn’s breathless arrival.
The binding. Theritual.
Flynn didn't know yet. The Wolf had been out scouting while Elias had explained how he saw me pregnant in the future. I squeezed my eyes shut, burying my face deeper into Thane’s shoulder, dread pooling in my stomach.How? Then I thoughtabout binding with all of them and how that binding had been implied to take place, and a wave of heat rose within me.
My mind, trained in the Citadel’s logic and rigid structures, strained against the sheer chaotic logistics of it. How could I possibly bond with all of them in a way that was equal? The variables were dizzying. Kaelen was possessive, a dragon guarding his hoard with ruthless efficiency. Flynn was pure instinct and hunger, driven by a primal need to claim. Thane was quiet depth and hesitation, and Elias was... complex, a tapestry of tragic lifetimes.
If I favored one, would the bond imbalance? Would the magic fail, leaving us defenseless? Or worse, would I fracture the fragile, millennia-old brotherhood that had kept them sane through an eternity of darkness?
Breathe, fireheart.
Kaelen’s voice slid into my mind, smooth and scorching as molten gold. He wasn't looking back, his gaze fixed on the darkness ahead, but I felt his awareness brush against mine, a mental caress that was both aggressively comforting and maddeningly distracting.
We will handle the Wolf,Kaelen promised, his mental tone laced with a dry, aristocratic amusement that didn't quite hide the tension tightening his own thoughts.And we will figure out the balance. You do not need to engineer the mechanics of your own seduction while we are running toward a battle. It is... inefficient.
It’s not seduction,I shot back across the mental link, though I knew my cheeks were burning hotter than his sword.It’s survival. It’s duty.
It can be both,came the reply, followed by a sensation that felt suspiciously like a mental smirk, arrogant and assured.Stop thinking, little keeper. Let us do the fighting.
The tunnel began to widen, the oppressive silence giving way to a low, rhythmic droning sound that vibrated in my teeth.
Chanting.
It wasn't the harmonious, melodic prayer of the Keepers I was used to, the kind that soothed the soul and strengthened the Gate. This was discordant, a jagged, scraping sound that grated against the bone. The air grew thick, charged with a static electricity that made the fine hair on my arms stand up. It tasted foul and metallic, like licking a corroded battery, mixed with the cloying, sickly sweetness of rotting fruit.
The princes sped up, their predatory instincts triggered by the proximity of the threat. I could feel their power rising in response, a surge of divine energy preparing to meet violence with violence. The air around us grew heavy with it.
Kaelen’s skin was beginning to glow with dragon fire, faint iridescent scales shimmering along his jawline. Flynn’s gait hitched, his teeth seeming to elongate into a snarl. Even the air around Elias distorted with heat, the smell of ash and cinnamon spiking sharply.
"Stop!" I screamed as a realization smacked into me with all the force of an avalanche.
The command ripped out of my throat, harsh and desperate.
Thane skidded to a halt, the sudden deceleration jarring my teeth. Kaelen spun around in a blur of motion, sword raised, eyes blazing like twin suns. Flynn dropped into a crouch, lips pulled back from his teeth, ready to spring at a threat I hadn't pointed out yet.
"What?" Kaelen demanded, scanning the shadows, his voice sharp with command. "Did you sense a trap? A ward?"
"Put me down," I ordered Thane. He hesitated for a fraction of a second, his grip tightening protectively, before he set me on my feet. His large hand hovered near my elbow to steady me, hiswarmth retreating just enough to let the chill of the cavern bite my skin.
I leaned against the cold damp wall, gasping for air, pointing a shaking finger down the tunnel toward the source of the chanting. The magical pressure radiating from that direction was immense, a sucking chest wound in reality that made my head swim.
"Can't you feel it?" I wheezed, looking between them. They were practically vibrating with power, their magic rushing to the surface in anticipation of the fight. "The pull?"
"We feel the enemy," Flynn growled, his voice guttural and layered with a snarl. His nose twitched, nostrils flaring. "We feel the need to tear throats out. They smell of rot and arrogance."
"No," I said, grabbing Kaelen’s arm as he turned to advance. His skin was fever-hot to the touch, like touching a kettle just before it boils. "The circle. Flynn said it was agestationcircle. They're drawing power from the Titan's bones, trying to grow something."
I looked at the four of them, beacons of immense, condensed magic. The Bait. The ultimate power source.
"If you walk in there," I whispered, the horror of the realization chilling me to the marrow, "lighting up the dark with your divine signatures, won't you just be feeding it? If that circle is designed to absorb magic to grow a god-killer, aren't you just a four-course meal walking right onto the plate?"
The silence that followed was absolute, heavier than the stone above us.
The fire around Kaelen’s sword died instantly, plunging us back into semi-darkness. Elias went pale, his ethereal form flickering as he clamped down hard on his aura, hiding his light. Flynn straightened up, the bloodlust draining from his face to be replaced by a sick, dawning realization.
