“Find the traitor!” they chanted as they rushed from the room to begin a search.
“Wow.” Falcyn let out a nervous laugh. “Charonte are some scary beasts. Basically flying piranha, except piranha aren’t nearly as… hungry.”
“No kidding. Makes you wonder what the Lemurians were thinking when they created them.”
“That they hated the Atlanteans.”
The four of them stared at Falcyn for his flat-toned response.
“What? I was there… ish. It was what they were created to attack.”
“Then how did they end up enslaved to the Atlanteans?” Medea was dying to know.
“Same way you ended up with a dragonstone.”
She scowled at his answer. “Huh?”
“The queen found the only set of chains that could hold a truly feral beast. She captured the heart of their leader. Took him deep into her lair, warmed him with her fire, and made it so that he never wanted to leave her side ever again.”
Those words melted her as she understood the underlying meaning and what he was saying not just about the Charonte, but about himself. “And is the dragon tamed?”
“Never, my lady Daimon. Like a Charonte, you can never tame so savage a beast. Only make him crave the fire where you are more than the cold where he used to live.”
Her father laughed. “I would be angry over this, but I can’t help thinking that having our own dragon can’t possibly be a bad thing.”
Falcyn scoffed at her father’s words. “Unless you piss me off, Stryker, I wouldn’t advise doing that.”
“Ditto.”
“Then do we have an accord?”
Stryker dropped his gaze to Medea. “So long as you treat my daughter with all due regard and like the queen she is, we will have no problems, you and I.”
“Then we will never have a problem.”
“Except for the god who is still out to end us.” Medea scowled as she met Falcyn’s gaze. “This isn’t over. Apollo’s not finished with us, as the strykyn proved. You’ve saved my parents. But we still have a traitor to find.”
Falcyn shook his head at her, then glanced over to Davyn. “Chicken Little?”
“Always. She can’t help herself.”
And he still had his son to free. Somehow.
Overwhelmed and losing hope by the second, Falcyn sighed. “I need to see to my sister. Make sure she’s all right with the others.”
Medea stepped forward. “I’ll come with you.”
“You sure?”
She nodded. “Just don’t let me burst into flames.”
“I’ll do my best on that, as it would ruin my best day, and I’m sure it wouldn’t make yours, either.” He held his hand out for her. The moment he felt her touch, a strange flutter went through his chest. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever get used to having such tender feelings for someone else. To having a living weakness.
Honestly? He didn’t like it. It was hard to know that she was an easy means to his destruction. That alone made him want to push her away and deny her. He hated the feeling of vulnerability she wrought.
She narrowed her gaze at him. “You okay?”
No. He had a new, profound respect for her as he realized just how much strength she possessed. The fact that she’d been able to survive without her child and husband…
