I didn’t respond for a moment, trying to envision such things. It was practically beyond comprehension. He and Achilles were very good at making my heart ache.
“You’ve been to such places?”
He offered a casual shrug. “Some of them. Others are stories I stole from dying men … figured they wouldn’t be needing them anymore.”
“Makes one wonder why you would leave such places,” I mused.
His eyes turned hard. “Because even paradise can rot. And sometimes the monsters you fear aren’t something you flee … but something you’ve brought with you.”
My eyes widened as I studied him.
The fierceness in his gaze ebbed, replaced by something lighter, more insufferable. His smirk tugged back into place. “Or maybe … I just got bored, Your Majesty.”
“I’m sure that’s it,” I said sarcastically.
The tang of ozone suddenly thickened on my tongue. My pulse spiked.
“You—” My hand flew to the dagger at my waist. In one swift motion, I yanked it free and leveled the blade at his chest. “You’re using your magic. On me!”
My hand shook as I realized what I’d done … Gods, I’d actually pulled steel on him. A dagger pressed to his ribs.
Theron only cocked his head, utterly unbothered, as though the blade were nothing more than a child’s toy aimed his way. His gaze slid to the knife, then back to me. “She does have teeth,” he murmured. “And I do have one small correction, if I may.”
“What?” I growled … only making his lips stretch wider.
“I wastryingto use it on you.”
My grip tightened. “Trying?”
A faint crease tugged at his brow. “I wanted to see if I could read you.”
My blood boiled at the latest revelation of his power. “Well? Did you get anything?”
For the first time, his easy expression slipped. His eyes narrowed, searching my face as though the answer might give itself away. Finally, he shook his head once. “Nothing. You’re a wall.”
A bitter laugh scraped my throat as I lowered the dagger. “Trust me,” I said, spitting each word, “you don’t want to see the thoughts in my head.”
His gaze gleamed. “I would highly disagree with that.”
My eyes held on Theron … until the sea shivered.
A ripple tore across the starboard side, dragging my gaze to the water just as the surface broke. Foam burst upward in violent spatters, red and frothing, hissing against the hull like breath ferried from some vast throat below.
I seized the railing and my knuckles blanched as the wood bit into my palms. “Gods,” I whispered, eyes locked on the churning crimson water. “What is that?”
Theron’s smile widened into something feral. “Our welcoming party.”
The ship lurched violently, pitching us sideways. Shouts erupted as sailors lost their grip on the oars, wood splintering as some snapped against the swell. The mast groaned, ropes whipping loose. And then … the sea split open.
A vast coil surged skyward, thick with muscle, scales gleaming black as onyx. Water poured off its hide in sheets, seeming to turn into blood as it crashed back into the waves. The shadow of it alone dwarfed the ship.
I was shaking as I glanced back briefly to see that the other ships were all veering wide, their oars biting hard into the red waves as soldiers shouted commands. Crimson sails snapped as triremes swung in sharp arcs, steering clear of the serpent thrashing at our hull. Crews pulled frantically, their bronze-tipped prows cutting away, leaving ours isolated in the monster’s coil.
Theron, of course, hadn’t so much as flinched. He watched the serpent rise as if it were nothing more than a dithyramb singer stumbling late to Dionysus’s festival. “Ah. I was wondering when she’d decide to make an appearance.”
I snapped my head toward him. “What?”
“She’s a sea serpent,” he said, squinting against the spray. “Wraps herself around ships and squeezes till the timbers crack. A flair for theatrics, that one.”
