Page 36 of Crimson Skies

Cedric straightened and scanned his surroundings. “Has Eden returned?”

Cassius shook his head. “Not yet.”

The Dryad prince’s shoulders drooped.

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Lines wrinkledAtropos’s brow as she studied the portals in the sky. “Where are Kes and Alecto?”She looked anxiously at her newly arrived siblings.“Did they not come with you?”

Lachesis sighed. “They have been delayed.”

Clotho’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “That scoundrel Pan abandoned our sisters.He told them he’d sniffed out some big prey and was going hunting.”

Megaera narrowed her eyes. “That horny bastard is probably cavorting with Demetrius right as we speak.”

Tisiphone didn’t look in the least bit surprised by this.

“Don’t worry, Attie,” she told the eldest Moira. “Ten and I would know if they were in trouble.”

Wilcox’s face glazed over a little at this candid exchange. A yelp escaped him when rhythmic tremors started shaking the ground. Ladon was making his way over with the Hesperides and the queen of the Naiads.

The otherworldly armies amassed in the park parted respectfully to make way for the dragon and the Goddesses while the human soldiers gaped at the beast, faces slack and weapons dangling limply in their hands.

“He’s not—feral, is he?!” Wilcox mumbled.

“He’s a vegetarian,” Tenebra reassured the mayor.

Wilcox started to relax.

“But he does eat his enemies,” Orena piped up.

The blood drained from Wilcox’s face. He swayed a little.

“What?” Orena said blithely at her sisters’ pointed stares.

Even Strickland was looking at the Moira like he wanted to say something.

Resonance throbbed through Cassius as Daphne scaled the ridge with Ladon and the Hesperides. He tensed, his pulse quickening. His gaze locked on the lake at the bottom of the hill.

It started to shimmer.

“What—what’s happeningnow?!” Wilcox wailed.

“Don’t worry.” Happiness sent Cassius’s heart thumping against his ribs. “It’s a portal to Rain Vale.”

Theo and Victor landed beside him just as the final gateway opened.

Kalliste was the first to rise from the water. Her crown gleamed atop her long, ash-blonde hair and her cape fluttered within the barrier of wind that carried her. Flowers blossomed under her feet when she stepped gracefully onto the grassy banks.

Lush greenery filled the surface of the lake and the woodland around it as Galatea followed with their troops.

The queen of the Nymphs scanned her surroundings. Her face brightened when she spotted Cassius and Theo. She started briskly toward them, her eyes shining with pleasure.

An enthusiastic Sea Goddess overtook her.

The Dryads startled. Menippe darted between them, as quick as light.

She skidded to a halt before Asteria, put her hands on her hips, and narrowed her eyes at the eagle looming above her. “Back away, birdie.” She jerked her chin at Cassius. “That demigod is mine.”