Page 95 of The Path of Blood and Betrayals

Fee walks up to my side, crossing her arms. “Fucking idiots.” She seethes. She turns toward me, the only two kept on the outskirts as Reid joins his brother. “They’re all fucking idiots.”

“They’re men,” I mutter, finishing my drink. Her lips twitch suppressing a grin. “What are they saying?” They’re too far for my simple hearing, but not for Fee.

“They want to take Erebus’ Hollow,” she says, sharply. “Kaden and Reid are trying to convince them of the path.”

It’s a hard sell. It’ll take us hours to walk the path. The mountain is dangerous to travel during daylight but it’s worse at night. Walkways ice over in seconds, snow falls, and the winds whip so fast that a full-grown man could be taken down the mountain within a blink of an eye.

That is, if we don’t run into the beasts that prowl the mountain.

For such a small group, it’s near suicide.

The quickest route is through the Erebus’ Hollow. A dark cave that connects where our camp is to Wulf’s village. It’s protected from the elements, with only one beastliving within.

The Hadeon. A powerful creature from legends, with three vicious heads the size of a wolf, a steelspearheadedtail, who can breathe hellfire, was the loyal guardian of the hollow. They were exceedingly rare, solitary beasts, gifted by the Underworld GodSetihimself.

The rumor was that Wulf’s ancestor had been given the beast from the god during The Great War for valor. It protects the village, allowing only those with pure intentions to cross.

Now, it seems, the Humans wanted to rush the hollow, attack the beast and gain access to Wulf’s village.

“Gods, there’s not a speck of common sense between the lot of them,” Fee mutters, glaring at the group of them. “There is no way those Humans will take a Hadeon. It’s too big, too fast. It’s blessed bySeti.”

I nod, though I don’t comment further. I know as much as she does.

“What is Kaden suggesting?” I ask, glancing around the forest. Kaden is glaring at the group as if they were misbehaving children.

“The path.” She points to the compressed dirt path behind the men. “But it’ll take too long. We’ll be out in the open, in the elements and available to the beasts that live up there. The Dark Fae guards will protect us but it’s a risk. The Hollow is the best route.”

“But the Hadeon is there.”

“But the Hadeon is there,” she repeats.

She stalks forward, a cloud of her subtle perfume hovering around me. It smells like ash and apple, rich but biting. Not unlike her personality.

Watching her go, I think about the creature. Another monster that’s been chosen to do its job, feared for its power and strength.

Not unlike me.

Grabbing my daggers from my tent, I head to the entrance of the cave. Perhaps he’s not a true monster, but another misunderstood being, who just needed someone to believe in him? Gods know, I needed that in the Coven.

Maybe I can reason with it? Maybe I can be of help on this raid, contrary to what Taylay thought.

Taking one step into the hollow, Kaden materializes from the side, blocking my way.

Dark eyes stare at me, his shadow magic curling around his legs. “No.”

Whipping my head back to the crowd, my mouth parts, shocked. “How did you do that?” That was fast even for a Fae.

He points to his head. “Shadow magic, remember? Where do you think you’re going?”

My mouth shuts closed with an audible snap.

“You wouldn’t be foolish enough to enter the cave without reinforcements?” Staying silent, the heir walks around me, circling me. “The rumors of the Hadeon state that it will incinerate anyone who the gods have deemed too terrible to live. Much like a Fury, it’s a creature of judgment. No one can enter without the GodSeti’sblessing.”

“Does this one only go after males as well?” I quip, body quaking at his nearness. Logically, I’m still mad at being denied in his cot, but my body doesn’t remember that.

I want him.My heart beats quicker, the closer he gets and I sway, as if pulled.

I hate this feeling. This out of control need to be near him, to beg him to continue what we started in his tent.