“Which region?” Hektor asked.
The gorgon hesitated. “In the highlands. Specifically, the Ridge of Nine Horns.”
Hektor’s shoulders sank. “Oh.”
“What’s wrong?” Zara’s arm wrapped around his bicep. “Baby?”
He sighed. “I’m afraid I won’t be of much help. In fact, I may be a hindrance.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Ridge of Nine Horns is home to one particular race of monsters—minotaurs,” Melora explained. “And minotaurs and Drakkons do not get along well.”
“It’s been a long-standing rivalry,” Hektor stated.
“So, you guys hate each other?” Elian interjected. “Will they try to hurt you if you go there?”
“Not quite like that,” Hektor said with a small laugh. “It was in the early days, back when we lived in the Upperworld. There was violence on both sides. But after centuries and perhaps because we were all cast out together, the animosity has toned down a lot. Now, it is more like the famous sports rivalries of the Upperworld, at least from what I gather from your father’s stories. Think of us as the Real Madrid and Barcelona of Vale Crossing.”
“You definitely have spent time around my father,” Liora said. “So, do you need to stay back?”
Zara’s grip around him tightened. “Oh no, we can’t leave you behind.”
“He won’t be harmed while there,” Melora said. “The Drakkons and the minotaurs have a truce in place. But he will definitely be a liability because no one will trust any of you if they see you with him.”
“I can keep my distance,” the Drakkon assured his mate. “I will not allow you to enter that nest of vipers by yourself—er, no offense to the ophidian kind,” he said with a nod to Melora and Maldenis. “But you know my meaning.”
“Indeed.” Melora’s nostrils flared. “But even without your presence, the minotaurs are already tough to infiltrate.”
Hektor nodded. “Minotaurs are close knit, and keep to themselves and their own clans.”
“Clans, right,” Maldenis’s lips curled. “More like gangs.”
Medusa tapped at Perseus’s shoulder. “Minotaurs remind me of that Upperworld movie we watched a few weeks ago…what was it again, the one that starts with the man asking for a favor from that guy? During the day of the daughter’s wedding?”
The shifter’s head swiveled around to face the gorgon. “You meanThe Godfather?”
“I love that movie,” Elian piped in.
“Of course you would,” Liora teased. “All guys do.”
“Ah, they’re like the mafia,” Zara said with a snap of her fingers. “So…criminals?”
“Exactly,” Hektor scoffed. “Degenerates with no honor, who steal and lie?—”
Medusa cleared her throat. “In any case, with two possible offspring of Zeus in the area, it’s a good idea to investigate, plus we don’t have any other strong leads at the moment.”
Elian raised a hand. “But how can we find them and go around if Hektor can’t guide us?”
“You do have someone,” Melora said. “Maldenis will be your guide.”
“Me?” Maldenis blinked, then paused, waiting for the punch line. Three beats of silence passed before he spoke. “Wait, you’re serious?”
“Of course I am.”
“You wouldn’t trust me to babysit your desertflower shrubs,” he countered. “And you want me to guide them?”
“Yes, and why not?”
