Page 34 of Can you take it?

A chill crept over me again. I immensely disliked the idea of his eyes on my back. In that moment, I would have given anything to shift into my fox form. I despised this place. Everything about it was a repellent to me—well, everything but Anna, who I wished I had a repellent for. I heard the gnome’s foot- steps trailing me, occasionally accompanied by a disconcerting hum that floated through the air. I ignored it. Whether it was my nerves or my confusion, I began to feel worse and worse for leaving the girls behind and vulnerable. They had no one to protect them, and even though I knew they were two incredibly badass women, I still didn’t like what we had done.

Echoes and distant howls reverberated among the bare trees as I ventured deeper into the forest. It grew darker, now so thick with black, gnarled branches that it was nearly impossible to see more than ten feet ahead in front of me.

“Bexley,” I called out. “Walter, are you there?” Panic edged my voice. As a man of the Sun, I hated everything dark and murky that surrounded me, and I wasn’t too proud to admit I was growing afraid. I turned around along the windy path, hoping for some recognizable landmark, but found nothing. An owl hooted in the distance. The cool scent of rotting wood and night tormented my senses. “Bring back my friend now!” I commanded, spinning around to face the gnome, only to find that, like Walter, he too had vanished. I knew I had heard his humming moments ago. “Suns damn it,” I cursed, turning back around and moving forward. An urgency filled the air. Every sense I commanded told me that I was being watched and hunted, and that wasn’t even factoring in the girls, who would soon be chasing me.

I stopped again.

The girls. Frustration boiled over as I pulled at my hair. “What do I do?” I shouted. My voice only echoed once in the thick forest. I felt Cal suddenly, and it was welcome, like a wind chime greeting me in a garden. “Cal,” I muttered aloud. I sat down on the path, knees to my chest and head in my hands. From a survival perspective, it was the worst decision possible, but I was unraveling. ‘Cal, can you hear me? I asked in my mind.’

‘Oh, my stars, Eli, are you okay? Tell me you’re okay.’ Her voice, filled with relief, instantly became my relief too.

‘I’m here,’ I replied. I didn’t understand any of why we could speak, nor did I care to. I could communicate with her and Mendax and that was all that mattered.

‘I’m so glad. Mendax explained to me what the red keys is. Please tell me you weren’t playing that game with my sister.’

Leaning back against a tree, I tried to relax. If I closed my eyes, I could almost convince myself I wasn’t in a grim, eerie forest but back in my warm castle speaking with my best friend.

‘I wish you hadn’t left’, she said.

‘I know, me too, but it was either me or Mendax.’

‘I know,’ she said. ‘I’m endlessly grateful, but it shouldn’t have come to that. You saved my life when you were tied to me, and you shouldn’t be punished this way.’

Her frustrated words carried an anger that seeped into me. That was the difference between her and me. When I felt sadness, I was sad. When I felt upset, I was upset. But when Calypso was sad or upset, anger coursed through her and she sought vengeance.

‘Calm down; everything’s fine,’ I assured her.

‘No, it’s not’, she insisted.’ I can feel it through the bond. You’re not okay. Why are you lying?’

I opened my eyes, glanced at the dark ground, and absently moved a few stones around. I hated that she could feel my emotions. No one was supposed to feel them but me. More than that, I hated that she knew I wasn’t okay. I’m in Tartarus, in the second tier, struggling for my life.

‘ No, Calypso, I’m not okay.’

Silence filled her end, and briefly, I regretted snapping at her, but I was exhausted from always being the one who had to be okay for others’ sake.

‘Tell me what’s going on,’ she said gently. Her worry seeped into our bond, yet I sensed something else, something that didn’t make sense.

‘What do you want from me, Cal? What is it you want to hear? Do you want to hear that I recently fought with your sister? Or per- haps that Kaohs took her in when she arrived in Tartarus and now she is his apprentice? Is that what you want to know? Do you want me to reveal how evil she is and that she plans to abuse her powers and become the next ruler of Tartarus?’ I paused, feeling her silent presence. My thoughts drifted to Anna. ‘Or, Calypso, do you want to hear how I initially mistook her for a prostitute and practically worshiped at her feet before I knew who she was because she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen? Nobody that beautiful should be so evil.’ Anger surged within me. ‘Not enough? Maybe you’d like to know she’s chasing me through the tiers for the pendant, and that Kaohs has agreed that the moment she seizes the pendant by my handing it over, she takes charge, allowing him to retire. I don’t know what you expect me to say, Cal.’

‘Where is she now? Is she with you? Is she all right?’ A sudden pang of jealousy flared up in me, which I quickly suppressed. Naturally, she’d be concerned about Adrianna. She’d spent half her life seeking vengeance for her sister, and Calypso herself, as much as I hated admitting it, also harbored an Unseelie-like darkness. Obviously, she wouldn’t dismiss her sister based solely on my claims.

‘Interestingly, I’ve confined her and Eletha in the first tier and am being hunted by a murder gnome.’

‘You what?’ she asked. ‘Who is Eletha?

‘Eletha is the guardian of Tartarus, also known as Walter’s crush. Ask Mendax about her. You’ll likely get some intriguing stories,’ I bit out aloud.

‘So why didn’t you give her the pendant?’ she questioned.

‘What?’ I demanded, still shocked by her perspective and lack of concern for me. ‘Because she’s malevolent, Cal.’

‘So what? It’s her power, and she deserves it. Your only reason for going was to give her the pendant.’

I was completely taken aback. ‘Because I was under the assumption that once she received her powers, she’d come for you and Mendax. So…you’re welcome!’ I retorted, trying to erect a barrier, some sort of mental blockade that would drown out Calypso. Her attempts to break through came in choppy shouts, piercing through my wall. I was livid. Despite my reluctance to have this conversation, there was much more I needed to convey, so I dropped the walls and began yelling. “How can you ask me to empower her, knowing her intentions?”

‘She’s not going to harm me; she’s my sister. Did she really say she’d attack me? You think I can’t defend myself? Will you ever stop babying me?’

I turned and pressed my head against the rough bark of a tree in frustration.