Page 32 of A Crown of Hopes and Sorrows

He cleared his throat. “Of course.” He gestured to guards that followed alongside Temi and Theos down the gangplank. Some held torches, and the fire flickered over the sands, casting strange shadows that danced and drifted about as they stepped away from the walkway and onto the beach beyond it.

The world chirped and snapped and tittered. Temi swept her gaze over the jungle slowly, her fingers resting on her knife belt.

“Are you certain”—Theos turned back towards the captain—“that this is the correct location?”

The captain bobbed his head. “Aye. The path to Sapphos’ residence lies just beyond the palms there.”

I swallowed and my gaze followed his pointed finger to where a dirt divot broke up all the scrambling wild shrubs. Theos frowned. “How often have you...”

A snarl cut off his words as a growl burst out over the chittering bugs of the forest. Leaves crackled, and a massive ebony cat jumped onto the sand. Half a dozen more snapped through the trees and landed next to him.

They growled again, and hair raised on my neck. “Shit,” Valerian whispered beside me. The horses whinnied, jumping and pulling at the leads. Valerian turned to face them, but my gaze remained frozen on Temi, who stepped back towards the ship in front of the guards.

One cat leapt forward and Temi whipped a blade out, catching it in the shoulder.

It yowled and then a clear light glimmered over it and it transformed. A man crouched in its place, the blade sunk deep into the tan muscle of his shoulder. “Fuck. That hurts like a bitch.”

Another panther shifted into his human form, a hulking person with dark skin and golden irises, and he thrust his hands out towards Temi, who held another knife at the ready. “Let’s talk.”

Temi drew a second blade. “Who the hell are you?”

“We’re the panthers of Dionysus, and we guard this land. I’m Atara.” He narrowed his eyes. “Who are you, and why are you on Sapphos’ island?”

“Fucking Zeus’ wife,” the other man said as he pulled the blade out. “Hades with tits.”

“Troshon, enough,” Atara said.

Troshon glowered. “How about you pull a fucking knife out of your shoulder and then give a lecture?” He wiggled the bloody blade around. “And damn, has she got a throwing arm on her. That went straight to the bone. It will probably take two days to heal properly.”

Atara sighed and turned back towards Temi. “You didn’t answer me. To what purpose are you here for?”

Temi frowned. “Maybe if you hadn’t fucking attacked us before...”

The man bared his teeth, long ivory ones that dimpled his lips. The others behind him who had shifted forms drew weapons, and I tucked around the horses, running down the ship. “Pip,” Valerian called. But I didn’t turn back to him. I kept moving until I reached the guards and slipped beyond them, my feet sinking into the sand.

“Hello,” I said in a breath. “I’m Princess Epiphany of the Kingdom of Niria. And this”—I gripped Temi’s arm—“is Artemis, sister of Apollo, son of Zeus. We’re here to speak with Sappho, hoping she may have answers for us. We don’t intend to come aggressively.”

Temi side-eyed me, her nose wrinkling, but she remained quiet.

Atara raised his hand, and the others drew back, lowering their weapons. “Why did you not announce your visit before coming?”

“We did,” Temi growled. Atara’s features tightened again.

I cleared my throat and squeezed my fingers into Temi’s arm. Please, for the love of the gods, stop talking. “We sent a letter. Perhaps it was lost. I’m afraid we didn’t wait for a reply as we have a limited amount of time.”

Atara studied me for a moment. “Princess Epiphany, I met your father and brother at the decade dedication. How do they fare?”

“They’re well. Thank you.”

He drew in a breath and scanned over the several dozen members of our group, Valerian, who still stood on the edge of the ship, his fingers tangled into the horses’ leads, the captain and his crew that watched with crossed arms. “Glad to hear it,” he said. “We will guide you to Sappho’s residence and leave it to her. But”—he jerked his face towards Temi—“keep your weapons away.”

“I’ll carry a weapon if I damn well...” I clenched my nails into Temi’s arm, and she winced.

“Thank you, Atara,” I said. “We’ll do that.”

He frowned but bobbed his head and nodded in the path's direction. The other panthers shifted back into their animal form, their lithe bodies disappearing into the jungle. Except for Troshon, who had wrapped his shoulder with his shirt, leaving the muscles of his chest exposed. He grumbled curses under his breath but joined Atara.

“Our horses,” I said. “We wish to bring them as well.”