Page 100 of Knight’s Retribution

“So you’re saying, if we can get our hands on this dagger, we could use it on him and he’d what…become someone else?” Kyler asked, eyes wide.

Willow shook her head. “He wouldn’t become someone else, he’d become an alternate version of the person he could have been. The Diemos who would have existed if whatever dark shit made him the way he is hadn’t happened.”

Rocco stared at the little witch and sucked in a sharp breath. “Are you serious?”

“Would I lie about something like this?” Willow said and slugged him in the arm. “Good, right?”

“Good?” he choked out. He’d started to give up hope they’d ever find a way to hold Diemos. With this, they may not have to. “Do you know if it’s still there?” He pointed to the small black X on the map.

“I wish I knew. It’s not among my grandmother’s belongings, and there’s no record of it ever being in our family’s possession after this map was created. So unless someone else has stumbled over it, I’m thinking it should still be there.” She rolled up the map and handed it to him. “I’ll keep looking for alternate options in case, but as of now, this is our best bet.” She moved to the driver’s door. “I wish I could help you find it, but there’s somewhere else I need to be.” Something dark moved through her gaze. “But I’ll be back for the fight.”

Rocco moved in. “You’ve done so much to help us, are you sure there isn’t something we can do for you?” He held her gaze, because he was positive something was going on with her, something big.

Willow shook her head. “I’m good, just some family stuff I’m dealing with.”

“You sure?” he asked.

“Positive. Text me as soon as you have it, or not,” she said and climbed into her truck.

“Will do.”

They watched her drive off, then Kyler turned to him, eyes filled with determination. “When are we leaving?”

He could see it in her eyes that she expected him to try to stop her, and she was going to fight him on it. But after what she’d said the other night, what all the females had said, including Ursula, he had no intention of fighting her on this. They were a team, they worked better as a team, and the more they practiced, the better they would get. “Let’s weapon up and head out.”

* * *

Kyler woke when Rocco landed.

God, she’d slept almost the whole way. They’d talked for the first half hour, then she’d drifted off. But how could she not when she was in Rocco’s arms? His warm body pressed against hers, the only sound, the rhythmic beating of his wings moving through the air. There was also the fact that they’d been training hard the last week and she’d not been sleeping that great for obvious reasons.

She took in the scene around her. They were on the edge of the historic costal town and it was close to nightfall. “Where to?” Kyler asked. “I have a terrible sense of direction, so you’ll be hearing that a lot from me.”

Rocco smirked and opened the map, looking around them. “The place names on this probably aren’t going to be much help, but maybe some of the natural landmarks could give us a starting point.”

Kyler tilted her head, trying to read the map. “What does mille passum mean?”

“It’s Roman and roughly translates to a thousand paces. And since each pace was five Roman feet, shorter than the feet we use today, we’re talking five thousand Roman feet, so roughly four thousand, eight hundred, and fifty modern feet.”

She stared up at him, mouth dropping. “How do you know that?”

His grin widened. “I’m fucking old.”

She laughed. “Okay, o’ wise one, lead the way. I think I’ll leave the math to you as well.”

Rocco lifted her again and they took flight, searching for landmarks.

They ended up in the center of the city after using the river and a small island as a guide. “I think it’s here,” Rocco said, motioning to the door of a pub.

“So what? It’s underneath the building?”

Rocco nodded. “I’d say right underneath.”

“Well, we can’t exactly start digging around under there while the place is full of people, now can we?”

“Nope.” Rocco took her hand. “So let’s go have a drink and something to eat while we wait for them to close.”

That she hadn’t been expecting. “Excellent plan, I’m starving.”