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Owen wrapped his arms around George’s neck. “Okay, but if you shift, I’ll get burned and then drop onto those very jagged rocks down there.”

George stood, grabbing Owen’s legs. “Like I’d ever drop you,” he muttered.

Owen didn’t close his eyes, but he came close. When George hit the wet steps, he slowed but never slipped. He put Owen down and then they continued along the rock ledge.

“Where are we going?” Owen asked, following with far less confidence than George. When a large wave hit the rocks to his left, he braced, worried he was about to be swamped and washed out to sea, but he needn’t have been. George was there, a hand on Owen’s arm, keeping him steady.

“The scent trail continues this way,” George told him. “I just want to know where they went. Okay?”

Owen nodded. “I want to see too.”

When they made it to the crack in the rock, they both crouched down and peered in.

“Poor Coco,” George murmured. “She has a real problem with small spaces.”

“Are you sure this is where they went in?” Owen asked.

George nodded. “The weird part is I smell Vlad and Clive as well.”

Owen stood, watching the waves hit the rocks at his feet. “They probably followed the scent trail like you did.”

George continued to stare into the entrance. “The bloodsuckers can’t go in, but I could.”

Owen grabbed George’s shoulder. “You heard them. There are gods threatening death if anyone tries to interfere. And you don’t have one of those obol things. The ferryman won’t take you across.”

George shrugged, trying to gauge whether or not he’d fit. He was bigger than Coco. “I could shift and fly over.”

“You will not.”

The strange voice made Owen’s stomach drop. Both men spun around. Before them stood a beautiful woman in black robes. She had a silver chain belt with a crescent moon shining on one strand and a key on the other. On either side of her, there was a huge black dog that appeared to be something between a Great Dane and a Cane Corso.

Her long black hair blew in the wind, but it was the intensity in her golden eyes that made Owen’s blood run cold. “This does not involve you,” she said. “You will do nothing to disrupt this quest. We will allow you to stay here and wait for your loved ones. No one, though, will be allowed to enter. We have waited thousands of years and it is finally time. If you try to interfere, we will kill you. Do you understand?”

George stood, blocking Owen from the goddess, though both nodded their understanding.

“Good.” She laid a hand on each dog’s head and all three disappeared.

George felt Owen’s arms wrap around his waist.

“Holy crap,” Owen whispered. “Do you know which one that was?”

Shaking his head, George crouched, wanting Owen on his back again so he could get the two of them away from here. When they got to the top of the stairs and stepped back onto the cliff, they ran into Benvair and Alec.

Benvair pointed. “Is that where they went?”

George put Owen down and then ushered his family away from the cliff. “Let’s see if The Ferryman’s Rest offers food and we’ll tell you what we’ve learned.”

Fyr had walked farther than he’d intended. When he turned back, he couldn’t see The Ferryman’s Rest. He couldn’t see anything but an undisturbed coastline and the aquamarine sea. The wind blew his long hair into his face. He turned into the wind, running his hands through his hair, pulling it back. Once he’d twisted it into a knot, he pulled the hair tie from his wrist and secured his hair.

Turning back toward the water, he flinched. Before him now stood a heart-stoppingly beautiful woman. She wore a thin, white tank dress that showed off her golden skin and perfect curves. Her eyes were the same aquamarine as the sea, her hair long, wavy, and golden. She wore a belt of sea glass and shells.

Hungry eyes looked Fyr up and down as she moved closer. He understood people found him attractive. He supposed they meant it as a compliment, but the scrutiny made him uncomfortable, like his skin was crawling with tiny spiders. The dungeon where he and Alec had been kept was a pit. Waking up with unspeakable things crawling all over him was a near daily experience. He was very familiar with the sensation he was feeling now and stepped back from her.

“Look at you.” She reached out and ran a finger over his chiseled jaw.

He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and she smiled in satisfaction. An electric charge ran through him, but he held on to her, pushing her hand back to her side before letting go.

A line formed between her perfect brows and her dress became transparent. Fyr’s gaze jumped over her shoulder to the sea beyond. The split-second he’d seen of her sensual perfection had him swallowing a suddenly dry mouth, looking anywhere but at her.