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The silver-haired vampire widened his eyes in disbelief. “You can’t be serious?”
Hades sent him a grim glare. “I’m always serious.”
“Levet a god?” Styx shook his head. “If that stunted pest is a god, then I’m the tooth fairy.”
Bertha dismissed the grumbling from the vampires. Clearly they were jealous of Levet.
“That’s not so bad,” she said to Hades. When she’d realized that Levet had been taken by a minotaur, she’d immediately assumed the worst. Now she breathed a sigh of relief. “Maybe I overreacted.”
Hades hesitated, as if debating whether to allow her to cling to her newfound hope, or to destroy it. In the end, he destroyed it.
“I wouldn’t be so certain,” he warned.
“Why do you say that?” Bertha demanded.
He pointed toward the image of a fortress where a gathering of minotaurs were gazing up at the gargoyle flying over their heads.
“These minotaurs are worshipping the gargoyle,” Hades said.
Bertha eyed Hades, not sure why being worshipped was a bad thing. “Okay.”
His fingers swept down to point at a separate group who were gathered around a long table.
“These minotaurs are preparing for a sacrifice.”
“Oh.” Bertha’s heart sank to her toes.
* * * *
Levet sat on the humongous throne as a table was carried into the arena and placed directly in front of him. It wasn’t the most comfortable chair. In fact, the hard gems poked into the tender flesh of his backside and his legs dangled off the ground, reminding him that he wasn’t nearly large enough to fill such an impressive chair.
Even worse, he was increasingly uncomfortable at the knowledge that hundreds of minotaurs were watching him from the surrounding bleachers. The male in the fur cloak and crown had called him the savior of the minotaurs. A title that Levet was certain came with all sorts of duties and complications. Probably even danger.
Exactly what he didn’t want.
He was supposed to be comfortably settled in the merfolk castle, watching Inga paint her extraordinary murals or sneaking into the kitchens to steal a cup of nectar before the chef could chase him away. The simple life of a retired knight in shining armor.
Trying to decide the best way to convince the strange creatures that he was no longer in the business of saving the world, Levet was distracted as Joya stepped toward the table and pulled aside the silk cloth to reveal the silver platters beneath.
“Your dinner,” she told him.
Levet’s stomach growled in appreciation as he leaned forward. Okay, maybe being a savior came with a few benefits.
“Roasted pig?” The smell of fresh meat made his mouth water. Just the thing he needed to keep up his energy. “I thought minotaurs didn’t eat meat.”
“We do not, but we wished to please you.”
“Oh.” Levet found that the gems didn’t bite into his flesh quite as badly as before. It was a pleasant change to have someone be concerned about his happiness. Not that Inga didn’t care, but she was currently treating him with a cold elbow…wait, that wasn’t right. Knee?Non. Shoulder?Oui, that sounded better. “Roasted pig pleases me very much.”
Joya waved her hand toward the rest of the bounty. “There is also freshly baked bread and garlic potatoes and—”
“Apple pie?” Levet interrupted, clapping his hands together as he caught sight of the round pan with a cinnamon crumble on top. “I adore apple pie.”
The female grabbed a tall pitcher that was beaded with condensation and poured an amber liquid into the mug set directly in front of Levet. The rich scent of hops and fermented yeast teased his nose.
“And our finest ale.”
Levet stretched out his hand, intending to grab the mug. He was parched from his trip. And there was nothing like a good ale to wash down roasted pig. But even as he leaned forward, he forced himself to stop and consider what he was doing.
