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“Is that what you need to hear?” he questions. “Fine, this feels rushed and I hate it.”
Hmm, I was wrong. That didn’t make me feel better at all. Agápi once told me about a book she read by some author I can’t remember. The premise of the book was how to find happiness, and in order to do this, you should pick up every item you own. If it brings you joy and happiness, you keep it. If not, you get rid of it. I wonder if I should toss Gus overboard since he isn’t bringing me much happiness right now.
“Would you two shut up?” Isolde hisses. “We’re here now, so what the hell does it matter? We just need to wait for the signal.”
Agápi, Kai, Lupa, and Flavio are on another raft not fifty meters away. But the darkness makes it impossible to see anything.
The journey here was long, and consisted of multiple legs. First, we flew to Rome where we got on the Russo jet heading towards England where we met up with… my brain shuts down as I spot the faint light flashing three times in our direction.
“There we go, it’s time,” Mordred says grimly.
“Dead Man’s Isle,” Gus says through clenched teeth.
Of course it’s that fucking island.
“That means they have Arthur,” Isolde whispers.
As quietly as possible we grab our oars and row our way towards the shore.
When we met up with Ana Lov in England, she helped outline the best route for us to take. We flew to Athens on one of the Hatt jets and then used a helicopter to take us to another island where she arranged for the rafts to be waiting. Downside, we’ve been on these wooden planks for hours. And if I never hear the sound of the ocean lapping against wood again, I’ll be a happy man.
“Tell me you trust Ana,” Mordred grits out. When no one answers, he adds, “Just bloody lie to me.”
“Sure,” I say with a nod he probably can’t even see. “She’s my most trusted—”
“Kai seems to trust her,” Isolde interjects. “And Acacia. Even if it’s not good enough for you guys, it’s all I need to know.”
She’s such a good fucking soldier. Okay, she’s right, I’m just jealous of her faith because I have less than zero.
I don’t fear death, never have. Carpe diem. C’est La Vie. Yolo. Come what fucking may. But I am scared shitless about losing my agápi. A life without her isn’t worth living.
As the shapes of the island reveal themselves, I pull on Gus’ arm. “Don’t forget your promise.”
“Same to you,” he shoots back. “If it’s our lives or hers, she’ll fucking live.”
That’s all there is to say, really. A bro deal is made, and this is one I know neither of us will break. Just as I know that if we die, our stubborn woman meant what she said. She’ll follow us as soon as she can, which is not something I’m okay with.
“Your duty to your Leader doesn’t matter if your Ruler needs you,” I say grimly. “Kai and Cia can’t die. I don’t care who has to take their place, but you need to protect them at all costs.”
“We know!” Both Mordred and Isolde sound exasperated which I guess is fair since Gus and I have reiterated it plenty while we’ve been stuck on this fucking raft.
As soon as we reach shore, we quietly make our way towards the middle, where agápi expects the maze to be. If this is anything like the island we’ve spent so much time on, it’ll be about half an hour’s walk before we reach the middle. I flinch each time one of us steps on gravel or accidentally kicks something that makes a noise.
Even though I don’t think we’re making a lot of noise, it feels like it. My own breathing is so loud I’m surprised no one has come for us yet. Agápi is banking on that, though. Despite Ana’s warnings of being discovered, Cia is sure no one is actually going to suddenly pop up and attack us. With what I know about the Drákon family, I’m inclined to agree with her. That wouldn’t be their style.
No, if anything they’re going to lure us into a false sense of security while discreetly herding us where they want us.
But at least we had the blueprints from Alexander, right? What a fucking joke. They didn’t do a damn thing but show us there are structures and tunnels underground. Not that it’s doing us any good to have that knowledge. Yeah, so we know there’s a secret tunnel connecting the island we used to stay on to this one, big fucking whoop. The only way that would be useful is if we could use it to get agápi to safety, but she’ll never allow that.
“Motherf—”
I spin around to where I thought Mordred was. When I don’t see or bump into him, I whisper his name but I don’t get a reply.
“Isolde?”
Still no reply.
“Gus?”
