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The horns swayed, and I refused to tear my gaze from them.
"Evanthia," Asterion called, low and gentle. A simple plea. "Don't—"
"But if you bring war to my doorstep, I will show no mercy. Not to your beasts. And not to you when you are—"
A thunderous roar broke through the darkness. I cried out as the light flickered out, reaching with nothing toward the vanished sight of Asterion's horns.
"Don't come, théa," Asterion called, voice growing stronger.
A wave of red and threads of opal, brilliant and blazing like streaks of lightning, cut across my path, and a brief storm of fury burned up from inside of me before—
I sat up, gasping for air, tangled in the arms and hands and legs of my lovers, the familiar golden and glittering haven of our nest surrounding me.
"He has Asterion!" I cried out.
Birsha had wanted me to lie. To save myself, save Hywel and Conall and Laszlo, in exchange for my minotaur. Asterion, noble beast that he was, wanted that too. It was the kind of bargainBirshawould take. The kind of bargain I might've been desperate enough to accept months ago.
It was disgusting, and I tossed the offer aside before I'd even fully reached consciousness.
"Evie, I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Conall rasped, wrapping arms around my shoulders, pulling me into his chest. His head bowed and his mouth grazed over my fresh mark. The skin was tender, and the touch stung a little. Birsha had robbed from me while I was sleeping again.
"Evanthia, look at me," Hywel said, voice sharp.
I searched the room for golden painted horns, as if Hywel might've stolen Asterion from the nightmare like he had stolen me. Long, cool fingers caught my face, forcing my gaze to meet Hywel's.
"He has Rolant, Amon, and Asterion," I whispered.
Laszlo's fingers combed through my hair, snagging on the little braided feathers he'd given me. "It may only be an illusion, dear one."
I shook my head and swallowed hard. "No. Or it doesn't matter. Not if itmightbe real. Think. A dragon, a sphinx, and the King of the Labyrinth," I said. "He hasn'tkilledthem yet."
Hywel's lips pursed, and I let out a soft cry, so afraid of his refusal but too weak to fight my way out of their embrace.
"Did you see the others?" Hywel asked. "Hunter, Ronan, and Ezra?"
I shook my head, and Hywel's expression was grave as he glanced over my shoulder to Laszlo.
"You think it might be true?" Laszlo whispered.
"What better way to force our hand?" Hywel answered.
"I should never have—" Conall started.
"Don't," Hywel snapped at him. The dragon's shoulders sagged and he huffed out a breath, moving one of his hands from my cheek to Conall's. "There's no blame. And if Evanthia is right…if Birsha has Asterion and the others, we needed to know. I've been horribly tempted to try and manipulate the connection, if I'm honest."
"It's better this way. Birsha thinks the control is in his hands," I said, swallowing down the bile in my throat, locking panic away to better focus on the problem.
Hywel nodded, not sparing me from the truth I'd already discovered.
"We have to tell Esther and the others," I whispered, my eyes filling, hands clawing through the sheets around my legs. "We have to go, and-and—"
Laszlo reached for me, drawing me out of the bed slowly. "Evanthia, we will tell the others. And we will do everything in our power to bring—"
"No," I gasped, even as the horrifying reality of my decision weighed like a boulder on my chest. I shook my head and squeezed my eyes shut, forcing back the tears. "No. Whatever we do, I am coming with you. Even if that means facing Birsha once more."
* * *
"Our bags are packed,"Auguste announced, hurrying into Laszlo's study with a solemn Booker at his side.
