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“You are special,” Joya insisted. “Any female would be honored to have you as a companion.”
“Honored?” Levet considered the word.
It was true that he’d been saving the world, he told himself.Again. And while it could be argued that if he’d stayed at the castle with Inga he would never have been sucked into the underworld, who knows what might have happened? The ifrit might have opened the gates of hell and the world would have been overrun with evil. Including the merfolk castle.
Inga should be thanking him, right?
Levet grimaced. Perhaps thanking him was wishful thinking. But she should answer his mental calls. How could he explain if she wouldn’t even talk to him?
“Very honored,” his companion insisted.
“That seems unlikely,” Levet conceded. “But I do need to find a means to return to the merfolk castle. I am quite certain once I explain why I have been missing Inga will agree I had no choice.”
“Once you have performed for us, I am certain you can continue your journey,” she assured him.
Performed? Levet blinked in surprise. He assumed he had been snatched for some horrible reason. Now he felt a surge of excitement.
“Ah,oui. So you have heard of my skills?”
“Of course. They are etched in our histories.” Without warning his companion came to an abrupt halt, pointing toward a heavy curtain hanging on the wall. “And woven into the fabric of our tapestries.”
Levet leaned toward the image that was stitched into the rich cloth. He could make out what appeared to be a large wooden structure on the top of a hill. Was it a fortress?Oui. A very large fortress. It was surrounded by meadows filled with wildflowers and golden fields of wheat. Beyond that was a thick forest that was dark and menacing, as if the artist was offering a warning to the unwary. Levet shivered, returning his attention to the fortress, where the balconies were overflowing with various minotaurs. They were crowded together, all of them pointing toward the sky where a tiny gargoyle was floating above them, his wings sparkling in the glow of the fireballs that swirled around him.
Levet shook his head, barely capable of accepting what he was seeing. That had to be an image of him. As he’d said earlier, he was quite unique. But how? He’d never been to this place. At least, not that he could remember. Like any demon, he’d had a few years during his youth that were lost in a haze of party excess. But even if he had drunkenly stumbled his way through the labyrinth, why would anyone create a tapestry to commemorate his visit?
“That is…” Levet didn’t have the appropriate word. “Astonishing,” he finally muttered. “Most creatures do not possess a proper appreciation of my talent.”
“It is the most important thing in the world to us.”
Levet scratched his snout with the tip of one claw, genuinely baffled. “Well, I am not certain it is that good,” he protested. There was nothing worse for a performer than overpromising and underdelivering. It was one certain way to ensure the audience became a surly mob intent on violence. He’d discovered that fun fact when he’d been asked to entertain a horde of brownies during the great plague. “I mean, I can create stunning fireballs despite the complaints from the stupid Prince of Imps, but they cannot compare with the magic of the fairies.”
Joya resumed her brisk pace down the corridor, headed toward the heavy double doors at the end.
“We have no need of fairy magic,” she informed Levet. “The prophecies are very clear.”
“Prophecies?” Levet stumbled over his tail, barely paying attention as she shoved open one of the doors and urged him to go ahead of her. They’d gone from him performing to being a part of their prophecies and he wasn’t sure how they’d taken that rather colossal leap. “I am not certain that I understand what you desire of me….” His words trailed away as he realized that he was in a vast arena that was surrounded by crescent-shaped benches that soared toward the thatched ceiling far above his head. The floor of the oval-shaped arena was dirt, but in the center was a large dais with a massive throne encrusted with thousands of tiny gems that shimmered in the light from the torches that circled the opening.
Enchanted by the priceless throne, Levet didn’t notice the large minotaur approaching him. It wasn’t until a shadow fell over him that he glanced up in time to see a male attired in a fur cloak with a crown stuck between his horns offering a deep bow.
“Welcome, Levet,” he said in a deep voice. Then straightening, he hefted a golden scepter high over his head. “Savior of the Minotaurs.”
Without warning the gathered minotaurs jumped to their feet, releasing a roar that threatened to bring down the roof.
“Levet! Levet! Levet!”
Levet watched the shocking display with his mouth hanging open. Oh…mon dieu.
This couldn’t be good.
* * * *
Sofie stepped out of the portal created by one of Styx’s fey servants and turned in a cautious circle. She was carrying a long dagger that was wicked sharp and cursed by a Sylvermyst. The dark fey creatures were capable of creating a blade that would poison even a demon. A rare and dangerous weapon.
Just like her.
Her gaze swept over the empty fields, her senses searching for any trace of a hidden enemy. When she was confident that they were alone aside from a coyote hidden in the distant trees and a few dew fairies who danced in the moonlight, she turned to watch Ryshi step out of the portal.
He was wearing a dark green satin tunic stitched with gold thread and loose pants that ended at his ankles. His feet were bare, but there were wide copper cuffs around his ankles and wrists. The shimmery metal perfectly matched his hair, which was pulled into a braid. The style emphasized the stark beauty of his male features. It was his eyes, however, that sent odd tingles of awareness through her.
