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“Speaking of stubborn women.” Cooper smirked at me, slapping my shoulder. “Let’s get this nectar so we can get yours back.”
“She not mine,” I snapped.
“Sure.” He grinned, turning for the horses, his smile smug. “I said the same thing about Annabeth once.” He looked over his shoulder. “Even I knew I was full of shit.”
He strolled away, leaving me with a sick, sticky feeling in my gut—a sensation that I could feel her somewhere nearby, and if I pulled on the thread, it would lead me right to her.
Following behind Cooper, I shoved that thought deep back, because it would mean something I didn’t want or couldn’t have. Not with her.
Opportunists didn’t hesitate, jumping on the chance to profit from those seeking the nectar. These were the true business people, providing shovels and carts, food, and gear. They were the ones who got wealthy, not the ones searching for gold.
Several people were already hocking “maps” of the cave and tools to dig it up like it really was gold. Another man had set up a corral for horses; his fee had the tradesman in me both offended and impressed. There were others providing food and water or their version of a “real” map, making far more than anyone here would.
Against everything in my being, I forked over money for boarding the horses, making sure the guy would be taking good care of them.
“I’ll be back.” I rubbed Caramel’s nose, Tootsie nudging my arm. “And I will bring her back too.” I scratched Tootsie’s neck. I wasn’t really a horse person, my life was on the sea, but these guys felt different. The voyage here had bonded me to them.
“Now behave, you guys.” Sprig sprang onto my shoulder, talking to the horses. “No horsing around, okay?” He laughed, nudging my neck, wearing his pack with Pam sticking out on his back. “Get it? Horse-ing around!”
“Wonder how much that guy will take to watch you too?” I rubbed at my temple, the hot morning sun already dotting sweat down my spine.
“You need me, butt-neer.” He shoved his hands in my face. “You need these… magic hands!”
“I’m about to shove those magic hands up your ass.”
“What do you think I was doing last night with them?” Sprig’s response had me groaning. “How I know they’re magic.”
“Once again, I walked right into that.” I sighed to myself, grabbing my heavy pack and tossing it over the shoulder he was on, causing him to scurry. Sticking out his tongue, he jumped into AB’s bag, flipping me off before disappearing.
My anxiety rose at seeing a steady stream of people heading into the cave. Some would give up and go home, but many may not come out again.
Greed and desperation did awful things to humanity. When everything else was stripped away, you discovered what kind of person you could be.
I already knew what kind of person I was. What I was capable of. I was capable of killing without remorse. I could slit someone’s throat with a joke on my lips. And that was without AB’s or Kat’s life on the line. They thought the monster was the merciless Dark Dweller next to me… little did they know.
Cooper, Annabeth, and I stepped into the entrance, the temperature already lowering several degrees as my eyes adjusting to the dimness. The massive cavity consumed people and voices, all lost in the vastness between the ground and ceiling. The horde of people followed the designated tourist path, groups tailing each other like ants marching in line.
That route would be controlled, keeping the sightseers on a structured trail. It would lead them deeper into the cave, but not down to where we wanted to go. We needed to find a different way.
“Sense anything?” I asked Cooper.
He lifted his nose, his pupils going horizontal as he took in the scents, reminding me of last night with Kat and how her eyes glowed when she came. Her pupils also went horizontal, and her claws dug into my back, tearing at my skin, her mouth parting in a cry. I recalled how she felt coming around my cock, how it felt sinking even deeper in her, fucking her even harder before I exploded inside her.
Heat zinged down my limbs, straight to my dick, my teeth grinding together. My lids slammed shut as I tried to calm the erection growing in my pants.Fuck, I need to get a handle on this.
“Come on,” Cooper muttered, tearing my eyes back open. He took off around the large pond, his body low, blending into the shadows, moving opposite of everyone else.
Nudging AB before me, I took out my gun, following behind, keeping watch on anyone taking notice of us. Both Cooper and I could practically disappear in front of people’s eyes. Our trio easily blended into the landscape, the lack of electricity in the caves making it easy to meld into the blackness.
Cooper found a set of hidden stone stairs leading down to what looked like a maintenance room, the darkness thickening the lower we went, absorbing any light above.
“I can’t see,” Annabeth whispered. I heard the panic she was trying to hide. It was getting harder and harder for me to see; only Cooper and Kat had night vision.
I yanked out a flashlight, hoping we were down far enough so no one would see the beam. Flicking the torch on, I guided AB down the rest of the stairs to Cooper.
“Locked.” His eyes glinted similarly to both a wolf’s and a panther’s in the torchlight. “Magic-locked.”
“What?” My brows shot up. “Really?”
