Maelea screamed again. Gryphon looked over just as she reached the top of the five-foot-high boulder. She twisted around, threw mussel shells and pebbles, whatever she could find, at another hound trying to reach her.
He stabbed out with his knife again. Blood dripped down the snarling hound’s neck. Behind him, growls echoed as the other three advanced on Maelea. Then the ground shook beneath his feet, just as it had in the colony’s caves, just as it had in that motel room. Only he didn’t know where it was coming from or if it could help.
There were too many, he realized. His only hope was to use his gift and freeze them so she could get away.
He arced out, caught the hound at the jugular. Blood squirted all over him and the ground. The beast stilled, made no sound, then dropped to the sand. He looked for Maelea. Three hellhounds jumped and snarled and snapped at the base of her rock. The fourth was headed straight for him with glowing red eyes.
He centered himself. The ground shook harder. His eyes fell closed as he drew on his gift. But Maelea’s scream jolted him out of focus.
His eyes shot open. Maelea’s arms swung out for balance, but her footing slipped on the rocks. And then she was falling.
No!
Panic and bone-chilling fear rocketed through him. He pushed his muscles forward, sprinted through the water toward her. A hound slammed into him from the side. They rolled through the shallow surf. The knife went flying. The hound pinned him to the ground and closed his jaws over his shoulder.
Pain spiraled through his body, and he roared. A blinding red ignited behind his eyes. He jabbed at the beast’s face, couldn’t seem to get the thing to let go.
Maelea. He had to get to Maelea…
He shoved up hard with his knee. Clawed out with as much force as he could. A whir sounded close. Then another. The beast let go and howled. Then dropped to his side next to Gryphon in the surf.
Chest heaving, Gryphon pushed himself up. Two arrows stuck out of the side of the dead hellhound. His gaze shifted out over the beach, to Titus and Skyla killing what was left of the hellhounds. Then to the water, where Orpheus was hauling a soaking wet and bloody Maelea to her feet in the waist-high surf.
She sputtered, coughed, held on to Orpheus as he lifted her into his arms and walked toward the beach.
She was alive. Relief poured through Gryphon like a tidal wave. He pushed to his feet. Needed to touch her. To hold her. Blood gushed from his shoulder. A wave of dizziness dropped him back on his ass. Water sprayed around him.
“Shit,” Skyla said. “Orpheus! He’s hurt. And, uh, boys? Look up there.”
Gryphon looked toward the cliff Skyla was pointing to. The cliff was covered in seething, glowing green-eyed daemons.
Holy fuck, they’d been found by everyone.
“We need to get them both back to Argolea,” Skyla said. “Like now.”
Argolea? No. Gryphon tried to push up again. A wave crashed into him, jostling his body against the sand. “Maelea—”
“I’m all for that,” Titus said, stalking Gryphon’s way at a fast pace. “Is she okay?”
“I don’t know,” Orpheus said somewhere close. “Let’s get the fuck out of here before those daemons figure out how to get down that cliff.”
“Relax, Gryphon,” Skyla said at his side, kneeling beside him. “We’ll get you home.”
He didn’t want to go home. He just wanted Maelea. He struggled to see past Skyla, but Titus stepped in his way. Then looked down at him and shook his head with a you’re such a dumbshit expression.
Before Gryphon could ask where they’d come from or what the hell was going on, Titus brought his fingers together and opened the portal. A burst of light blinded Gryphon’s eyes. And then he was flying.
“I’m fine,” Maelea said for the hundredth time. “I’m not hurt. Stop fussing over me.”
She tried to get up, but Callia pushed on her shoulder, keeping her prone against the bed. “You hit your head and have a concussion. You’re not going anywhere just yet, missy. Relax. You’re safe here.”
Maelea wasn’t worried about being safe. She was worried about Gryphon.
She hadn’t seen him since they were brought to the castle in Argolea. The Argonauts had whisked him off somewhere as soon as they came through the portal, and every time she asked what was going on, she’d been told not to worry.
Not worry? That wasn’t possible. She knew the Argonauts hadn’t been happy with Gryphon before he kidnapped her. Likely were even less thrilled with him now. She needed to find them. To set things right. She’d seen the anger in Orpheus’s eyes when he hauled her out of the water. Had seen the way he cut Gryphon a bitter glare, as if her falling in the water and hitting her head was his fault. He couldn’t be more wrong. It was her own stupid fault. She knew now there was some sort of hidden power in her, one she’d called on out there on that rock. One that vibrated from her into the ground and caused it to shake. And it was that power that had knocked her off her own feet and tossed her into the waves.
All of them couldn’t be more wrong about Gryphon. She had to get to him. She had to make them understand…
She pushed up again. “If you’ll just let me—”
The door whooshed open, and Skyla stuck her blond head inside the room. “Is it okay for me to be here?”
Skyla. Relief pinged through Maelea’s chest. Yes, Skyla would help her.
Callia glanced toward the door. “Actually, you have good timing. I need to go check on Gryphon. Can you stay with Maelea?”
“Sure.”
Callia looked back at Maelea. “You, stay put.”
Maelea’s nerves bounced in her stomach as Callia left. When she and Skyla were alone, she focused on the Siren’s green eyes. “Tell me how he is.”
“He’ll live. Getting patched up. I’m a little surprised at your concern, though.”
“He didn’t do anything to me.”
“That’s not what it looked like when we got there. It looked like you were trying to get away from him and those hellhounds showed up.”
Maelea blew out a breath of frustration. “That’s not what was happening at all. I was looking out at the water, trying to get my head on straight when those hellhounds appeared. Gryphon was in the house packing to leave. He wasn’t anywhere near me. And even if he had been near me, I wouldn’t have been trying to get away from him.”
Confusion crossed Skyla’s face as she eased down on the side of Maelea’s bed. “Maybe you’d better tell me just what happened while you were with Gryphon these last few weeks. Because when Orpheus saw you with him in the caves beneath the colony, just before the floor broke open, getting away from him was the only thing you—or we—wanted.”
Maelea swiped both hands over her still damp hair as her pulse picked up speed. How could she explain what had happened? She couldn’t. All she could do was try to convince Skyla he wasn’t the monster the rest of the Argonauts were undoubtedly sure he’d become.
She fought back the rush of emotions. But wasn’t strong enough to stop the tears that stung her eyes. “You want to know what happened?” When Skyla nodded, she said, “I realized how special he is. And I fell in love with him. That’s what happened.”
The voice was back.
Which meant Maelea wasn’t close.
Gryphon ground his teeth as he sat on the bed in nothing but wet jeans while the med tech wrapped his shoulder, fighting to hold back his temper.
“What the hell were you thinking, Gryphon?” Theron roared at him. “Do you have any idea what kind of fucking mess you’ve made for the rest of us to clean up? Hellhounds. Skata. Not to mention the line of dead daemons you left in your wake. You’re damn lucky Titus and Orpheus came through after you. Not that it fucking matters, since the Council’s already caught wind of this disaster.”