The Centaur Queen (The Dark Queens #7)(41)

Stepping into me, she forced me to wrap my arms around her waist as she flattened her palms on my shoulders and stared deeply into my eyes. “Last night was everything, my beloved Petra. Please trust me. This place will make you doubt me, but don’t. All that I am, all that I do, I do it for you. I can say no more than that.”

“I don’t want you doing anything for me that would take you away from me.”

She swallowed hard. “Oh, my heart, your words make me sing. But we do not have the time to speak of this now. I fear I know who challenges us today, and she hates your kind.”

My brows twitched. I didn’t care about this damn challenge or even Kingdom’s fate at the moment, a truth that might make me hated by Galeta and all the realms.

Tymanon had agreed to something that was going to wound me forever. I knew it. I didn’t know how I knew it, but I knew it. Last night when I’d entered her body, I’d entered her soul too. She’d burrowed under my skin, and I under hers. She was terrified right now, worried, scared. It was because of me, and that thought broke me.

“Satyrs?” I asked, voice cracking.

“No, worse. Men.”





Chapter 12


Tymanon

I loved Petra’s hands, loved how he held me, how he made me feel smaller than him, though I wasn’t. But right now, I needed to protect him at all costs.

My heart beat painfully hard in my chest as I scented the feminine fragrance of jasmine and belladonna. Shaking my head, I pushed Petra behind me.

“Whatever you do, Petra, do not leave my side and do not look up. Do you hear me?” I whispered harshly, looking into the darkness of the tunnel before us.

The cave was large and dark but lit just enough that I could make out vague shapes and shadows. I could not tell how far the tunnel went, but I knew that she awaited us there.

“I’ve scented this before,” he said, his voice a dark whisper that made me shiver. “The Gorgon.”

I nodded once.

He bit down on his front teeth and then glanced over his shoulder. I knew what he was thinking. I’d thought it too.

We could not go forward, so maybe we could go back. But this was the Fates’ challenge. We could not escape this trial.

“Forward or back?” he asked.

Stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place, I turned. The Gorgon’s hatred of men was legendary. Though she was no fan of females either, I would not turn to stone. Petra, on the other hand, would not be safe from her wrath.

I’d suspected we’d face the Gorgon when I’d seen the busts of the Fates. There’d been clues all along the way, if one knew where to look.

The stone beneath my feet vibrated as if something massive prowled inside the darkness.

“What is it?” he asked.

I shook my head as I sniffed the air. I’d known the Gorgon by scent alone. I’d read of her in my books. But I could not place the heady male aroma wafting down the tunnel now. It was bestial and potent. That could mean any number of possibilities.

I did not want to take Petra toward the Gorgon. I could handle myself, but if anything happened to him...

I steeled my jaw. “This way, then.” I felt his frown but did not look at him. Neither option was good, but I could fight a beast.

The tunnel was wide enough that I had no problem slipping my bow off my shoulder and nocking an arrow into place. My grip was lax, but I was prepared. As we walked, I noticed my broad body had no problem navigating the twists and turns that led us deeper and deeper into the belly of the cave.

Clearly, each trial was designed to fit each individual challenger.

“Talk to me,” I said, sensing his nerves.

Petra was a brave male, and I knew his worry was not for himself. But I needed him to be less anxious. His nervousness was distracting.

“About what?” he whispered.

I shrugged. “About your trial. What did you face?”

He sniffed, the sound almost like an exasperated chuckle. “Still trying to learn, álogo?”

“Don’t I always?” I grinned even as I steadied my nerves with deep-breathing exercises.

We were walking down a winding path that reminded me of a nautilus shell the way the spiraling tunnel got progressively smaller and smaller. This was clearly a funnel, and now the sounds were growing louder, more bullish—grunts and angry snorts, followed by heavy stomping that vibrated up my legs.

“My first challenge was a bevy of sirens.”

I chuckled despite my own growing nerves. “That must have been terrible for you, dear Petra.”

He heard the sarcasm and scoffed a laugh. “It was, actually.”

“Yes, I imagine it was a terror navigating their perky breasts and come-hither smiles.”

“You’ve no bloody idea, woman.”

“Were they beautiful? I’ve always heard they’re the prettiest things in all of Kingdom, though I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting any myself.”

“Yes, I thought so at the time. They’re part of the nymph family, you know.”

“Mm.” My blood ran cold when I no longer heard the bullish sounds. If you heard a predator, you could find and kill it. It was what you didn’t hear that would likely kill you.

Petra smiled, laughing at memories of his past. A part of me was disheartened that Petra couldn’t sense the danger we were now truly in. The hunters had become the hunted. And yet I was also glad that he didn’t know. I would not have to deal with a panicked companion.