This Wicked Fate (This Poison Heart #2)(50)

“Lie down, Roscoe. Damn!” Marie grumbled.

The griffin snorted and pressed himself to the ground, bringing me a little closer to Marie. She climbed up and disentangled my hands from the harness, then pulled me down in one quick move. She set me on the ground, and I promptly puked my guts up.

“Yikes,” Marie said. “Couldn’t we have just picked her up with the car?”

“It’s a thirty-five-minute drive there and back,” Nyx called from somewhere. “Roscoe got her here in ten.”

“What if she fell off?” Marie shouted back. “Did you think of that?”

“Roscoe would have caught her,” Nyx said. “The only person he lets fall all the way to the ground is you.”

Marie shot a dagger of a glance at the griffin.

Circe jogged over and put a cold bottle of water in my hand. “Oh, Briseis, I’m so sorry. Are you gonna be okay?”

I doubled over, hand on my knee, as I rinsed my mouth out. “Yeah. Just give me a minute.”

Circe patted me on the back and returned to Marie’s car, where they’d begun unloading their bags. The two metal cages sat on the ground surrounded by a cocoon of thorned vines. I glanced around as I swished water through my teeth, trying to wash out the sour taste. We were at a small, seemingly abandoned, airport. A sleek black jet sat on the runway. The whole place looked familiar.

“Where are we?” I asked. I put my glasses back on and tried to place where I’d seen this airport before.

“We’re outside Red Hook. The same place Karter caught his flight, only I made sure there won’t be any witnesses.” Marie gestured to the shattered remains of several security cameras. “You ready?”

“I think so. Mo caught me on the way out.”

Marie shook her head. “Nyx is staying behind, and Circe talked to Dr. Grant. They’ll keep an eye on her.”

“Isaac said he’d be around, too. Do you think they’ll tell her anything?”

“I don’t know. Circe’s concerned about Karter and whoever he’s been in communication with. If they’re trying to get to the last piece, too, we have to try and stay a step ahead, and that means not letting anyone know where we are or what we’re doing.”

I nodded. Marie leaned in to kiss me, then reared back, her nose scrunching up.

“What?”

Marie grimaced. “I care about you. A lot. But you’re gonna have to brush your teeth.”

My face flushed hot. “You right.”

She grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the car where Persephone and Nyx were sobbing into each other’s shoulders. Marie traced my knuckles with the ball of her thumb. Nyx suddenly broke free from Persephone’s grasp and marched up to Marie.

“I need you to do me a favor,” Nyx said.

Marie’s jaw was set hard. It took me a moment to realize she wasn’t angry. She was trying desperately to hold back tears.

“I don’t want you to be careful,” said Nyx, her voice tight, the whites of her eyes bloodshot. “I want you to use everything that cursed plant has given you to do whatever you need to do to bring your rude, disrespectful, spoiled-rotten ass right back here. I won’t accept anything less than that. Do you understand?”

Marie didn’t speak. She only gave Nyx a stiff nod.

“Tell me you will do it,” Nyx said. She put her hand on Marie’s shoulder, and Marie couldn’t hold back anymore. Tears rolled down her cheeks. “I need you to say it out loud because I know you to be a person of your word.”

“I don’t know why you’re talking to me like this is goodbye. It’s not.” Marie roughly wiped away her tears. “But just so you know, I never would’ve gotten through all these years without you.” She cleared her throat and squeezed my hand. I hadn’t ever seen her this upset. Marie could be abrasive, she had an attitude as big as the sky, but what she had with Nyx was special. They were family. Marie looked Nyx in the face. “Tell me you’ll see me soon and walk away.”

Nyx choked back a sob. “I’ll see you soon.” She turned on her heel, walked to the car, and drove off.

I turned to Marie. “We’ll make this work.” I didn’t know if I was trying to convince her or myself. I’d let myself believe we could attempt this impossible task, but promising we’d make it back safe and sound still felt like too much of a lie for me to say it out loud.

We walked to the plane and climbed the short set of stairs. Inside were two rows of plush reclining seats, grouped in twos and facing each other with tables in between. There was enough room for twelve passengers, but it was only the four of us. Circe moved the cages inside and set them under a blanket near the back.

Marie fished around inside a narrow cabinet and pulled out a toothbrush wrapped in plastic and a travel-sized tube of toothpaste. She handed them to me and steered me to the rear of the cabin where I found a bathroom.

“Thanks,” I said.

Marie squeezed my hand and went to help Circe and Persephone load the last of our things.

I stepped inside the bathroom, slung my backpack onto the small counter, and brushed my teeth. I glanced in the little lighted mirror. I had to smile. My wrap was still clinging to my head, but it had been pushed back by the wind during my ride on the griffin and my edges were sticking out. But my hair wasn’t the issue. What was embarrassing was the little dried trails of tears that streaked from the corners of my eyes and the one trail of dried snot from my left nostril. I took a deep breath and got to work setting myself straight.