by JA Wren
The rush of water drew her eyes to her left where a river flowed, crystal clear as it bubbled over pebbles in every color she could think of. Lush green grass trailed from the river and under the trees, impossible thanks to all the acidic pine needles decorating the ground.
But it was bright and vivid, the healthiest lawn she’d ever seen.
Snowcapped mountains stood in the distance, their white peaks reaching so high into the sky, thick clouds of pink and gold drifted around them. She swore she saw something flying within the dense clouds, its huge wings suggesting a giant bird of some kind, but the body didn’t look quite right.
Her winged horse?
Wait.
It’s not yours, Knox. You can’t just go around claiming all the pretty creatures you see.
No matter how beautiful they were. Besides, hadn’t someone said the creature had to claim you in return? That was how bonding worked. Not just pick out a cute pet and take it home with you.
“Rayna!” Delilah called from somewhere unseen. “This way.”
“Which way? It’s not like I can see you.”
Autumn popped her head around a particularly large tree a few feet ahead of them and smiled. “This way, slowpoke.”
Great, the girl had gone from silent observer to insulting her.
“I told you,” Asher said as they walked toward the massive tree.
“Told me what?”
“That you wouldn’t be disappointed.”
Damn.
He had her there. Even without any majestic creatures, she already loved this place and was planning her next visit. Could she slip in here between classes when no one was looking? She’d need to drag Asher along with her—as usual—but she doubted he’d mind.
She gasped the minute she rounded the tree.
Delilah was playing with a…puppy? Except the black dog had two heads and the tail that looked suspiciously like a snake with bright yellow stripes. And it was roughly the size of a full-grown Labrador, complete with the typical floppy ears—four of them—as it bounced around, chasing a soccer ball.
“You’ve heard of Cerberus, right?” Asher asked while Rayna stood frozen, gaping at the strange and yet oddly adorable creature. She nodded slowly, letting him know she recognized the name of Hades’ guard dog. “I’m betting this little guy is descended from his lesser-known brother—the Orthros. He was much nicer, though no less territorial, but he only had two heads.”
Only two heads.
Right.
“Come say hi,” Delilah called out to her, waving her hand through the air.
Rayna edged closer, but kept a close eye on the over-sized puppy and his two heads as they both tried to bite the ball. His snake tail swatted this way and that, seemingly with a mind of its own.
She knelt down beside Delilah and Autumn, careful not to make sudden movements even though she was pretty sure the bi-headed dog wasn’t about to pounce.
Asher quickly moved in to rub his free hand playfully over the pup, ruffling his fur before giving him chest scratches. “What’s his name?”
Delilah shrugged as she set her cup of tea on the ground. “They haven’t named him yet. He was only born a couple weeks ago, and I’m not gonna lie, it was intense to watch.”
“You got to see it?” Asher asked, amazement dripping from his words.
Delilah dipped her head and nodded, her cheeks flushing bright red.
Autumn laughed and nudged her friend with her shoulder. “D here has a thing for one of the second year students who helps out Professor Matthis with all the creatures.”
“Autumn,” Delilah grunted.
Not that it worked. Autumn pretended not to notice and waved her hand at Delilah. “He got her a front row seat to the birthing even though it got him into serious trouble—oof.”
She broke off when Delilah bumped her hip a little too hard and sent Autumn rolling onto the grass, laughing as the bi-headed puppy gave her sloppy kisses. “She talks too much,” Delilah said by way of explanation, then burst into giggles because there was no way it was true.
“Nice try,” Rayna said. “So, tell us more about your friend.”
Cheeks firetruck red, Delilah pushed her hair behind her ears and beamed. “Well, his name’s Ethan and he’s a Physical, too. The only nice one I’ve seen around here, besides Asher, of course. He’s a shifter, but nothing as fearsome as a phoenix.”
Asher grunted and knelt down on the grass while Rayna smashed her lips together to keep from laughing. She’d been asking about the puppy, not Delilah’s crush. Clearly the girl needed to do some gushing, so she nodded away and feigned utter interest in the guy when all she wanted was more details about multi-headed hounds.
Delilah’s eyes glazed, a dreamy expression settling over her face. “He’s a horse shifter, which is why he’s helping Professor Matthis.”
“A horse?” Rayna’s eyes widened.
“Noble breed,” Asher said softly, approval in his deep voice, which was kinda sweet and weird at the same time. “Very loyal, too, though they can be obstinate and they don’t trust very quickly or easily. Not dissimilar to their horse half, really.”
“Not a winged horse, right?” She’d hate to have wanted to bond with the black beauty she’d first seen when he was the boy Delilah had a thing for. That would be all kinds of awkward.
Delilah shook her head. “Oh, no. He’s a regular horse, not a Pegasus. That would be cool, though, right? I wouldn’t mind riding him—”
“I bet you wouldn’t,” Autumn said between laughs as she tumbled around the grass with the puppy.
“Oh, Autumn. You know I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Mean what?” a cute guy asked.
Judging by the little squeak Delilah let out, Rayna guessed he must be the infamous Ethan. He was tall and kinda skinny, fair skin with dark hair, and deep green eyes. Rayna tried to picture him as a horse. Then tried to imagine him shifting from humanoid to equine. Which just seemed both impossible and extremely painful.
Her eyes cut to Asher. He said the fire didn’t burn him, but did it hurt in other ways? And when he shifted? When his skin cracked and the fires licked out from within him? When his wings burst from his back?
Did he suffer every time?
She desperately wanted to ask, but she couldn’t. Not with an audience, even if they were all more interested in each other right then.
Delilah cleared her throat. “Uh, I was—well, I was just—”
“She means she was about to show me some cool wheatgrass tea trick,” Rayna butted in when Delilah stammered like a teen talking to the first boy she’d ever liked.
“Yes!” Delilah said too enthusiastically, spilling more of her tea in her haste to grab the cup. The bi-headed puppy came bounding over to her, sniffing the cup and licking the grass where it had spilled.
“I thought you weren’t going to do that after Professor Matthis caught you.”
She shrugged. “Just this once more. For the new girl.” Delilah stroked the giant puppy’s head. “Besides, he loves it.”
“You spoil him, you know?” Ethan said as he sat down on the grass right opposite Delilah. Belatedly noticing the newcomers—perhaps because he was just as infatuated with Delilah as she was with him?—he waved at Rayna and Asher. “Hey, haven’t seen you guys around before.”
“They arrived yesterday.” Delilah smiled, holding her cup of tea between her palms as she made brief introductions.
“So, let’s see this wheatgrass trick,” Rayna urged, eager for a demonstration and to give Delilah something to do besides stare at Ethan.
Delilah poured a generous puddle of her tea onto the grass while Ethan held the bi-headed puppy so he didn’t lap it all up. Autumn crept closer, right into Delilah’s space so the two girls were wedged side by side.
Asher moved in closer to Rayna, presumably to get a better look at what was going on. His warm breath tickled her neck, so different from the cool breeze rustling through the trees. His delici
ous scent enveloped her, drowning out the acidic pine and earthy ground.
Replacing it with something far more intoxicating.
The Nature Mage in training placed her hands over the puddle of tea, one cupped over the other with her palms facing down. She closed her eyes, a line of creases taking up residence on her brow.
Rayna glanced at Ethan, just a quick peek, and as expected, the guy was hyper-focused on the Psych girl, his intense green gaze locked on her like nothing else existed.
Delilah whispered something under her breath, barely audible but slowly getting louder. The words repeated in a chant, but the language was totally foreign. Latin? Nope, that couldn’t be. You weren’t supposed to actually speak Latin.
Right?
She’d never been particularly good with languages, though, so for all she knew it was gibberish.
And then little glittering sunbursts rose from the grass where she’d poured the tea.
Rayna leaned closer, until Asher held her back from sticking her nose right into the spot coming alive. The grass quivered. The earth beneath them vibrated. Delilah’s fingers twitched.
A tiny sprout popped through the grass, growing like beans in a fairy tale. Too fast to be natural. It unfurled, showing a thin stem and a pair of dainty leaves that grew larger as the stem reached higher. When it touched Delilah’s palms, she spread them down around the plant, holding it without touching. More sparkles circled the sprout’s curled in tip, coaxing it to form a tight bud.
Delilah opened her eyes and smiled at Ethan, and the guy beamed back at her, awe reflected in his cute face. “Infurlentè,” she whispered.
Slowly, the little petals uncurled themselves, revealing a flower unlike any Rayna had ever seen. Mostly white, it had a lavender center with blue veins and lemon yellow stamens.
And she swore it twinkled like there was a galaxy of stars living inside the thin membrane of each lily-like petal.
“How is that possible?” she whispered, unable to hold in her amazement.
Magic. Beautiful magic, so different from all the scary shit that had come after them inside the labyrinth.
Or the creepy tar-like substance that coated Rayna’s sheets and dried into flaky ash.
Delilah dipped her head. “I’ve been practicing with my older sister. She graduated from the academy a couple years ago and this was the only thing she agreed to teach me.”
Autumn leaned over and sniffed the flower. “It’s your best one yet, D.”
The bi-headed puppy barked, his snake tail wagging and twin tongues dangling from his mouths. Delilah laughed and nodded. As soon as she did, Ethan let the pup go and he went straight for the magical flower, ripping it up, two mouths tearing into the dainty flower.
Rayna gasped as the flower was eaten in seconds. “What? Why?”
“It’s his favorite treat,” Delilah said with a shrug. “Besides, it’s not like I can leave it to hang out here. We’re not supposed to do magic outside class. Not yet, anyway. Professor Matthis made me swear I wouldn’t do it again, but if any of the other faculty saw, I’d be in huge trouble. Our overgrown pup here might as well enjoy it.”
Sacrilege.
That flower was far too beautiful to be eaten.
But then the pup did get the goofiest grin on his faces, so maybe it was worth it.
A gong sounded, echoing through the trees like a chapel bell ringing in a small city.
“Uh, what the hell was that?”
Twenty-Six
“Shit,” Delilah said, rushing to her feet. “Start of class. We gotta hurry.”
Asher tugged Rayna to her feet while the two girls said quick goodbyes to the bi-headed puppy.
“But—but,” Rayna stammered. “What about my new familiar?”
Asher shrugged, leading her back towards the pit of blackness they’d walked through not too long ago. “We’ll have to come back later.”
“And Tink?” She was still out there after flying off and disappearing. “I can’t leave without her.”
“No choice.” He was practically dragging her now, even as she glanced behind her to find the two girls rushing with Ethan in the same direction. “She’ll find her way back to you. I’m sure of it.”
“How sure?”
He paused right at the black threshold. “Hundred percent.”
Then they were lost in the dark sea again, only Asher leading the way kept Rayna from wandering about like a lost tourist.
When they emerged from the blackness, Asher frowned. “First class was with Professor Kalypso, right?”
Rayna nodded. And since they were still joined, he’d be tagging along with her. “But I don’t know which way. Evelyn was supposed to show us, but…whoops.”
He laughed and shook his head. “Don’t worry, you did the right thing.” He glanced over his shoulder to where the Psychs and Ethan were parting ways, going in opposite directions. “Spiritual labs?”
Delilah pointed to the far end of the campus, all the way on the other damn side towards the dining hall. “Sorry. The entrance is near the gazebo.”
Ugh, why did the campus have to be so huge?
Rayna was panting and wheezing like she’d run a marathon and cycled the Tour de France by the time they arrived outside the huge Spiritual labs. She was convinced they’d be late, even though Asher had pushed her to speed across the campus faster than she thought her body could move.
“Wait,” she rasped out as they passed yet another gorgeous statue she feared might come alive. “The sign says Psychē. We’re at the wrong lab.”
He shook his head as they stepped through a pair of wooden doors. “It’s Greek. Psychē means spiritual, not psychic.”
She frowned. “That’s confusing. What’s the Psychic lab called?”
He shrugged. “Likely Nous. And before you ask, I’m guessing the Physical lab is Sóma.”
“More Greek?” At his nod, she added, “Well, they do like their branding, don’t they?”
A few students still milled around the massive halls with their high, vaulted ceilings just like the building where she’d met with Hale. Except this one didn’t come with the oversized entry. Just a long passage with more wooden doors, presumably leading to lecture halls. At least it didn’t look like they were the last stragglers—
“Ray-Ray?”
Rayna stopped dead, her body freezing as she almost let out a sob. “Kally?”
It couldn’t be. She’d imagined her best friend calling out to her. Desperate for the one person she knew and trusted in the world. Her very human and normal friend would never be at the Labyrinth Academy.
Right?
She turned slowly, preparing herself for utter disappointment when it turned out to be a hallucination of some sort. A trick. Maybe Evelyn had the power to mimic voices and she was punishing Rayna for calling her out earlier.
But Kally crashed into her, wrapping her arms around Rayna and squealing in her ear. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re finally here!”
“Finally here?”
“At the academy.” Kally laughed and pulled back just enough to look Rayna in the eyes. Hers beamed a brighter shade of green, her black hair extra glossy and shining beautifully in the light. “Do you know how long I’ve waited for you to join me?”
“Waited?”
“Don’t worry, girl, everything will make so much more sense as soon as you’re back to your old self.”
“Old self?” Seemed she was no longer capable of actual words, instead just repeating what her BFF said.
Kally nodded, then glanced over at Asher. “Hey, hotness. Long time no see. Sorry about the whole…volcano thing. That had to suck Minotaur balls. Apollo’s a grade A asshole, but then most of the male gods are.”
Her frown still stuck in place, Rayna looked at Asher as he waved and the most haunted, pained expression took root on his face. “Hi, Kal. And you’re not wrong there.”
“Hold up a sec.” Rayna raised her hand between them. “Kal? You said you didn’t know K
ally.”
His face tightened. “I didn’t realize they were one in the same.”
Rayna’s happiness at seeing her bestie was starting to ebb, confusion and suspicion taking hold, flooding every other emotion she wanted to hold onto but couldn’t.
Kally wouldn’t meet her gaze. “The firebird and I go way back.”
The night of Kally’s exhibition, she thought. When Rayna had apparently met Asher and taken him home in her drunken haze. She might not remember the details, but she’d assumed that’s what had happened—how he’d landed up naked in her bed the next morning.
Shit.
It felt like a lifetime ago, but really was only twenty-four hours.
Being with Asher felt so right, like she belonged with him, it was hard to keep in mind they hadn’t known each other for very long. And most of that had been spent running the labyrinth gauntlet from hell.
“So, he was at your exhibition the night before last?” she asked, trying to put all the pieces of the puzzle together in her head.
Kally frowned. “Nope. I haven’t seen him since—”
“No details,” Asher interrupted.
Kally glared at him. “Obviously, hot-stuff. I’m the one who’s been taking care of her these last two decades. I know how much—or how little—Nyx wants spilled.”
Asher winced, his whole body quaking. “Yeah, well some of us didn’t have that luxury, now did we?”
“Not my fault.” Kally’s voice rose. “Blame Nyx if you’re looking for someone other than yourself.”
Asher growled, low and threatening as he stepped closer to Kally. “Careful.”
“Of what?” Kally didn’t even flinch. “I’m not scared of you or Apollo. You know what happens if he comes near me. That’s why Nyx assigned me to Rayna. There’s no safer place in the world than by my side and now that she’s here at the academy, he can’t touch our Ray-Ray. No one can.”
Rayna shoved against both their chest to separate them. None of what they said made any sense at all. “You know, I’m done with all the secrets. I want answers. Right now. Fuck Nyx and all her bullshit about keeping things from me.” Rayna glared at her supposed bestie. “What the hell do you mean she assigned you to me?”
