Page 43 of Scion of Chaos

“At the top, actually. The one you know as the Mother Dragon is my sister. I’m not the only dragon in Tartarus, though; Vesh’s brother Typhon is more powerful. And we’re also missing Asterius and Erebus, who are back overseeing things in the prison so we can be here.”

Erika holds up a hand. “Hold on. Back up. The Mother Dragon has asister?”

“I wouldn’t say she claims me anymore. I have, as you say,fallen from grace. We don’t speak.”

Erika regards Campe with more intensity, taking in her leather armor and her hand on the hilt of a large sword. She fights well in her human form, which is often required in the tight quarters of a prison.

“But you’re here and she isn’t. That says a lot more about her, I would think. Asgodsgo, pretty much all of them are shit at answering prayers. You would think that when four Court dragons are harmed,someoneamong the fucking pantheon who created the higher races would give a shit, but no one has come. Deva Rainsong is the only one who bothers with mortals anymore, but she’s been called to handle a different problem on some island off the coast of Seattle. You all are gods or demigods, and you actually showed up.”

Her voice is tight with pent-up fury, and her eyes flash as she scans the group, then paces back to face me. “You’re here to help, so tell me what I can do to helpyou.”

I take a beat before asking, “Gabby’s father was one of the dragons, wasn’t he? And they left him alive?”

She winces, then takes a deep breath. “In a sense. Follow me and I’ll show you.”

She leads me to a muddy path, and I stride forward beside her, the others falling into step behind me with the two human men uncomfortably close to my elbows. After a brief hike ,we reach the dig site I saw on my map, with a dozen Shadow and Guardian dragons stationed around the perimeter. Some fly in a circuit overhead. A handful are in their human forms, rebuilding a broken scaffolding and staircase. But I can see what happened when we reach the edge of the dig. Down in the mud at the bottom rest four eggs that have been dragged together within the confines of a heavily guarded fence: two golden eggs, one copper-red, and one silver-white.

“Iapetus is the only one with the power to affect the age of a mortal,” Pan says.

My jaw twitches.

“You don’t look surprised,” Erika says sardonically.

“I’m surprised they left you alive.”

“They had no choice, considering they want to get into that temple. Because I know how to get the key.”

21

Nemea

Waking up feeling freshly fucked is so much nicer when you can actuallyrememberthe fucking. I luxuriate in the soreness of my naked body contrasted with the decadent softness of the silken covers that encompass me. Copious wetness coats my inner thighs, something I would have normally not been able to sleep with, but now all it does is remind me of how I managed to fit two enormous cocks inside me. And Ilovedit. I may have loved it even more the second time than the first, now that I can actually remember it.

I pull the covers over my head to savor this feeling a little longer, rolling onto my side and touching my fingers to my lips, which are as pleasantly tender as the rest of me. I sucked off a god withreallyweird dick last night. I still remember the sweetly salty taste of him, and the sensation of power filling my belly when I swallowed. Licking my lips, I taste remnants of Erebus, bringing the memory back fresh and vivid. My pussy gets wetter, if that’s even possible, but my stomach growls at the same time, and a wave of dizziness washes over me, obliterating my arousal entirely.

With a groan I roll onto my back and toss the covers off my head. I get my bearings staring up into the peak of a canopy that drapes down from a single circular point to the four carved bedposts around me. It’s all black silk.

Every inch of the bedding matches, though looking closer at it, I suspect it isn’t silk at all. Like the void glass that I’ve become well acquainted with, the fabric has an iridescent sheen like an oil slick. Though upon looking closer, I realize it isn’t a surface effect at all; the threads shimmer with inner light just the way the glass did when I touched it.

But only when I touch it. I smooth my hand over the cover and watch in fascination as the threads shimmer beneath my palm, fading back to black when I lift my hand.

I thought I’d seen everything when I learned of the existence of the higher races and found myself on an island where they were regular residents. But despite the presence of actual dragons, life on Bear Island was comfortingly mundane. They were just people, living their lives, teaching crafts at an exclusive craft school—one among many, though the only one that catered to non-humans.

Occasionally I’d hear mention of gods and goddesses, of the origins of the higher races, but it was all still a very abstract idea to me.

But now… I’m in actual fuckingTartarus. Which, it turns out, isn’t just a place, but a man. A man who has been inside me twice.

I sit up and stare around the room. And I guess I’m insidehimright now? Can he feel me? Can he hear my thoughts?

I think for a moment, then project,“What’s a girl got to do to get some morning nookie?”

“She has but to ask,”comes a familiar voice, but it doesn’t belong to Vesh.

Erebus materializes at the foot of the bed, eerily handsome and as terrifying as ever. He’s in dark, ornate armor now, which makes him even more intimidating. But the hungry look in his eyes shatters the sinister impression.

“I was talking to him, actually,” I say, annoyed by my slurring words. The room wobbles again, and I blink my eyes and shake my head, which throbs like I have a hangover. My vision clears. “Where is he?”

“Hunting down the Titans. I am happy to see to any of your needs.”

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