Page 33 of Dante's Circle Reborn

She nodded.

They made their way out of the burning home, and he felt a tinge of regret that he was losing the place, but it didn’t matter. His true home was in the lion realm, as was his heart. No, that wasn’t the case anymore. Because the person beside him could also hold that organ. Just like baby Penelope already did as his ward.

“Can you fight at all?” he asked, and Poppy shook her head.

“I don’t know the moves. My parents didn’t want me to fight, thought it wasn’t in my nature. And not all gorgons are as violent as the current court and these men after me. And it won’t be just these three. The queen has far more.”

“I figured as much. Sending her entire army out at once would be idiotic. We’ll get out of this. I just need to know your skills.”

“My only skill is death,” she whispered, and he reached out and squeezed her hand. He hadn’t even realized his claws were out until she looked down, her eyes wide.

“Sorry,” he grumbled as they ducked under another fallen pillar.

“No, don’t be. You didn’t scream at the sight of my snakes. I’m not going to do so at your claws.”

He held her hand and pulled her through the damaged house. Soon, they were outside, hidden behind a tree, both coughing up smoke and whatever else had gotten into their lungs.

They were paranormals and would survive this, but Poppy was far younger, and therefore would take longer to heal.

Jonah looked at the wound on her head, grateful that the bleeding had stopped, but he still ran his hands over her body to make sure she was okay. Her snakes didn’t hiss at him, they just stared at him curiously.

If they were in any other situation, he might have quirked a smile or tried to reach out to say hello to introduce himself. That would come later. For now, he needed to keep them alive.

“I’m okay,” she whispered, and he really wished that were true. But there wasn’t a lot of time to ask and make sure.

The scent of gorgon intensified, and he knew they were out of time. Suddenly, they were on them, all three of them, and two extra little buddies. The gorgons had their snakes out, but they weren’t as strong as Poppy’s. They weren’t Medusas, so he might be safe from turning to stone as long as he didn’t let them focus for too long.

Poppy threw herself in front of him and screamed. “You know the laws. You do not use your powers within the human realm.”

“Yet you have your snakes out, your glamour gone. Maybe you’re just as weak as the rest of the world thinks you are,” one of the gorgons spat. Blood covered him, and he was limping, but he had caught up to them. Had hunted them.

These gorgons would die. By Jonah’s teeth and claws if he had any say in it.

“Will they hurt me?” he whispered, so low that he knew the gorgons wouldn’t be able to hear him, even with how close they were.

“They’re of lower rank and power. They can’t actually use their hair like a Medusa can. It’s only for show.”

“Truly?” he asked, surprised.

“We don’t speak of it outside the realm.”

The closest gorgon must have heard the last part because he snarled. “You dare defy our laws? You’re a murderer, a slayer of innocents, and now you’re telling our secrets to an animal?”

“And that is enough of being called an animal,” Jonah growled. And then they moved. He trusted Poppy, maybe not enough to defend herself because she didn’t know how—something that would change. However, he trusted her because, deep down, he knew that she wanted him to survive just like she wanted to survive.

He moved then, the soldier deep inside clawing at him, ready to fight for what was right, just, andhis.

Five gorgons were on him at once, seemingly ignoring Poppy. Did they want her dead, or just incapacitated so they could bring her back to the queen? He wasn’t sure, and he wasn’t going to find out.

He slammed his fists into one of their jaws, and the gorgon spat blood. His snakes bit at Jonah’s hand, and he really hoped the damn fuckers weren’t poisonous. Venom wasn’t something he needed to deal with at the moment.

Another gorgon came at him with a knife, trying to slice him from behind, and Jonah ducked, spun, twisted the first gorgon’s arm behind his back and used him as a shield.

The gorgon that had been coming at him stabbed his friend, and they both growled, shocked, before falling into a heap as Jonah kicked them both from behind so they were on the ground in a blink. Jonah could move fast, even with just one leg. Not that anyone knew exactly what was beneath the leg of his jeans. They didn’t know that if they took out his prosthesis, they might have an advantage. He had been fighting with the fake limb for nearly as long as he’d been at war when he was whole.

He knew what he was doing.

The end of his stump hurt as he pressed all his weight onto the metal and other materials that made up his prosthesis, but he ignored the bite.

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