Page 55 of Harbinger

A chuckle reached them. Tisiphone was grinning like this was the best thing that had happened to her in ages.

Thetis fisted her hands and stormed inside the cave from which the voice originated, only to stumble to an abrupt halt. Cassius studied the sumptuous furniture filling the space warily as he stopped a short distance behind her. His gaze finally landed on the large four-poster bed in the middle of the rug-strewn floor.

Visible through the gauzy canopy surrounding it were two figures in languid motion.

“By the Gods, that feels good,” the one on the bottom grunted.

Thetis took a deep breath. “MENIPPE!”

Her roar made the cave tremble and sent something squeaking and flapping its wings agitatedly around the shadowy ceiling.

Dione grimaced and removed her fingers from her ears as the echoes faded.

The figures on the bed had frozen.

The one on the bottom yanked the closest veil aside and squinted at them. “Thetis?!”

Cassius breathed a sigh of relief.

The sea Goddess was lying on her front and having her back massaged by a sturdy Potamos in a loin cloth.

Her face brightened. “Oh, hey! I brought souvenirs.”

Thetis ground her teeth.

Menippe gasped when she saw Cassius. She pushed up onto her hands and knees and scrambled off the bed stark naked, the healthy Potamos specimen behind her forgotten.

“Icarus!”

She flew across the room, jumped on him like a crab, and kissed him. Cassius’s eyes rounded, hands rising aloft at his sides. Menippe squeezed her arms and legs tighter around him and pushed her tongue inside his mouth, passion glazing her face.

Tisiphone burst out laughing.

“Why, you hussy!” Thetis gasped, horrified.

It took both her and Dione to finally peel Menippe off Cassius.

Tisiphone wiped tears from her eyes. “By the Gods,I wish I could have immortalized this moment and shown it to Ivmir.”

Cassius grimaced. Thetis forced her recalcitrant younger sister into a peignoir and dismissed the bowing Potamos.

“Where did you go this time?” Dione asked wearily.

“Not telling,” Menippe pouted.

Her gaze darted to Cassius. Her expression grew unfocused.

“His lips are the sweetest ambrosia I have ever tasted,” she half mumbled to herself.

This sent Tisiphone into a fit of giggles and had Cassius swallowing a sigh.

It took several minutes for Thetis and Dione to apprise the rebellious sea Goddess of all they had learned in the past two hours. Menippe sobered as she listened.

Her frowning gaze swung between Tisiphone and Icarus. “You’re looking for Ladon?”

“Yes,” Cassius replied tensely. “Did you happen to see where the dragon you saw disappeared off to after the Nether tore?”

Menippe scratched the back of her head. “It was a long time ago.” She flashed a sour look at Thetis and Dione. “Besides,somepeople thought I made it all up.”

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