Page 50 of Wild Hunt
I rolled my eyes and took the lead, heading toward the castle’s second entrance. From this angle, I could see the vast wasteland in the distance, and there was a patch of swirling clouds in the far east. The sky was red and black in that one spot, and gray everywhere else.
“I think that’s the next stop,” I sighed.
“Like this place wasn’t creepy enough,” Loki complained, coming up beside me.
As tempting as it was to rest and as overwhelming as the prospect of further travel seemed, I wasn’t going to just stand there staring into the void. I made another vine and secured it to a stable-looking rock, preparing to begin the downward descent.
“What are you doing?” Hades asked in his usual derisive tone.
“I’m getting down,” I answered, dropping another vine on the ground before I began to climb down. “Come or don’t.”
He and Loki looked at each other and the latter shrugged, shifting into a black crow. He flew down to the ground below and I found myself envious as I made my way down the hard way. Fenrir leaped past me onto a nearby ledge and easily scaled the rocks.
I could hear Hades muttering his discontent, but he finally secured the second vine and scaled down the rock wall with me. When I was almost at the bottom, a pair of hands around my waist made me jolt.
“Just helping,” Loki said, pulling me the rest of the way down.
I looked him up and down, snorting. “You’re clothed this time.”
“The laws of physics are a bit bendy in this world, it would seem,” he said with a grin. “Sorry to disappoint.”
I rolled my eyes and brushed past him, joining Fenrir, who was already up ahead. We walked for another half an eternity before Loki spoke up. “There’s something I’ve been wondering.”
Hades said nothing and I waited expectantly for him to continue.
“Only one of us can win the challenge, so how are we going to handle that when we get to the big swirling eye in the sky?” he asked.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Hades said crossly. “Hopefully time doesn’t pass quickly out there while we’re in here.”
I shivered at the thought of getting stuck here for long. The fact that my mother was in the audience was the only comfort, since I was pretty sure they wouldn’t leave me in a coma in front of her. Demure as she was on the surface, she could be scary when she wanted.
“Who knows?” Loki mused. “There’s nothing typical about the experience so far.” He paused, glancing at Hades. “Do you think this is related to… you know?”
Hades gave him a silencing look.
“I’m just asking.”
“To what?” I demanded, stopping to face them both. “To the bond?”
“What happened to not speaking about it?” Hades snapped.
“We’re in a cavernous dream world,” I said, throwing out my arms. “I think we can assume we have privacy.”
“The bond is the only common denominator between the four of us, so it stands to reason,” said Loki. “Occam’s razor and all that.”
“Whatever the reason, it doesn’t matter. And when we do get out of here, no one’s saying a word about it,” said Hades.
I narrowed my eyes. No matter how logical it happened to be, I always had a knee jerk reaction to Hades giving me marching orders. “Says who?”
“Me,” he answered, staring me down. “And if I have to put another seal your lips spell on you, I will.”
“What’s this about another kiss?” Loki asked, his eyes lighting up with mischief.
I rolled my eyes. “It was for a spell.”
“And your kiss with Fenrir was about reining in your power, but a kiss is still a kiss,” Loki scoffed. “I’m starting to feel left out.”
My eyes rolled back into my head and I started walking faster even though every muscle in my body ached.
