Warrior Queen - Karpov Kinrade Page 0,45

the water spreading out before her a startling, clear blue.

After a few minutes, a group of nereids rise out of the ocean to bow before her, their hair a bright green and their gowns adorned with pearls and glittering shells.

“Send a message to Catalina,” Artemis drives directly to the point. “Tell her that I would pass through the Forbidden Woods to the Bridge of Oblivion.”

The nereids draw back with a hiss, and dive back into the sea. As they swim away, I track the ripples of water to a group of dolphins leaping on the waves.

“Why the reaction?” I ask Artemis as she rises to join me.

“Catalina is feared by all in Elysium,” she says. “The Forbidden Forest is a place that few have ever seen.”

“Why is she feared?” I ask when she falls silent.

“Some say she is so powerful that even the River of Forgetfulness follows her bidding, causing any enemy to forget who they are.”

“Strange,” I say. “But enemies? I thought Elysium is supposed to be paradise, isn’t it?”

Artemis shrugs. “As much as anything else here.”

We lapse into silence and sit on the beach. It’s hard to wait patiently when I know this very minute Clay is tromping around on Earth wreaking havoc. My mind leaps from one horrible thought of what he might be doing to another, but I shove them away, unwilling to give them any power to bring them to life.

A short time later, Ladron returns leading Alfio astride his donkey and the picture of them both sends me back in time, to when I first arrived. Life seemed so much simpler then. And it feels like years ago, instead of months.

“Let’s keep going,” Artemis says. “We should arrive before dawn.”

“Can you make it that long, Alfio?” I ask, concerned over the thought of a frail old man traveling all night—especially after spending so much time, recently, in prison.

“Do not fret over me, my lady,” he says, his chin already dipping to his chest.

“I won’t let him fall,” Ladron assures me with a grin.

Alfio is already snoring by the time we reach the road.

“What is it?” I ask Mirk as I join him at the lead.

We’ve made great progress. The moon is waning in the night sky and the Forbidden Forest looms majestically before us.

Mirk looks down at me and shakes his head.

“It’s the Fae, isn’t it? The fact that you’re going to meet them for the very first time.”

“But will I?” he asks in a slight mocking tone. “They never cared for my Hades blood before. They abandoned me as a babe on his doorstep with not as much as a trinket of remembrance.”

“Did you ever try to come here?” I ask.

“I have tried many times to find it,” he says, eyeing the wood. “Ever has it eluded me. If I had known Artemis knew the secret, by whatever means, I would have asked her before.”

“Well, you’re here now,” I say.

On the edge of the wood, Mirk comes to a stop. “Let’s wait for the others,” he says.

Artemis approaches with Ladron leading the donkey.

“Alfio’s been asleep this whole time,” I say with a small laugh. “It’s funny he’s managed to stay upright in his saddle.”

“Incredible balance and inner strength,” Mirk murmurs.

“Alfio?” I snort.

Mirk shrugs, but it’s one that tells me he’s looking at Alfio in an entirely different way than I am, and it makes me wonder.

I watch the old man curiously, but as hard as I try, I just see a tired servant, one who I need to get back to his home, somehow, to Cora’s care. I certainly can’t take him to Earth with me, not into the mess Clay is no doubt making this very minute.

Once everyone is ready, we prepare to enter the dark, mysterious wood.

“Shall we?” I ask, nodding at the path.

Ladron smiles and pulls the donkey forward, but he goes no further than a few feet before he stops abruptly.

I turn to see a woman. At first, I see only her eyes. They’re cold, hard, and the deadly expression in them sends shivers down my spine. It takes me a moment to notice she’s not looking at me, but at Alfio.

“You are overly brave to return here—or overly foolish. I can’t make up my mind which,” she says. “But in either case, you’re a dead man.”

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"He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has." ~Epictetus

“Wait,” I say, moving to step between them, but the