7. Diana

Diana

I cocked my head as I tried to track the monster's movements by the clickety-clack of his spindly legs against the stone exterior of the lighthouse. He seemed to be making his way around to the side now.

"What the fuck is he doing?" I muttered. As if I wasn’t feeling my adrenaline spike and my heart pick up speed at the thought of the spider creature climbing the lighthouse.

"Well," Theo closed one eye in thought, assessing the situation in his bleary-minded state, "My guess is he doesn't want you all to leave, but he's got a couple victims still out in the rainforest for tonight's hunt that he has to deal with before he gets to you."

"Hunt?" Mav said, his voice rising an octave. "He's already got plenty of food. We watched him wrapping up some poor bastard like a mummy. And there were others..."

Theo scratched at his stubbled face. "Yah, well, 'the hunt' and 'food' are two different things, aren't they?"

That explained all the traps out there meant to maim and not kill.

I hated that, as an apex predator myself on both sides of the family, I knew exactly what he meant. Meat was delicious, to be sure. But as much as it hurt my soul to admit it, outsmarting prey and running down your dinner felt different. Primal. Sort of like how I felt when Raven touched me...

Another splat sounded across the room, and a second window went dark. I cleared my throat. "He's going to trap us here, hunt down the others remaining free on the island, and then come back to kill all of us. That's what you're saying?"

Theo shrugged and looked away, refusing to meet my gaze. "Well, not all of us..."

It took me a second to remember this innocent-looking old man was anything but.

"You're the key to the whole operation, aren't you? Akmon uses you to lure the ships in because he can't run the lights without you. And you do it for him."

The disgust must've been evident in my voice, because Theo flinched.

"Give me one reason not to do this world a favor and gut you here and now?" Raven snarled, stepping closer.

I moved between them but Theo waved me off with a sniffle. "You think you're telling me something I don't know? I don't want to be here any more than you do. I just did what I had to do to survive. Man, you guys are pretty mean for hallucinations..."

I drew back and slapped his face, hard enough to leave an instant red mark.

"Shit's sake, what the hell did you do that for?"

"Not a hallucination."

He blinked at me and suddenly his bleary eyes went clear.

"You...you guys are real?"

"We are," Mav said with a curt nod.

Theo lunged toward me and grabbed my hand. It was only my glare at Raven that saved the poor old man from a blade to the gullet.

"You have to help me. I have to get out of here. I'll help you guys. I'll tell you exactly what to do and we can escape together. Do you have some way off the island?"

"We have a skiff and, potentially, if we can unwedge it and hope that we can repair anything that’s busted, a ship stuck on the rocks."

Hope lit his bloodshot eyes. "Okay. Here's what we need to do. One of us," he shot a look around the room, his gaze finally sticking on Raven, "Preferably the big guy, needs to get outside before Akmon covers all the windows?—"

Splat .

I whipped around to see window number three covered in wet silk. By my count, that left three more.

"You've got to hurry," Theo pleaded, turning his attention to Raven. "That stuff is like steel. If you're on the outside, once he leaves, you can cut it away with a blade. But from the inside, pushing will only make it stronger."

"Raven isn't like...other men," I said, choosing my words carefully. The last thing poor old Theo needed was to hear that he was in a room full of monsters just as dangerous as his arachnid master.

"I don't care what type of male he is. You know the demons come here and trade with Akmon for his silk to make their shields with? It's nearly as strong as fae-made armor."

Okay, so Theo wasn't completely in the dark.

"We can't take a chance on waiting," I said, the decision already made in my mind. "If Akmon wants a worthy kill, then Nicholas is surely one of the intended victims of this bloodsport. He might need our help. And if not, then all three of them might still be alive in the spider’s lair. We need a man on the outside to check the lair for survivors and then come back and let the others out of the lighthouse to help Nick."

"You think I'm leaving you here alone when that thing is right outside? With only these two to protect you?" Raven snapped, his eyes wide with disbelief. "You must've hit more than your lip during that storm, Frostbite. No chance."

"Not you," I agreed with a nod.

Raven paused with a frown. "Well, chickenshit here sure won't do it. And even if he did agree, he's too slow?—"

I saw it the second it hit him.

"Oh, get the fuck out of here. Nope." He stalked away, raking both hands through his black hair. "You think you're going out there alone?"

"Di, you can't do that," Mav said, shaking his head furiously. "Did you see that thing? It makes Sal look like a pussycat. What if it sees you and decides you're the most interesting game to hunt instead?"

"I’ll shift. We aren’t in the Human Realm anymore. Not technically. My wolf is fast as lightning and strong enough to handle herself. I hate to keep reminding you both, but you swore fealty. To me." I stood as tall as I could, trying to seem regal in my torn, filthy clothes and belly exposed. "We all know what's at stake here. And we all know that the only one of us that isn't expendable right now is Maverick. And because of that, I need the male I trust most in this world to protect him." The words were manipulative to be sure, but also uncomfortably true in a way I didn't want to explore. "You three will stay here. I will sneak out and head for the lair."

I stepped forward to take Raven's face in my hands.

"If I'm not back in two hours, you will tear the fucking roof off this place if you have to. And you will get Mav back to the Territories even if it means you must swim there with him on your back. For the good of my people and yours. That is an order, soldier. Am I understood?"

Splat.

"We're out of time." It was a whisper that felt oddly like a prophecy, and I tried not to shudder at the sense of doom that closed over me as I said it.

"Please, Frostbite. Don't do this."

Because it might be the last time, I ever saw him, I did something reckless. Something a queen would never do. I rolled onto my tiptoes and mashed my lips against his. The cut there stung, but I didn't care. I just held tight as his hands instantly dropped to my hips and yanked me closer.

"Uh..."

"Oh, my..." Theo whispered.

The embrace was over in a flash, but the glow that came from it, the sudden spark and sense of purpose lingered. I had to believe I’d make it back, because the two of us weren't done. Not yet.

"Good luck," I called over my shoulder as I rushed across the room. I could hear Akmon already tapping away at the window to the west, so I veered toward the east.

“You two. Start banging on the walls,” Raven was saying to the others.

I let out a low sigh of relief. He would hate every second of it, but he was going to do as I asked and make some vibrations as cover for me while he was at it.

“Watch out for traps,” Raven hissed, with a warning glare in my direction. His words were innocuous enough, but his expression said something else entirely.

You better live, or I’m going to fucking kill you for this.

My last thought as I slipped out the window I’d jimmied open?

If we lived through this, I was going to fuck his brains out.

Once I cleared the sill, I stood frozen outside the window, fear making my palms go damp. I'd fought a lot of creatures in my day, but this one...the thought of its creepy-ass human face staring into mine as those massive fangs dug into me and sucked me dry drew a deep fear up from my belly. The only thing that could be worse was if it wrapped me up tight and left me there to await my fate while the panic of claustrophobia swallowed me whole.

But then I thought of my father and all he’d done to save our people before he died.

And Lochlin, and Sienna, and Dom, and Will, and Bee, and the Duchess...all those who were depending on us.

The countless people relying on me—on us—to get this right. Success was the only option. I leapt out and landed lightly at the base of the lighthouse on the far side from where Akmon was.

I crept down the sand, staying close to the edge of the water, the waves covering any sound I made.

I glanced back once to see Akmon on top of the lighthouse, contrasted against the light of the stars and three quarter moon.

Letting out a slow breath, I kept moving east—toward Akmon's lair. If I could make it to the treeline without him hearing me or sensing my vibrations, I'd be golden. Once I was in the rainforest and in wolf form, it was a rare creature that could catch me, and Akmon was far too large and unwieldy to manage it.

I hoped.

Getting there was painstaking, though. As much as I wanted to sprint the short distance, I had to watch for every piece of driftwood, every washed-up piece of shipwreck, to make sure I didn't accidentally call attention to myself.

When I finally made it to the treeline, I was bathed in cold sweat from head to toe. I took another quick look back. Akmon was still on top of the lighthouse, and I could hear the banging of Raven and Maverick inside, keeping the beast’s attention.

Even so, there was no time to rest. I closed my eyes and centered on the ember inside me, calling to my wolf. She came like she'd been primed and at the ready, chomping at the bit, making the transition from two to four legs swiftly.

It was such a relief to stretch and uncoil my muscles that I barely noticed the pain that usually came along with the process as my haunches snapped into place, and my fangs poked through my gums. It took everything I had to hold in my howl.

Must find friends. Must hurry.

I loped off, nose pressed tight to the soft forest floor. The smells hit me like a sucker punch so much, all at once. Hibiscus, moss, damp leaves and the almost rotting sweetness of overripe fruit. There too, though, under it all, was the scent of humans. Vanators? Or others?

I paused at one intersection, sure that I smelled a human child…but it was there and gone before I could be sure, and I did not have the luxury of time on my side.

I lengthened my gait, keeping my eyes peeled for signs of more boobytraps. I saw four as I made my way across the length of the island.

Pits and snares for the most part.

On four legs, I covered the distance in the jungle from one side of the island to the other easily and many of the traps went over my head. Literally. They were designed for bi-pedal creatures. Not those of us on four legs.

As I got closer to the eastern edge, I could hear the roar of waves against a shoreline and caught a whiff of the clean scent of fresh water. My hackles rose as I ran faster, a new, faint scent calling to me.

A strange mix of mothballs and roasted chicken...

Myrr.

My heart hammered against my ribs as I stretched into a full sprint. She was alive, she had to be. And if she’d made it there was no way I was going to believe that Nicholas and Kevin hadn’t.

As I worked my way through a thick patch of bush, I paused with just my nose poking out.

Ahead of me was a pair of waterfalls and a massive, gaping hole in the side of a rock just to the left of the larger of the two falls.

Akmon's lair. I knew, because as I drew in a deep breath the scent of rotting meat, fresh death and spider venom gagged me. As my human mind recalled the neat little body packages he'd wrapped up for later, my wolf mind snarled. At least she wasn't scared.

I crept closer, using every one of my senses to ensure I wasn't about to be skewered by a swinging spear or crushed under an avalanche of rocks.

Surprisingly enough, I made it to the cave entrance without incident. Strange, but then again, maybe not. What creature would be stupid enough to come here on purpose, never mind venture inside? Akmon would not be expecting anyone he didn’t bring here himself.

"Hello?"

My ears perked at the rusty sound of Myrr's voice. Not only was she here, she was alive. I bounded forward like a pup, tossing my head with joy.

"Ha, is that you, girlie? I was wondering when you'd get here." I searched for my friend in the shadowy cave and stopped short when I finally saw her hanging against the wall, wrapped in silk from the neck down, only her head free. “Nice set up he’s got, eh?”

I had so many questions, but they'd have to wait. I padded toward her, on high alert as I rose up on my back legs and began to carefully tear at her bindings.

"I sort of wanted to stay a little longer because he was feeding me these amazing bananas before he left, and I saw what looked like a fruit salad," the old Oracle said. "They were the best I've ever had. Huge, and so sweet..."

I growled, letting my lips tremble for maximum effect, and she stopped talking. It took longer than I wanted it to, but soon enough, she was free and, on her feet, again. I tipped my head toward the cave entrance, and she shook her head.

"Not yet. Kevin's back there and wrapped up too, worse than me since he wouldn’t stop barking and biting.”

My hell-hound had survived! It was a banner day, and I wasn't about to squander the luck the universe had doled out. It was almost too good to be true.

I nodded and the pair of us made for a cavern off to the right but a pained scream in the distance stopped me in my tracks. A voice my wolf ears knew well. It was one of ours, and he was being hurt.

Myrr met my gaze with a grim stare, and my stomach bottomed out.

Nicholas.