Another chuff.
Arachne made a clicking sound, and twenty large spiders marched from the wood and lined up behind me.
“Keep my darlings safe,” Arachne called before stepping back into the trees and away from Farnkelan’s massive wingspan. The spiders clambered onto the dragon and latched on to the hollows in the spines along its tail. Farnkelan tremored and let out halting noises akin to a laugh, as if the spiders were tickling it.
This was an odd beast.
The vampire soldiers took hesitant steps into the clearing.
I waved them forward. “It’s all right. Farnkelan is a friend. Everyone mount up.”
They bowed to me before approaching the dragon. Despite their trepidation, the men climbed up and seated themselves on Farnkelan’s ridged spine, grabbing hold wherever they could. I jumped up and took the ridge at the front.
Seated behind me, Faren asked, “You ready, my lord?”
“To ride a dragon, storm a demon stronghold, and rescue the most beautiful woman in all the worlds? This is what we were born for.” I looked up and beyond the trees. “Farnkelan, the sky is yours.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Helen
Iphi dropped her snacks and rushed to me. Menelaus backhanded her and sent her flying across the room. She crashed against the windows, glass shards skittering across the dark floor.
“Take her.” The guards who still had their clothes on obeyed, dragging Iphi up by her arms and shaking her like a rag doll. Her head lolled forward, her unruly red mane covering her face. I knew Iphi too well. She was “playing possum,” as Lilah called it. What did Iphi mean by calling Menelaus her uncle, and how had she even wound up here?
Menelaus slid back between the sheets. “You see, Helen. I have this little idiot under my thumb. Harm any of my demons, and I’ll make her pay with interest.”
“When Artemis finds out—”
Menelaus laughed. “Do you still not understand the way the Underworld works? The gods do not rule here. The Titans created the Underworld to escape them. I rule Decanum, and soon I will rule the Bloodkeep. After that, everything is up for the taking. Even Olympus. With you at my side and all the peoples of the Underworld under my control, we could overrun even Zeus.”
I pulled against my chains and stared down the evil before me. “I will never help you enslave the Underworld.”
He pinched my chin and drew my face to his. “You will, or Iphi will start losing fingers. They’ll grow back, of course, but that won’t help the pain. Not to mention, there are other ways to make you comply.”
He crushed my mouth with his and fisted a hand in my hair, subduing my fight. It wasn’t so much a kiss as a stamp of ownership. My power shimmered around us. He let me go. “It’s a shame Cranfel got away with those bracelets. They would have made it a lot easier to help you control yourself. But it doesn’t matter. Your sister will do the trick, and I have nothing to fear from your little bouts of temper.”
I readied myself to end the demon and hoped Iphi was prepared.
A knock at the door stayed my hand.
“What?” Menelaus asked.
“I’m sorry, my lord, but there’s something over the desert. It’s big. My spies have sent word that it’s, well, you aren’t going to believe this, but—”
“Get on with it!” Menelaus roared.
“It’s a dragon. It’s laid waste to our outposts, burning them to the ground in seconds. It will be here in minutes. And there are riders atop it, though we don’t know who.”
My heart lightened. It had to be the great untamed creature on the watchtower. Had Paris gentled the beast and convinced it to aid him?
Menelaus stood and dressed hastily.
“Keep her close to you. If Helen does anything untoward, cut off one of Iphi’s fingers.”
“Yes, my lord,” the guards said in unison.
“You two idiots—follow me.” The strip poker losers followed Menelaus as he dashed from the room.
Godsdamnit. I had missed my chance.
“Don’t worry, my lady, he’ll be back for more.” One of the guards leered at me. His horns were short and curved back over his pale head. “Did you know I saw you the day you…” He mimed stabbing himself in the neck. “Yeah, I was there. Want to know what Menelaus did to your body before Artemis showed up? I watched.”
My magic sizzled in the air. The demon drew one of Iphi’s fingers into his mouth and showed me his sharp teeth. One bite would ruin Iphi’s ruse of unconsciousness. I calmed and willed my magics back down.
The guard released Iphi’s finger and shoved her into the arms of the other demon. “I think I’d like to get another glimpse of the woman who launched a thousand ships.” He grabbed his crotch for emphasis. I looked away.
He came closer, standing at the end of the bed. The sheet slid down my body, revealing first my breasts, and then the rest of me.