The Blood of the Hydra (14 page)

“Unfortunately, I can’t promise that,” she said, her expression grim. “Just that you have a chance. It’s up to you to make the most of that chance.”

Dread settled in my stomach at the reminder that this mission put our lives at risk. How was it that two months ago, I was living in Georgia, and my biggest worry was if I could lead our high school tennis team to victory in the state regionals? Sometimes none of what had happened to me these past few weeks felt real. Was I crazy, going on such an insane mission, knowing that it might not end well for us? Perhaps. Then again, if we didn’t try, the portal to Kerberos would open, and the Titans would unleash their wrath upon all humanity.

So we didn’t have much of a choice. We
had
to do this. And we had to succeed.

“The good news is that you were successful in acquiring the lotus fruit, so one third of your mission is complete,” Hypatia said with a tight smile. Then she turned to Ethan, and added, “I’ll speak to the Head Elder of Australia as soon as possible to get her up to date on what’s going on. Once Nicole heals your sister, I’ll open a portal for the two of you to return home. I’m sure your mother will be relieved to discover you’re alive.”

“Thank you,” Ethan said, although he didn’t look as happy as I’d imagined he would at the prospect of returning home. “But since Nicole risked her life to save my sister and me from the island, we want to return the favor by staying here and helping her and the others complete their mission. Once the mission is complete, then we’ll return home.”

“You don’t have to do that,” I said, even though the possibility of them helping
was
what had convinced the others to take them off the island in the first place. Ethan and his sister had been gone for two and a half years—I wouldn’t blame them if they wanted to go home immediately.

“I know we don’t have to.” He held up a hand to stop me from arguing any further, his eyes hard with determination. “I
want
to. It’s the least I can do to thank you. If you hadn’t saved us, my sister and I would have been trapped on that island until the end of time. Helping you with your mission is the least we can do in return.”

“Thank you,” I said, my voice cracking with how much I meant it. “We won’t let any harm come to you or your sister. After our mission is complete, the two of you will be returned safely home. I promise.”

It was a huge promise to make, but I flexed my fists, determined to follow through with it. After all, I had the power to heal. If anyone could promise safety, it was me.

“I appreciate it,” Ethan said, his eyes only on me. “My sister appreciates it as well, even if she can’t say so right now. We’ll do everything we can to help.”

“Good,” Blake said to Ethan, his jaw tight. “Now… let’s get you up to speed on the plan. Because the fight we just had with the Lotus Eaters will be nothing compared to what’s coming with the hydra.”

I was able to heal Rachael after dinner, and due to all the energy I’d used that day, I fell asleep pretty soon afterward. But because I’d gone to bed so early—and because I’d always risen with the sun—I found myself wide awake before everyone else the next morning.

Not wanting to disturb Kate and Danielle, who were still sleeping soundly, I went up to the main deck to see if anyone else was awake. The only person there was the chef, who was busy in the kitchen. He was a heavyset, older man, and from what I’d seen of him so far, he absolutely loved his job.

He looked up, smiling when he saw me. “Awake so early?” he asked. “Breakfast isn’t for another hour.”

“I know,” I said. “But I couldn’t fall back asleep, and I didn’t want to wake my roommates. So I figured I would come up here.”

“Can I get you anything?” he asked. “Tea? Coffee?”

“Tea would be great,” I said. “Thanks.”

Once my tea was ready, I thanked him and took it out to the picnic table on the front deck. I didn’t want to disturb Chef while he was cooking, and after the craziness of yesterday, I relished the time to myself. This time of day—early morning, when the birds were starting to chirp and the sun was preparing to rise—was always so peaceful. I loved being awake when the rest of the world was still asleep.

For the first time since arriving here, I was also able to look around and appreciate the fact that
I was in Greece
. It was still dark, and there wasn’t much to see right now—mostly the sea, and a few small islands that appeared deserted—but I was
here
. In a different country. For the first time in my life. Even though this mission was top secret and I could never tell anyone else about it, it was amazing to sit back for the first time since I’d arrived and appreciate where I was.

After about twenty minutes alone, the door leading out to the deck opened. I turned around, my breath catching when I saw Blake walking toward me. He was also holding a hot drink, and as he got closer, I could smell that it was coffee. His eyes were bleary, with circles under them—apparently he needed the caffeine. From the way he trudged along the dock, I doubted he was a morning person.

I sat there, frozen with my mug of tea in my hand, unsure what to say. I hated the thought that Blake might be upset with me for what had happened with Ethan—so much so that seeing him made my lungs tight with worry. If he’d come out here to take back everything he’d told me last week about wanting to give it a chance between us, I wouldn’t be able to blame him.

“Hi,” I eventually said, since I had to say
something
. “Why are you awake?”

“Chris’s snoring kept me up all night,” he said, running his hand through his already mussed up hair. “Eventually I gave up trying to sleep, and I was hungry, so I came up here to grab some food. Chef told me you were out here. You don’t mind if I join you, right?”

“No,” I said, scooting over to make room. Even though Blake’s being here broke my pact not to be alone with him, I was relieved that he still wanted to be around me after seeing me with Ethan. Knowing that I might have his forgiveness made breaking the pact worth it. “Of course not.”

“Good.” He smiled, his eyes alert for the first time this morning. He joined me on the bench, his arm brushing mine as he sipped his coffee. The slight contact sent tingles shooting up my arm.

“Did Chef give you any food?” I asked. “Since you said you came up here to get it.”

“He let me wolf down a pastry,” he said. “But don’t tell anyone. No one’s supposed to eat on this boat until breakfast is officially served.”

“Don’t worry,” I promised. “Your secret is safe with me.”

“I know,” he said. “We’ve been through enough by now that you should know how much I trust you.”

I tried to smile, despite the guilt weighing down my chest. Because Blake was right—we
should
trust each other. When we first started developing our elemental powers, we’d gone to each other first. We were the first to fight against a monster that escaped from Kerberos—and we stopped it, together. Plus, he saved me—he saved
all
of us—from getting stuck on the Land of the Lotus Eaters forever.

Thinking about the island reminded me about how I’d
killed
that man with black energy. I kept seeing the murderous look on his face as he tried to strangle me to death, and hearing how he’d laughed when he thought I was taking my last breaths. Then, there was the way his eyes had gone empty the moment I’d touched him. The thud as his body hit the ground. It had been so easy—and natural—for me to end his life forever. Not just him, but his friend, too. I’d run that arrow through his head without thinking twice. And afterward, I’d felt a sense of… achievement.

Was this who I was now—a killer? I shivered at the thought. I didn’t
want
to kill anyone. But if I hadn’t, they would have killed me first. What choice did I have?

“Are you all right?” Blake asked, his question interrupting my thoughts. “You got really quiet all of a sudden.”

“Sort of.” I stared into my tea, as if it could tell me whether or not I should be honest with Blake about my ability. But the tea wasn’t going to give me the answer—I needed to trust my instincts. And right now, I believed with all of my heart that I could trust Blake with my life.

When I looked back up and met his eyes, I was determined to go through with this.

“What do you know about black energy?” I asked, feeling stronger now that I’d come to a decision about what I was going to do.

“Not much.” He scrunched his eyebrows, clearly taken aback that I’d asked. “Why?”

“I’m just curious,” I said. “I know it exists, because Kate mentioned it to me once, when I first moved here. But no one ever talks about it. And I’ve never known why.”

“That’s because only the most powerful witches in the world can access black energy,” he said. “And even they haven’t used it for centuries, since it was made illegal in the middle ages. If any witch is caught using it, they’ll be stripped of their powers and locked away forever. It’s rumored to be a fate worse than death.”

“But
why
?” I asked, since I already knew all of that. “What can they do with black energy that makes it illegal?”

I hated having to ask this way—because given my experience with black energy, I already knew what it did—but I couldn’t come out and say it. Despite choosing to trust Blake, I still had to be careful.

“It inflicts torture on others.” He lowered his voice, as if just speaking about it was a crime. “The worst kind of torture imaginable.”

“That’s it?” I asked. “It doesn’t kill?”

He scrunched his eyebrows, as if he needed to think about it. “It might make someone
try
to kill themselves,” he said. “But no, the energy itself doesn’t kill. The pain it causes isn’t physical—it’s all in the person’s head.”

“Oh.” I deflated, taking a sip of my tea in the hopes that Blake wouldn’t see how confused I was. Because what he was describing was different than what I could do.

What I could do was
worse
.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked. “I mean—I didn’t want to bring it up unless you did, but I saw what happened back on that island, with those two pirates who attacked you. I was running over to help you, but then—”

“What did you see?” I asked, my voice rising in panic. Did he already know about what I could do? Was he going to turn me in?

“I saw them strangling you,” he said. “There were so many Lotus Eaters in front of me, and I got so mad when I saw what those pirates were doing to you that I used the flames from the bonfire to burn everyone who was blocking my path. I would have shot the pirates from there if I didn’t worry that I might accidentally hit you instead. Then I was running over to help you, and I saw you push one of them down, and then ram an arrow straight through the other one’s face.”

I looked down at my feet, ashamed that Blake had seen me in that moment. But I was also relieved. Because from what he’d said, he didn’t realize what I’d actually done to that first pirate. He had no idea that I’d killed him, too.

Then his hand was on my chin, and when he forced me to look up at him, it wasn’t disappointment that I saw in his eyes. It was respect—or even more so—
admiration.

“You did what you had to do back there,” he said, his voice strong. “Your resilience kept you alive. We
had
to kill those people—it was self-defense.”

“I just wish I could have healed them all,” I said. “Like how I healed Ethan.”

“Even if you did, where would they have gone?” he asked. “Most of them have been trapped on that island for centuries. Their families are long gone by now. They wouldn’t even know how to have a life in our world.”

“I know,” I said, and I smiled at him—a real smile for the first time this morning. “And I haven’t had a chance to tell you this before now… but thank you, Blake.”

“For what?” he asked. “You saved yourself without my help.”

“I’m talking about before that,” I said. “You snapped to it on that island when no one else did, and made sure we didn’t get trapped there like everyone else. And you believed in me when I thought I could heal Ethan and Rachael from the lotus poisoning. Sometimes it feels like you believe in me more than I believe in myself.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” He smirked and nudged my shoulder with his. “You were pretty badass when you fought those pirates.”

“About that…” I said, and he held my gaze, watching me like he would value anything I said no matter what. I swallowed away any lingering doubt, because this was my chance. If I was going to tell him the truth, it should be now.

“What?” He brushed a strand of hair off my face and took my hand in his. “What’s going on?”

I opened my mouth, ready to tell him. But before I had a chance, the door banged open, and we both whipped our heads around to see who it was.

Kate stood in the doorway, her breathing heavy, her eyes wide in panic. “You guys have to come inside,” she said, not moving from where she stood.

“Why?” I held Blake’s hand tighter, as if he could protect me from whatever was coming. “What happened?”

“Nothing yet,” she said. “But it’s about to. Because we’re about to pass between Scylla and Charybdis.”