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No one could safely stay inhere

Ortrera spotted a stream and turned her horse’s head towards it, the rest of the warriors following suit We descended next to the water in a field of waving purple daisies Like nor me from the horse I felt his arue

I laid ainst his cheek

"Sweet, you haven’t yet taken nectar You "

He nodded, his jaw flexing, and I wondered at his apparent reluctance But I didn’t remark on it Instead, I watched him crouch by the stream and scoop it into his mouth He sith his beautiful eyes closed and his face tilted toward the sun

While I watched, he transformed into the Cadmus from my memory His muscles filled out, each individual striation in his biceps beco apparent to the naked eye His face quickly leaned down into that of a ood looks

I sucked inonto hi next to hiest expression on his face and I stepped toward hian hesitantly "What is it? Does so trouble you?"

He nodded curtly, re silent as a muscle in his jaw flexed

"Well?" I prohed and shook his head

"No I feel fine But, Harmonia, the nectar restored my memory I was afraid of that I didn’t wish to remember"

I was completely puzzled until a scant second later I realized what he meant

"Your memories with Eris?" I whispered

He nodded slowly

"I don’t wish to talk about it," he said softly "There is no need to trouble you with it, too

Let us just remember that it wasn’t truly me I was enchanted, I wasn’t h" His voice choked off and he grabbed htly

"You are the one, Harrowled into my hair "It is you It has always been you

No matter what happened Do you understand?"

The pain in his voice distracted ht He could not help what happened any more than I could

"Cadmus, do not trouble yourself with it Put it out of your ht It wasn’t you I know that"

He nodded and turned away, busying hiave hiroup And I needed soht well beco

I turned to Ortrera "I want her head on a spike, sister"

I should have been ashaoddess blood was colder thanthat could coleaive that to you, if you wish Just say the word"

I ser sione too far I would restrain myself for now, but her ti to their horses and we again h even the horses could sense our energy and anxiety They tossed their hty heads and nickered froht with amy face I se eye at e of the Spiritlands and I kept my eyes trained for it as we drew closer It wasn’t a typical cave, even though it appeared that way on the outside It was rueway to the underworld And that made sense, since one of Hecate’s abilities was the ability to send derant her direct access

I caught sight of it a few ed Ortrera as I pointed and we ai as one It was absolutely a- al each movement to match the horse to their side For all I knew, that was exactly what they were doing Nothing in the Spiritlands was iht outside the cave, the horses’ hooves as silent as they were trained to be Even still, I wasn’t surprised to find Hecate leaning against the cave opening, apparently waiting for us Being the witch that she was, she had uncanny instincts

"So, you came," Hecate drawled as we quietly approached her

I nodded as I glanced inside It was unlike any cave I had ever seen Once inside the doorway, it opened into awhite stalactites and stalag crystal to the next, illu the entire cave

It was almost ethereal and certainly not what I had expected frorimly "I trusted the Keres And they have betrayed er trust lanced down and noticed in surprise that the phoenix birthrown more pronounced It was now a deep criaze flew up to ly

"It has been silent since we arrived here, yet it has grown ain

"It is all true," she estured for us to enter

"What is true?" Cadmus asked, a note of concern in his husky voice

"Your wife is the chosen one," Hecate confir The crazy raven had said as much before he flehen we first arrived I had brushed it away at the time But now

"The chosen one?" I asked doubtfully

"You are meant to save us," Hecate nodded "It has always been you You have the ave me this mark," I shook my head "To mark me as a Keeper"

Hecate stared atpeople at face value? I realize it is in your nature to believe the best in people, to expect the best, but it simply isn’t so in life Lachesis lied to you