Vengeance Throne (The Callistra Chronicles #2)

EIGHT

Its terrain wasn't white and snowy as Pasiphae had expected; it almost seemed like the jungle tried to grow on the mountain as well, but failed to grow very tall. The foliage crawled close to the rock, like a tightly worn dress.

Pasiphae looked up, up, up. Even from the bottom of the mountain, she could see the castle's tallest torrent. It roared high enough to pierce the clouds.

"Time is ticking, Saf," Seth said.

Pasiphae offered him a look that bordered on nasty. "Thank you, Seth. I had no idea."

Seth grinned, tilting his head. "I'll race you."

He broke into a run. Pasiphae followed closely with her long strides, holding the edges of her cloak up to prevent it from getting caught on stray branches.

"Don't go so fast," Rhoden grumbled when they passed him.

They never ventured far from Rhoden, but everything seemed to be fine. The sun set, the land washed back into darkness, and Pasiphae's tongue had never felt so dry in her entire life. She was fully considering drinking the salt water in her pack, if it only meant her mouth could feel moist again.

It was on her fourth time silently musing about the benefits of salt water when a strange noise started rumbling through the air. And when strange noises sounded on strange countries, the outcome was never good.

Pasiphae froze, grabbing Seth's arm to stop him as well.

"What is that?" she asked Rhoden.

Rhoden cast a curious look at Circe, who also shrugged, peering ahead. He couldn't sense anything, which Pasiphae would later realise was because the incoming attack had been building for a long time. It took sudden occurrences to trigger Rhoden's metaphysical awareness.

In the end, it was only Circe who managed to see it.

"Take cover!" she screamed.

Pasiphae and Seth swivelled around at the warning, but by then, a tide of mud was hurtling towards them at light speed, seconds away from impact. Pasiphae couldn't think—she didn't know what she was capable of doing, save from squeezing her eyes shut and hoping Deaths would be swift.

"Saf!"

She was lifted from the ground.

Her eyes flew open, widening with a burst of alarm as gravity shifted. Seth had pulled them airborne just in time, hovering a distance away from the gushing mud stream that roared down the mountain. Below, a large bubble in the mud told her that her sister and Rhoden had managed to push outward with their magic, casting a protective shield.

"We really need to stop making a habit of this," Pasiphae exhaled.

The mud rush had been fast: tonnes and tonnes of sludge moving down all at once. As a result, it stopped almost as soon as it began, hardening into new land that raised the mountain higher than it had formerly been.

"I think it's safe now," Pasiphae said. Underneath her fingers, she could feel Seth's skin prickling with the night cold. It was a stroke of good luck that he hadn't put his wings away when the mudslide came.

Seth was searching the mountainside, a hint of panic in his eyes. The dark had set in fully. It was hard to see any details.

"Where are they?" he asked,

"Don't worry." Pasiphae was calm as her feet touched down on the ground again. She undid the chain at her neck, then grappled for the tainted water in her pack. "They have magic."

She dug a small hole in the hardened ground, grimacing as the soil gathered underneath her nails. Sure, Pasiphae had bigger problems, but it was still a gross feeling.