And my body was electrified with terror.
We kept running and the man at my back twice put a hand to me to shove me in a different direction.
He knew the way home.
Thank God, he knew the way home.
On this thought, again he put a hand to me to shove me a different way and I went that way, head up, watching where I was going so I wouldn’t run into a tree or something.
And that was when I saw him.
And when I saw him, I nearly quit running.
Yes, my life was on the line but at first sight of that man, I nearly quit running.
Because he was just…
That…
Magnificent.
Bigger than the men with me, strikingly beautiful, sitting atop a massive steed in much the same clothing as the other two (but the fur inside his jacket was thicker and longer), his hair not tied back, I knew the man who raced toward us on his magnificent beast was Dax Lahn.
The mightiest warrior in this world.
Before it even seemed possible, the men disappeared at my back because Lahn and his horse were there.
Bent to the side, he swept me up and deposited me in front of him with a grace and fluidity that had my breath leaving me.
He wheeled the horse around and leaned in, pressing me almost to the horse’s neck, covering me with his enormous torso to shield me from the birds. The horse then burst forward through the snow with such speed, my hair flew straight back and the icy air bit deep into the skin of my face.
The birds followed, I could hear them, but we didn’t slow. He also didn’t take the sword from the scabbard on his back.
We just flew.
Mere moments later, peeking in front of me through his horse’s ears, I saw her.
The Golden Warrior Queen.
Circe.
She was on her own steed wearing her own hide coat, hers long, and a billow of richly colored material shot with threads of gold waved around her legs and boots.
Her hair was freaking amazing.
Her eyes were on us.
Lahn tore straight toward her and she didn’t move her horse an inch as we shot past her.
The instant the tail of Lahn’s horse cleared the nose of Circe’s, an almighty shriek filled the air, the snow all around flared blue, then everything went silent except the horse’s hooves turning us around in the snow.
Well, there you go.
Apparently, we’d reached the edge of the enchantments Apollo’s witches had cast.
I breathed a sigh of relief as Lahn straightened us on the horse.
Once turned, I saw the air cleared of birds, the snowy forest beyond tranquil, and Lahn trotted us back to his wife and stopped.
I looked to her to see she was already looking at me.
“Hey,” I said and she smiled.
Wow.
She was really something.
“Hey,” she said back.
I smiled a shaky smile at her and looked up at Lahn to see him eyeing his wife. He felt my gaze and looked down at me.
Okay.
Seriously.
Charging toward me on a horse?
Magnificent.
Right there an inch away?
Spec-freaking-tacular.
“Hey,” I breathed.
His mouth curved up in a blinding white, unbelievably gorgeous smile.
I fought against fainting.
Circe burst into laughter.
* * * * *
We waited just long enough for the other two guys to show (unscathed, thankfully), collect their horses that were milling about a bit away from Circe, Lahn and me, and for Circe to introduce them as Zahnin and Bain before we were on our way, cantering toward Karsvall.
Zahnin, by the way, was the one with the top of his hair pulled back. Bain was the one with his hair in a plait. I knew this because they grunted unintelligibly in turn when their names were said by their queen.
And eyeing them, it was insane, I had an awesome hot guy (as in seriously awesome and seriously hot), but I kind of wished I’d been transported to wherever they came from.
We started our journey with me feeling relieved I was alive and not pecked to death by a flock of magical birds.
This relief quickly melted to trepidation.
Because first, I had no clue what was happening with Christophe.
Had he been led away and then attacked by birds too?
And if so, had someone found him and saved him?
And second, if they had found Christophe (and I hoped to God they had), when we returned to Karsvall and Apollo learned what I’d done, he was going to lose his mind.
Christophe being led away was one thing. He was a kid.
Me?
Stupid.
And the worst part about all of it was that when Apollo lost it with me, it would be justifiable seeing as I’d been an idiot.
My feelings of trepidation ran so deep they forced words out of my mouth.
And these words were a muttered, “Apollo is going to lose his mind.”
“Yes,” Lahn stated immediately, the rumble of his deep voice sounding not only over my head but beating into my back.
I bit my lip and looked to Circe.
She was again looking at me.
“You’re safe,” she noted. “He’ll be upset, but once it sinks in that you’re safe, it’ll all be fine.”
She was being reassuring and I’d already decided I liked her, what with her kickass skirt and awesome hair and kind eyes and quick smiles and ability to land a serious hot guy, but at that, I decided I really liked her.
Then I saw her gaze shift up to her husband and whatever look he gave her made her look back to me and roll her eyes.
She was trying to reassure me.
Her husband was thinking thoughts of how he’d feel if Circe stupidly wandered off when malevolence was afoot, she knew it, and followed a stranger into danger anyway.
In other words, his look was stating clearly he too would lose his mind.
In a big way.
Just like Apollo was going to do.
Crap.
“Cora’s twin showed,” I told Circe.
She nodded. “We know. Lahn saw her.”
“I thought she was the real Cora,” I shared something she probably had guessed. “Christophe, Apollo’s son, has gone missing and she said she and Tor had found him and he’d only budge if he saw me. I was worried about Chris.” I took in a deep breath to attempt to calm my fears. It didn’t work, so I finished quietly. “I still am and I didn’t think.”
“It is the not thinking that will make your warrior lose his mind,” Lahn rumbled informatively, but scarily, from behind me.
I gave wide eyes to Circe.
She took them in before she turned her head and grinned down at her horse.
To take my mind off my rapidly growing apprehension, I cast a glance from side-to-side, then back, that being from Zahnin to Bain and back to Lahn, and said, “Uh…thanks for saving me from Cora, the Nasty and the magical birds.”