Page 82 of A Touch of Chaos

She dodged the first blow, the blade sinking so deep into the earth, the ground cracked open at her feet, but the Minotaur was quick to pull it back and swing it at her again. Persephone could feel the power behind the weapon as it cut over her head, and she knew she didn’t have a chance against this creature so long as it was armed.

That was when she spotted the dead Minotaur’s weapon—a spiked club that would have been easy for a Minotaur to wield single-handedly but was far too heavy for Persephone to lift. Still, that did not mean it wasn’t useful.

She just had to get to it.

Another violent cry tore from the Minotaur’s throat, and Persephone bolted, screaming when she felt the ax land within a breath of her foot. Her heart pounded in her chest, but she kept going, dodging the monster’s assault as she struggled to withdraw the lion’s knifelike claw from her pocket. When she made it to the club, she had no time to think.

The monster swung at Persephone again, but this time, the ax lodged in the wooden club. Persephone jumped, using the leverage of the handle, and launched herself at the Minotaur. Brandishing the claw, she shoved it into the creature’s neck.

Blood immediately coated her hand. It was unlike anything she’d ever seen, a strange reddish black, and it felt sothick. The Minotaur gave a strangled cry and fell backward. Persephone fell with it and landed on the ground beside it, but it did not move again.

Persephone scrambled to her feet and found Hades still fighting one of the two Minotaurs, his arms wrapped around its neck, squeezing. The creature had gone from clawing at his arm to hanging limp, finally collapsing to the ground. Ariadne was busy kicking her Minotaur in the face over and over again. She had a giant slash across her chest.

When she was finished, she was panting.

Persephone raised a brow. “You good?” she asked.

Ariadne nodded and shoved her hair out of her face. “I’m good.”

“Are you hurt?” Hades asked.

Persephone shook her head as he approached and pressed his lips to her forehead. She closed her eyes at the feel of him, fingers twisting into the ruins of his shirt. She took a deep breath, inhaling him. He still smelled like his magic, dark and dangerous and right. This was her Hades.

“Oh my gods,” said Ariadne.

“What?” Persephone said, pulse quickening as she whirled to see what she was staring at. She’d feared another monster.

“Galanthis,” said Hades, a note of surprise in his voice.

“You know Galanthis?” Persephone asked.

“Yes,” he said, and then he frowned, starting toward her. “She is hurt.”

Hecate’s creature limped along, blood spotting the ground as she walked. She had not reverted to her cat form, still sporting her large wings and horned head.

“She was injured by the bull,” Persephone said, following.

“What…is she?” Ariadne asked.

“She is a eudaimon,” said Hades. “A guiding spirit. They used to only be deified heroes, but then Hecate felt that pets would make better guardians. She was, of course, correct.”

“Oh, Galanthis,” Persephone said when they reached her, threading her fingers through her soft fur. The creature purred despite her obvious pain. “I have never had a better protector.”

Hades raised a brow.

She rolled her eyes.

“We have to go,” Ariadne said.

Galanthis made a sound that was something between a meow and a growl, then she knelt.

“Galanthis?” Persephone asked.

“She is offering to let us ride,” said Hades.

“But…she is hurt!” Persephone argued and then looked at Galanthis. “Youare hurt!”

Galanthis meowed, and Hades placed his hand on the small of Persephone’s back.

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