Page 23 of Eris

"I don't know. I just have a weird feeling," Enzo trailed off.

Eris placed a hand on his shoulder. "Follow the feeling, Enzo. I trust you."

Enzo nodded and pulled the palladium free of its bag. He didn't fall into a blank trance like he did last time, but all the hair on Eris's neck stood up on end as he began speaking in an ancient Mycenean dialect.

"Goddess of earth, I honor you. Goddess of oracles, I honor you. Goddess of wisdom, I honor you. Goddess of the darkened ways, I honor you. Goddess of transformation, I honor you," Enzo chanted as he gently placed the palladium into the steaming water. Power, ancient and angry, pulsed out of it, filling the grotto and making Eris's fangs and claws spring free.

A ripple on the other side of the cavern made her grab onto Enzo's shoulder.

"Get back from there," Eris hissed, scanning the water.

Enzo clutched the wet palladium to his chest, still looking dazed. "What... What is it?"

"I don't know, but I don't like it. The palladium is pure power, and things will be attracted to it." Eris scanned the waters again.

Enzo peered into the depths beside them. "What kind?—"

Luminous clawed hands lunged out of the water to grab him. Eris screeched in fury and unleashed her rage.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Enzo was hauled back as the thing from the water surfaced. Its skin was a shining wet aqua, and its eyes and sharp teeth were white as pearls.

Eris swiped out at it with her talons, and it dove back into the water. She rounded on Enzo.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Three more creatures burst out of the water, and Enzo shouted in warning. A clawed hand pulled at Eris from behind. He didn't think. He hefted the palladium in his hands and hit the nearest creature in the side with it. It screamed and crashed into the wall of the cave hard. He struck the one clinging to Eris's back on top of the head as she fought off a third.

"Quick! Move back to the entrance. They won't be able to leave the water for long," Eris shouted.

"Mine! Mine! I want him!" screeched the creature she was fighting. "You have others. You don't need this one!"

Eris's claws grew longer. "He is mine," she snarled. With a furious swipe, she struck the creature's neck with a powerful blow. Gray-blue blood poured from the wound before its head slid to the ground. The body slipped back into the water, and Eris tossed the head behind it.

"Let this be a lesson to you all not to touch what belongs to the daughter of Nyx," she shouted through the cave. She whirled on Enzo, and he squeaked.

"Get in the tunnels. Now," she commanded.

Enzo grabbed the wet backpack and carried the palladium out of the grotto and back into the caves. Eris came after him, her silver flames gathered into a single one hovering above her head. It made her wild black hair and feral expression even more eerie.

"God, you are so..." he began, and then his eyes dropped to the gold staining her clothes. "Hurt! Oh, fuck, Eris."

"It's nothing. I just need to get you out of here. The cuts will heal," she said. Enzo stilled as she placed her hands on his cheeks. "Are you injured?"

"No. Just shaken. What were those things?" he asked.

"Naiads. Hungry ones," Eris replied, and her eyes darkened. "They dared to touch you. To try and take you from me. I should go back in there and slaughter them all."

Enzo's heart pounded in his ears, adrenaline and fear racing through him. This sweet, terrifying, beautiful woman had saved him. Thought he wasworthdefending from those who would harm him. He dropped the palladium and kissed her.

Eris's soft lips tasted of salty water and the berry lip gloss she had been wearing. Her clawed hands burrowed into his hair, and she opened her mouth to sweep her tongue against his.

Enzo groaned, his cock already hard and pressing into his zipper. He couldn't stop. He had been craving her since the second he saw her. Everything about her was soft and savage, darkness and light. One minute she was vulnerable and the next a creature of fangs and claws. Shewaschaos, and he couldn't get enough of her.

His hands went to her shoulders, and she cried out in pain against his lips.

"Shit! I'm sorry I didn't see you were hurt there," he said, breaking free of her. Eris's agony was like a bucket of cold water. He pulled off his shirt and pressed it to the gouges on her shoulder. "Fuck, these are deep,bella. We need to get you out of here."

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