Page 72 of Ares' Shield
“Fine,” Adrian huffs.
He places his hand over the map, but instead of glowing green with his healing magic, it’s a soft yellow. His hand jerks over to the eastern half of the map and words pop up on the map.
“Shit,” Jayden swears. “Why are there so many of them?”
“People in the US never really knew how to be original, did they?” I grumble.
“Nineteen places named Sparta,” Adrian groans.
“That doesn’t narrow it down much, does it?” I ask with a frown.
“No, it doesn’t, but we have had less to go on in the past.” Jayden pats my shoulder.
Raven leans over the map. “At least they are all in the same general direction.”
“Yeah, they are all on the other side of the country.” I sigh. “Looks like we’re going on another long road trip.”
Jayden nudges me with his elbow. “We were already preparing for a long trip.”
“Yeah, but Draven.” I scrub a hand down my face.
I turn to Adrian. He nods as if he already knows what I’m going to ask. “Yes, Beth. I’m sure we need Draven.”
“Like how sure? There’s no way for us to stop this without him?”
“I’m positive this will end in disaster without Draven.” Adrian shudders.
What did he see? Will it really be that bad if we don’t take Draven? Am I willing to risk the success of this mission and my friends’ lives?
It’s going to be uncomfortable. But if Adrian says the mission will fail without him, I don’t have a choice in the matter.
I just hope the mission doesn’t end in our death.
14
“We aren’t any closer to figuring out which Sparta we’re looking for,” I grumble.
My eyes droop closed and my head bobs in that place between half-asleep and trying to keep myself awake.
Raven yawns. “We’ve been at this for hours and there is nothing that really sticks out as Greek except their name.”
Adrian pulls his hand back from the map and slumps in the desk chair. “I’m nearly tapped out. I can’t keep this up.”
“Okay, let’s call it a night. We need to leave tomorrow if possible, so sleep will be necessary,” I say, leaning back against Jayden’s chest.
“Agreed,” Jayden says and wraps his arms more securely around me. “The sooner we can leave the better.”
Adrian stands and I roll up the map and reluctantly move away from Jayden to put it back in the closet.
“We are going to leave as close to first thing in the morning as possible,” I call over my shoulder.
“I’ll find the big pouty baby and tell him the plan,” Raven says.
After the map is back in its place, I move back into my room next to Jayden. Adrian nods to us before following Raven out the door.
Jayden wraps an arm around me. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just tired.” I lay my head on his shoulder with a sigh.
