Page 90 of Ares' Shield
Draven sits forward. “What happened when you took the wrong turn last time?”
I’m not sure if we should tell him what we’ve found about the ancient places of power somehow being moved to the US. Very few people have been let in on that information.
What will he do if he finds out where the queen bitch’s garden is located? Will he try to steal an apple for himself just to prove he’s better than us?
I don’t want that happening, but I don’t see what choice we have other than try to trust him. Everyone’s gazes are locked on me. I guess it’s my decision how much to tell him. Oh, yay for me.
“We took a wrong turn several miles up ahead and ended up in a small town called Hesperia,” I say. “We were convinced it was a coincidence and there was no way a town named similar to the Hesperides could be the actual garden of Hera. We were wrong.”
“Wait, so you went to Hera’s orchard?” Draven asks.
Raven turns around in her seat so fast she’s practically a blur. She smacks Draven upside the head and glares at him.
“You, of all people, should know better than to say her name this close to Beth outside the wards.”
“Fuck, Raven. That hurt,” Draven complains.
“Good. You’re a fuckwit. We don’t want to draw her attention. This mission is going to be difficult enough without the queen bitch stepmonster coming after us.”
“Shit, sorry. I just got excited to hear the story about the grove.” He rubs at the side of his head.
My jaw drops open, and I narrow my eyes. Did the narcissistic ass really just apologize for something?
I glance up at the blue sky overhead in search of some sign the world is ending, but there’s nothing there. Good, maybe we won’t have to deal with the demon pigeons this time.
“Whatever. It is what it is. I’ll come back and haunt you if her ass strikes me down.” I shrug.
Jayden’s grip on the steering wheel tightens in a white-knuckle grip. “No one is getting haunted by you, Beth. I’ve already told you that I’ll go to the underworld and drag your ass back.”
“The words every girl loves to hear,” I singsong.
Jayden glances at me and smiles. That fucking smile should be illegal.
Draven groans and makes a gagging sound. “Did you get to see the grove or the apples?”
“No. We almost did, but then a hundred-headed dragon tried to sit on us.” I don’t turn to see the expression on his face at my words.
“You saw Ladon?” he asks in awe.
Really? I’m pretty sure we’ve told this story to people. I glance at Raven and she shrugs.
“I think we kept this one quiet, B. We don’t want the Hesperides coming after us because we revealed the location of the queen’s garden.”
“That is possible. I just thought we told it without telling them the name of the town.” I sit back in my seat.
We approach the turnoff to Hesperia and Greyson laughs. “You don’t want to turn here, Jayden?”
“Fuck off, wolf,” Jayden spits back, but there’s a smirk on his face.
“You don’t want to try that backward driving trick in my SUV? I bet it turns sharper than your hunk of metal.”
No,” Raven and I yell at the same time.
“Wait,” Draven shouts. “You drove backward? Why?”
“It was the best way to get past the giant dragon that was chasing us, and it worked, didn’t it? We didn’t get sat on.” Jayden shifts in his seat. “Adrian, any clue where we’re going?”
“No, just that we need to continue on this path. I think we need to go to Nevada.”
