Page 64 of Poseidon's Trident
“Which star?” I ask as I step closer to the constellation.
The crab scuttles to the side again and a claw snaps out at me. I roll to the side, only aggravating my wounds more, but I bite my lip to keep from crying out as I roll to my back beneath the constellation.
“I hacked at the main constellation. I don’t think we can beat it like this.” Jayden shakes his head.
There’s a ring of blue around his eyes now that I’ve gotten him to talk. I’m thankful for that. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to Jayden.
“It’s not the main constellation.” I drop my whip and call it back to the necklace as my sword glints at Jayden’s feet.
I bend to reach it and wince. Jayden growls as he grabs it and hands it to me. “Why aren’t you healed?”
The black eats up the blue in his eyes again. Fuck. He’s losing it again.
“I don’t have time to get healed when my friends are fighting a fucking evil crab,” I growl.
I grip my sword and stalk to the constellation on the underbelly, swinging my blade at any piece of the bastard that comes my way. It hurts. Everything hurts, but I’m done with this fucking battle. I need to be healed and I’m fucking over it.
A claw slices at me again as I reach the constellation. I bat it away with my sword, but it just comes back harder. I spin out of the way and cry out as the skin on my back tears again. Fuck. Black colors my vision and I blink the dots away in rapid succession.
“Beth,” Jayden shouts.
“I’ve got it.” I stumble to the side as I swipe my blade at the crab’s claw.
Thrusting up into the cluster of stars in the constellation one-handed is hard but the sword slices through the soft underbelly like butter and gold ichor pours from the wound like starlight bursting in the heavens. The creature roars as it collapses into a pile of ash, and I drop to my knees with a cry of agony.
“Beth,” Jayden screams and races to me.
The same gold ichor that reminds me of starlight coats his skin and I grimace as it covers his wounds. What the hell is this shit and are we going to be even bigger freaks now? My knees weaken and I drop to the ground on my belly, heaving in painful breaths.
“What the fuck was that?” I growl.
“I don’t know, but your back is already healing, baby.” Jayden kisses the back of my head.
“What?” I ask and move to sit up, but Jayden presses a hand to my shoulder.
“Adrian, come here.” Jayden waves the seer to us. “She’s already healing but can you speed up the process?”
“No,” I say. “Save your strength. We need to get out of here.”
“You need healing, Beth,” Adrian says. “You too, Jayden.”
“Her first. She took the brunt of it. These are just scratches.” He glances at his arms. “Shit. They were scratches.”
I flip to my back with a wince and my eyes widen as I take in the golden unblemished skin that was torn only a moment ago.
“What the hell was that and why did it have ichor instead of monster blood?” I ask.
Raven gasps. “You were gods touched again?”
“I think so but this time it was different. I’m not sure what to make of it. The monster had the cancer constellation on its underbelly.”
It has to mean something, right? The cancer constellation is a crab but what does it have to do with the Greek gods and ancient history?
I climb to my knees and then my feet with little pain this time.
I sway on my feet as I glance around the beach. “We can figure that all out later. We need to get off this damn island.”
“I had a thought,” Adrian says. “The gods can’t interfere with the lives of mortals, right?”
