Page 20 of Seducing Scylla
“Morgan.” A hushed whisper in my ear stirs me, and I jolt awake, yelping as I realize I am a few feet off the ground. Scylla’s arms hold me tight, so I don’t tumble out of her grip.
“Shh. I have you,” Scylla whispers.
“How long was I asleep?”
“Not long. We are almost home,but look.”
Scylla gestures in front of us with one of her tentacles. There’s a burnt-out fire pit tucked in a crevice of the tunnel.
“It’s a fire?” I’m confused. Should this mean something to me?
“There is no reason for anyone to be down this way.”
I look up at her, not quite understanding what she is saying.
“We have passed the hot spring and the entrance to the beach. The only other place down this way is my cave. No one comes here.”
“You don’t get the occasional visitor?” I sit up in her arms, my sleep-fogged brain is slowly figuring out what she is saying. She shakes her head.
My excitement spikes. “It could be one of the women!”
“Hush.”
I huff, annoyed at Scylla silencing me.
“I apologize. It may be one of your friends.”
Again, not friends. But I still don’t correct her.
“But?”
“I have a bad feeling. This fire still feels warm. Someone left in a hurry, as if they did not want us to stumble upon them.”
“They might be scared. I ran from the Drakons, so they might be hiding until they know we are friendly.”
“Perhaps, but if they ran, we would have passed them.”
“Which means?”
“The only place they could have run to is my home.”
“Oh, okay. Well, let’s go and see if they’re there.”
Scylla nods, not putting me down. Instead, she holds me even tighter, and I can feel the tension radiating throughout her body. If it’s just one of the women, she has no need to worry. Like she said, no one visits, so it’s unlikely to be another creature. Unless itisanother creature and that is precisely why she’s worried. The thought makes me tense. What if it is another creature? Would we be in danger?
Scylla carries me through the tunnel and around the twists and turns before we reach the entrance to her home. We pause at the threshold.
Scylla sets me down. “I will enter first. Just in case.”
“Just in case what?” I hiss.
“In case I need to protect you.” She looks at me as if that’s the most obvious thing in the world.
“If it’s one of the women, shouldn’t I go in first?”
“What if it is one of my kind?” Scylla retorts. Good point.
I wave her forward with my arm. “Fine, be my guest.”
