Page 42 of Captured in Love
Levi’s cheeks turn an interesting shade of red. I lift my eyes to the ceiling since I don’t want to start a brawl by staring at Isak for too long.
“Fine, but stay back,” Levi snaps. “If you blunder into another spell, we won’t pull you out.”
I sidle next to Isak and whisper, “We totally would, but we’re also completely fried, so please listen to him.”
Levi doesn’t hear me, but Raphaël sends me a quick smile that has my pulse racing. This truce between the four of us is only temporary, I know that. And I have no idea what this dynamic will evolve into, but having all three men here is exciting, if nothing else. Fun.
I could use some godsdamned fun in my life.
Levi walks in front, sending quick stabs of magic out to test the way. But the path is clear, and we arrive at the two temples at the foot of the volcano without issue. We sweep through both, searching for hidden doorways or cubbyholes where the tokens could be hidden. There’s nothing, though. No hidden compartments, no traps triggered to capture us.
With every step I take, a sense of foreboding grows.
“Nothing here,” Levi calls from the other side of the square that spans between the temples. “I don’t like this at all.”
Raphaël and Isak join us in the center, and we face the volcano as one.
“It’s up there, isn’t it?” I whisper. “We’re going to have to climb that?”
Isak mutters something in Icelandic, then adds, “I was afraid of that.”
Raphaël takes my hand and tugs on it until I face him. “This is madness.”
I swallow the lump of fear lodged in my throat. “We’ve come this far…”
“You and Levi are exhausted. That man is naked.” He points an accusatory finger at Isak.
Isak shrugs, completely unperturbed.
“And you’re hungry, I know,” I say and place my palm on Raphaël’s cheek. “But this is the last climb. Let’s do it together.”
He stares at me for a moment longer, then touches his forehead to mine. “If anything happens, I’m not listening to any more excuses. If we need to run to save our lives, we will.”
“Deal,” I murmur and press a kiss to his cheek.
The staircase leading up the slope of the hill is another proof that this city wasn’t built for human-sized creatures. Even though sea dragon shifters do have a human form, they must have climbed up here only as dragons, because the ascent is fuckinghard. The air gets hotter and drier the higher we climb, and soon, Raphaël is pulling me up by my hand, helping me over each step.
My head spins a little, too, which isn’t helping matters. I’m not an unfit person—I can almost keep up with Levi whenever he drags me along on one of his runs. But my body has never taken so much abuse in a single day, not on any of our previous jobs. Even Levi is sweating and cursing as he hauls himself up, his muscles bulging with the effort.
“Where are you going next?” Isak asks as he gives Levi a hand and tugs him up the next stair.
He’s bounced back almost completely after his ordeal, which makes me wonder how witches had even managed to kill off most of the dragons. He seems nearly invincible.
Levi glances at me, and I shrug. We might as well tell Isak we’re off to Greece next. There’s little harm in it.
He misunderstands our silent communication, though. “Okay, I’ll go first. I’m going to Greece.”
I pause next to Raphaël for a moment to catch my breath. “Of course you are.”
Levi snorts and hauls himself up another step. “Fate, man.”
A surprised expression crosses Isak’s face, made ridiculous because of his missing eyebrows. “You’re going to Greece, too, aren’t you?”
Raphaël nudges me forward before I can answer, and I start climbing again. I don’t want to discuss this with Isak because I’m not sure what to think of it. Yes, I’m excited about the idea of seeing him again, but we’ll also have to go against each other once more, and I’m so over the competition already. I still want access to that library but I’m not willing to hurt anyone because of it like some of the other contestants.
“Almost there,” I pant as we scale the second-to-last step.
Moments later, we stand on the rim of the outer crater of the volcano. It must have been more active in the past, judging by the hardened streams of lava surrounding us. But now, a small pool of molten rock lies a little off-center, about thirty feet below us. It’s not exactly bubbling over, and the top layer of the magma seems almost solid, but there are bright-orange cracks running through it.
