I turn to Dane, “Remind me to kiss you later, okay?” and his eyes sparkle as he winks, earning a dark look from Declan, which I ignore.
Pushing up from the ground, I brush the dirt from my pants, only now becoming aware of the sharp pain digging into my shoulders and back as it moves upwards. Keaira’s head appears next to mine, and she stares at our group.
“You’re all insane. There’s no doubt about it. You’re insane,” she whispers as she glances from the pit to the wall to Paxton, who barks out a laugh, startling us from the daze we’d been in.
Declan nods and sticks his hand in the second red orb, waiting for it to turn green before removing it with another golden coin in his grasp. “I don’t want to jinx us, but this feels kind of—”
I tsk, and he gives me a confused look. “Don’t you dare jinx us. We are having a difficult time, and this is super hard. Capiche?”
His lips twitch, and he nods his head before turning around and glancing at the open, sandy field below us. My heart sinks at the stone warrior waiting at the gaping mouth of a cave.
“Are you guys ready?” Declan asks, and we nod, staring at the giant golem blocking our path. “Then let’s go before the others catch up. I don’t want to give them a chance to get close to us after the stunt Pax just pulled.”
“I knew… I should have… done more… cardio,” I wheeze as we run down the stairs spiraling around the tower leading toward the open sandy plain. My skin burns under the direct sunlight bearing down on us; it feels one-hundred times hotter than usual, and I guess I’m not the only one that thinks that.
Rory glares at the sun, his face glowing red from sunburn, while the others look more bronzed than usual. Sweat pours from my face and the rest of my body, so much so that it feels like molten lava burning its way down my skin.
“Anyone else feel like they’re dying a slow and fiery death?” I ask, and they grunt, but Paxton smiles and holds out his hand. I give him a confused smile as I take it, but a shivering coldness sinks into my skin, and I groan in relief.
“What kind of sorcery is this?”
“I’m cooling the water in my body, and now yours,” he replies nodding toward the commentator’s box. “A nice little gift of being a part of Poseidon’s pantheon.”
The haziness pumping through my mind lessens. “I think I love you.”
Dane and Declan snap their heads back around and give me simultaneous glares, earning a deep chuckle from Paxton. “Anytime, Serena.”
I grin, grateful he shared his abilities with me. The rest of the trek down the tower doesn’t feel so much of a painful exercise—especially in leather, jeans, and Dr. Martens. Although the blisters on my feet continue to ache as we run down the last few steps, and I sigh in relief as we hit the sand. The others pant, hunched over, drawing in gasping breaths while Paxton and I fan ourselves, the heat not as terrible because of him.
I glance at the golem and spots appear across my vision from the reflection of light across the sand. Weird. I step toward where the sand starts and stoop to scoop some up. It’s silky soft as it falls through my fingers, and strangely glittery. Almost like it’s made from diamonds or shards of mirrored glass. Looking at the sand directly sends dazzles across my vision, forcing me to look up and blink them away.
I stand again and squint back to the golem, then look at my teammates. Rory, Declan, and Dane have all resorted to sitting at the base of the steps in the slither of shadow the tower provides.
“Pax, you may have to sit this one out,” I say to him at my side.
He opens his mouth to protest, but Dane beats him to it. “You don’t want a paladin to fight? Especially something like that?” he asks, pointing across the terrain.
“You all will, actually. You guys can barely move, you’re sweating buckets,” I reply. I throw my hand toward the sun. “This isn’t normal heat. My bet is that we’d pass out from heat exhaustion within a few minutes of starting any kind of fight.”
Declan glances between the golem and Paxton before sighing. “Then what do you suggest?”
I ponder on his words as I stare at the giant rock, but it’s Keaira who answers for me. “Can’t I just blow it up?”
An image of dust and rubble flying fills my mind, and I shrug as I stroke her head, which is surprisingly cool considering the terrible heat.
The guys share a look before eyeing the cat on my shoulder, staring at it dubiously. “Ah, no offense, Keaira, but how exactly are you going to blow it up?” Rory asks, and she jumps down onto my open palm.
“Summon me, wench! I want to prove these peasants wrong!” she declares, earning a few chuckles and an eye roll.
“You know, calling me a wench isn’t going to get you anywhere,” I reply as I focus on shifting her form to my Bo-Peep-like staff.
“It seemed like the perfect response, so I just went with it,” she replies.
Her power radiates through the staff, intermingling with my own, and I nod, loving the electricity threading through the wood. “Are you sure we can do this?”
She scoffs, and if she had eyes, I’m pretty sure she’d be looking at me as if I were a few screws short. “Of course. We both know you have more power than you let on, so let’s move!”
As we stride forward and toward the golem, I make sure to stand in the thin stretch of the tower’s shadow, reaching across the sand. The heat isn’t so bad here, but I still feel like I could fry an egg on
