She turned toward the trees where Ari appeared, stomping through the snow.
“I found two dead daemons and a trail of blood.” He wiped his blade against his thigh, then sheathed it at his hip. “The third’s no longer a problem.” He looked down at Sappheire. “Your friend was dead by the time I got there. I’m sorry.”
Daphne’s heart pinched as she looked back at Sappheire. Daphne hadn’t known Rhebekah long, but Rhebekah and Sappheire had been close. Emotions ran over Sappheire’s face as she glanced around the snowy forest, clearly not seeing any of it. “I...”
“Are you sure there were only three?” Ari asked.
Brow drawn low, Sappheire finally looked up. “Three?”
“Daemons. Did you see any others?”
“No.” Sappheire shook her head and swallowed hard. “No, only three. They surprised us. We heard voices over the ridge and went to look. It...it must have been them.”
Ari glanced toward Daphne. “Voices could mean more. I can handle a handful of daemons on my own, but not an entire horde, not with you both here, and not with fresh blood in the area. We need to go.”
Fear wrapped an icy hand around Daphne’s chest and squeezed. She remembered all too well the horror of being caught with those daemons. She pushed to her feet. “Can the snowmobile hold all three of us? I can—”
“I’m not going with you.”
Daphne’s gaze snapped to her mentor. “Of course you are. You can’t stay out here, especially if there are more daemons in the ar—”
“I’m not going with you,” Sappheire said again. “I know how to get home on my own.”
“But—”
“No buts.” Gritting her teeth, Sappheire pushed up to standing. Her arm hung limply against her side as she leaned back against the rocks, but it was clear Ari’s healing powers had worked. She looked past Daphne toward Ari at her back. “Thank you. For killing that last daemon. Where is she?”
Ari nodded toward the trees. “Fifty yards that way. You’ll see the rocks. She’s behind those.”
Sappheire eased away from the boulder and took a step past Daphne.
“Wait.” Panic pushed at Daphne’s chest. They couldn’t just leave Sappheire out here, not if there were more daemons in the area.
“I’m fine.” Sappheire pinned her with a hard look. “I’m getting Rhebekah and taking her home. Go, Daphne, before anything else appears.”
Before any other Sirens appear. Daphne heard the warning loud and clear. Sappheire was letting Ari go. But Daphne had no idea if the Siren meant to bring other Sirens back or if she’d tell Athena what she’d witnessed.
A new sense of urgency gripped Daphne. “She’s right.” She grabbed hold of Ari’s sleeve and pulled him toward the snowmobile. “We need to go.”
She picked up her helmet as they drew close, grabbed his and handed it to him. He was watching her curiously as she sat on the snowmobile and snapped her chinstrap, and she knew he was wondering what the hell had just happened, but she didn’t have an answer, and she didn’t want to get into it now. Now they just needed to put as much distance between them and this location as they could, in any direction.
“Come on,” she said when he only continued to stare at her. “I thought we were going.”
“She called you Daphne.” His eyes narrowed. “I don’t remember saying your name in front of her. Do you know that Siren?”
Oh shit...
Daphne’s stomach drew tight as a drum, and her mind spun as she tried to think of an answer—any answer—that would make sense. But before she could latch on to one, Ari drew in a deep whiff through his nose and growled.
Startled, she looked up. And a new sense of fear consumed her.
His gaze was fixed on something far off in the trees. Every muscle in his body was tight and rigid. But more importantly, his eyes were no longer the mismatched green and blue she’d come to love. They were black. Deathly black, and one-hundred percent possessed.
“Sirens,” he growled in a low, unfamiliar voice.
Daphne lurched to her feet and glanced over her shoulder. Six females—six Sirens—emerged from the trees. They were dressed in knee-high boots, slim pants, and tight, sleeveless shirts. All carried the familiar bow and arrows from Olympus, and all were as gorgeous and built as Sappheire. But a tingle of unease spread down Daphne’s spine as she looked over the group. None of the females were familiar to Daphne, and she’d met every Siren on Olympus, even the newest recruits. More than that, though, the look in each of these Siren’s eyes was both dark and evil. And it was a look she’d never seen from any of her sisters.
“Something’s not right.” She reached for Ari’s forearm.
He pulled his gaze from the Sirens and looked down at her. And for a moment, the crazed, dark look faded and his eyes shifted back to their normal mismatched colors.