A Sea of Blood and Magic

Chapter Eighteen

A/N: In case you didn't read the content notes at the beginning of the book, the worst of the stuff I warned for is in this chapter. Please go check it if you haven't, and take care!

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My head hurt so badly that I threw up before I even opened my eyes. The vomit nearly choked me until I could gather myself well enough to roll to my side. I heard myself moaning and shut my mouth, concentrating on breathing.

"Kharis."

Nik. Relief surged through my body, powerfully enough that it left me weak. Blinking, I tried to focus on the room, but everything was blurry and dark. "Where are we?" I whispered.

Something stirred; when she spoke again I realized the moving thing was Nik. "In Poseidon's temple, I think. They sacrificed a couple of pigs a while back. I'm glad you were already passed out because that noise was awful." A moment of silence, and then, "Are you okay?"

"Head hurts." Understatement of the year. The agony pounded through every cell. "You?"

"They weren't nearly as hard on me as they were on you. They acted like they were scared."

The pain in my skull made it difficult to focus, but when I did, I hissed in shock. "They know about us?"

"Or they're not taking any chances. I'm not sure how they could have figured it out."

Pressing my forehead to the cool concrete beneath me, I struggled to think. "Maybe they haven't, because they didn't leave the gag in. But remember how we were being followed by that ichthyocentaur when we were on the Navy ship? If he had hearing like mine, and he was listening when Ms. Scholey figured it out, then I guess it's possible Poseidon knows."

"Shit."

"Yup. And if we're in Poseidon's temple, then I'm afraid—"

She spoke with me. "That Cyneburg knows we overheard her? We were the only other car on that lane, but I don't know if Patil could see us past all the dust."

"Me neither. Did they say anything to you while I was out?"

"No, and they talked in Marathi so I've got hardly any idea what they were saying."

"It's pointless to guess." I sighed. "I still can't see you very well."

"It's pretty dark in this room." Nik scooted closer. "How's that?"

"I can see two of you. Is that better?"

"Well, it's accurate, anyway." She edged near enough for our legs to brush. "Your eyes are crossing."

"They hit me so hard." I was whining, but I couldn't summon the wherewithal to stop.

"C'mon, let's sit against the wall."

Together, we pushed ourselves over until we could lean on the dark wood, uncomfortable as it was with our hands tight behind our backs. I said, "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault we were caught."

"No, I'm apologizing for what we were fighting about, before we got caught. I was a jerk."

"Oh." Nik leaned her head back, avoiding my eyes "Right. Let's talk about it if we're not dead in a few hours."

Part of me wondered at the ease with which we both could consider our potential deaths, but on the other hand we'd been contemplating the possibility in various forms for months now. And, crap. She was still so pissed. "Yeah, I get that." Squinting against the pain, trying to see any hint of softening, I added, "I'm really sorry."