Chapter Text
The cave was more of a hole in the ground than an actual cave.
Eric’s horse was already there, tied out in the open where anyone could kill it. Sean almost cut it down, but Eric was probably already a statue and would never ride it again so he untied it and hid it next to his own instead.
It was a fine steed. He’d give it to Nick.
Bringing it back with him through the forest would slow him down though, so he needed to act quickly. Yvette could be anywhere - she could have already killed the gorgon and taken the heart and started the return trip back to Nick. But she’d likely take the same route back along the stream, and Sean hadn’t passed her on his way to the cave.
The cave itself was marked by a tree shattered by lightning. The ground sloped down to the root-covered entrance, the inside untouched by the sun’s rays. The stream swept close, curved, and wandered away, but it had been enough for him to easily spot the landmark tree as he approached.
The statues of travelers frozen in place around the entrance helped.
The first one he’d seen had been further down the stream. The young man seemed to have been gathering water - he was crouched by the stream with a flask in his hand, and had turned around to look at something behind him. The entirety of him had been turned to stone, even his clothes and his flask. Bits of plants had begun to grow on him, and bugs hummed about his still form giving the stone the illusion of life.
Sean had stood next to him for a long time - too long - staring down at those gray eyes that never blinked.
The next statue had appeared a short distance from the first one, and then after that they dotted the forest around him as if watching his progression toward the monster’s lair. The entrance was guarded by them, their frozen forms warding off wayward travelers from seeking shelter in the cave.
Sean passed by all of them as he slowly approached the entrance. He wouldn’t be able to see anything in there unless he used a torch, but he wasn’t supposed to look at the gorgon anyway. Eric or Yvette might have lit a torch, though, and there was no way to know for sure if he’d be turned to stone for laying eyes on the gorgon regardless of whether he could actually see it or not. The stories didn’t go into the semantics about what it actually meant to look at a gorgon.
So he untied the piece of cloth from around his wrist and secured it over his eyes.
His skin prickled as the breeze rushed past. The song his new sword sang as it slid out of its sheath was a sweet symphony. The hilt was warm through his glove, like a handshake from an old friend. He held the sword out, testing the space before him with a slow swing. The tip dragged against the roots covering the entrance.
He stepped through.
The roots brushed heavy against him. The dirt crunched lightly underfoot. His boot kicked a small stone, and the clack of it hitting another rock echoed in the mouth of the cave.
There was a piercing screech from further in the cave, as if the gates of Hell were grinding open. It rang in his ears, made him double over with a grunt.
Fighting the gorgon in the cave was foolish. But unless Yvette or Eric drew it out he had no choice, and that screech might have meant that someone had dealt the monster a blow. If one of the other alphas had managed to kill it then he needed to act fast to steal the heart before they could escape with it. So he continued on, feeling his way along the cave wall as he went.
Rocks threatened to trip him. Roots smacked him in the face. A bug landed on his cheek, and he quickly flicked it away.
This was no place for a prince.
Or maybe it was exactly the place for a prince. Quests used to be the accepted method of proving an heir’s worth to ascend the throne before they were deemed barbaric - too many firstborn heirs died. So it was fitting, in a way, that the third trial before he acquired both his mate and crown should be a quest.
Another screech rang out, louder this time. He doubled over again, pressing his free hand to his ear. It faded, and he slowly uncurled himself, a high-pitched note ringing faint in his ears. He should have brought something to plug his ears with instead of a blindfold.
His next step landed on something hard that crunched under his boot. Not a rock, not a root, not a torch. He bent down and ran his hand over it.
It was a bone.
Ah. Well. He was in the lair of a monster, and monsters had to eat too. The next step he took landed on another one though, and then he stepped on another one after that.
The ground was covered in them. That was inconvenient. They might cause him to slip or trip while he fought. He could use them as weapons if needed though. He could break a few of the longer ones and use them as makeshift spears that he could throw at the gorgon. But hitting a target he couldn’t see would be difficult. Then again, he was in a cave. There wasn’t much else for him to hit. Except that the gorgon could simply charge him and close the distance before he could even throw it. No, it was better to rely on his sword.
He tensed at the clatter of bones from somewhere in front of him. There was a crack, and a squelch, and the sound of something wet slapping onto the bones.
The air became tinged with the scent of blood.
His stomach rolled at a slurping noise followed by a grunt.
It was feeding.
It was distracted. He dropped into his stance and raised his blade, stepping as light as he knew how toward the monster. But the bones clattered under his feet, and the noises stopped.
He froze.
There were hisses, like dozens of snakes all rising to attention at once.
And then it was charging at him, the bones in front of him rustling and clacking from the movement.
He woged, and swung.
His sword made contact with something hard, harder than flesh, but his blade bit through whatever hide the monster was covered with and sliced straight through to the other side. The gorgon screeched again - and this time he cried out with it, stumbling back from the noise, almost dropping his sword as he clutched at his head. Something solid as stone slammed into his side and threw him into the cave wall, the impact stealing his breath and making his woge recede. His knees threatened to give out beneath him but he locked them in place, forcing himself to remain standing and raising his blade again as he sucked in a ragged breath.
His entire side throbbed with every beat of his heart. His ears rang, and the world had become muted. But he still had his sword in his hand, and that was all he needed to retrieve its heart.
He pushed himself off of the wall. There was the faint sound of thrashing in front of him, and bones kept hitting his shins. He had injured it. Now he just had to finish it off.
It was somewhere on the ground in front of him. He approached it slowly, stabbing downwards ahead of him with his sword as he went.
His sword slid into flesh. There was another screech - though it sounded distant, now - and the scrape of claws through the metal covering his leg. Fire burned where those claws kissed his skin. He pulled his sword out and swung it toward that paw, and was rewarded by the tug of flesh parting under his blade. Another set of claws swiped at his legs. He swung his sword at that paw, too.
He needed to kill it without damaging the heart, if he hadn’t done so already. A few taps with his sword found the top of what seemed to be its head, and he followed that down to its neck.
It, too, parted under his blade.
The thrashing slowly stopped. He kicked the gorgon. It did not move, so he resheathed his sword and crouched down to skim his hand over it. There was an arm that ended abruptly, and a chest that-
It was a woman.
A human woman with armor-like skin.
It was hard under his touch, and when he smoothed his hand back toward the head the hide caught on his glove. He took it off, and traced his fingertips over it.
Scales.
She was covered in scales.
If he hadn’t had Hadrian’s blade he might not have been able to cut through them. He’d have to thank the young prince somehow. He located where her heart should be, and pulled his dagger from his belt.
It was a messy process made more difficult without the use of his magical blade, but with effort the dagger cut through the gorgon’s hide. Securing the heart without damaging it while not being able to see it was the hardest part, but soon enough he had it in his hand. It was bigger than a human heart. Heavier, too.
He slid his dagger back in its sheath and tucked his glove into his belt before pushing himself to his feet. The trek back out of the cave was slow, his shins and side and head aching with every step, but the heart soaking his hand in wet warmth teased a smile onto his lips.
He’d done it.
When he had walked far enough away from the gorgon he pulled the blindfold off, letting it rest around his neck. It might not have done anything, or it might have saved his life. Either way, he was never getting rid of it.
The first rays of light trickling into the cave from the entrance ahead of him were a welcome change from the darkness he’d been in before, and he picked up his pace, striding to those overhanging roots with lighter steps. He pushed them out of the way, and squinted at the bright world around him.
And at Eric, who was aiming his armed bow right at him.