Free Unchained: An Eternal Guardians Novella by Elisabeth Naughton Page A

curves until it opened to a vast room with a raised platform and a pedestal topped with a copper bowl. No sound echoed from the space. No movement to cut the silence. He climbed the steps and circled the bowl, recognizing it as a cauldron. Circe’s, he guessed.
    He lifted his gaze and scanned the room. Two arched doorways opened off the space. Moving in that direction, he peeked into a bedchamber and another room that housed rows and rows of books, a small sitting area, and a basic kitchen.
    This was where she lived. Where Zeus had trapped her for over a thousand years to conjure her spells under his bidding. But she wasn’t here now. His heart pounded hard as he rationalized where she could be.
    Cerek had said she was confined to this mountain. That because of Zeus’s curse she couldn’t leave. She had to be here. He hadn’t seen any other cave openings when he’d wandered up the path. That didn’t mean they weren’t out there but—
    His mind shot back to the moment he’d stepped into the tunnel and the burst of cool air that had washed over his face.
    It had come from the left. There’d been another tunnel.
    He rushed back to the opening, found the second tunnel and realized why he’d missed it. It curved at a right angle, leaving the appearance of nothing but rock. Moving around the corner, he followed the second tunnel down as it wound deep into the center of Mt. Olympus.
    The air was colder down here. Musty. Water dripped along the rock walls, puddled over the ground. He placed a hand on the cool stones as he followed the path, scanning the tunnel for changes, for threats, for Zeus himself.
    The tunnel widened to a central, circular space. Several doors made of metal bars lined the room. One was dark and empty, opening to another tunnel that led deeper into the bowels of the mountain. His gaze skipped back to the doors. Cell doors, he realized. The trickle of liquid running under one drew his attention. He stepped toward it. Looked down. Realized the liquid wasn’t water, but blood.
    “Circe?” Panic tightened into a fist around his throat. He grasped the bars and pulled. The door swung open easily, creaking on its hinges.
    A groan echoed from inside.
    Prometheus’s gaze sharpened, and he spotted a shadow on the floor against the far wall. “Keia?”
    The shadow shifted, and another groan echoed. Blood trickled through the rocks along the floor. In a terror-filled heartbeat, Prometheus knew it was her.
    He rushed to her side, knelt, and gently turned her away from the wall where she lay curled. She cried out in pain. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to—”
    Blood covered his hands in the dark. As she turned onto her back and whimpered, he saw the giant gash in her neck, still spilling blood.
    “Hold still.” Heart racing, he placed a hand over the wound at her neck. “This may hurt, but I promise it will help.”
    He closed his eyes, called on his gifts. As a Titan, he had the ability to heal. It was how he’d survived that giant eagle’s attack each day. He could transfer that ability to another if he focused, but this particular gift wasn’t always reliable, as he didn’t often use it anymore.
    Who the hell was he kidding? He never used it because he isolated himself from others in that castle high in the Argolean mountains.
    “Hold on,” he whispered, focusing harder. Warmth gathered in his palm, permeated her skin. A golden glow radiated from where he touched her, the power of regeneration fusing her skin back together. Sweat beaded his brow. His muscles grew taut and rigid. What should already be healed wasn’t. He could feel the cells binding beneath his fingers, but it was taking much too long. Something was slowing him down. Something—
    “Adamant,” Circe rasped, as if reading his mind. He opened his eyes to focus on her pain-filled face. Blood matted her hair and stained her white dress. “This cell is lined...with adamant. He drags me in here to keep me from