Hydras

Pov.Asteria

I snapped my head up when I heard something growl in front of me, and so did Bloodstar behind me. I shot her a warning look. I thought they wouldn't notice us until we were closer. I dropped my arms, and they seemed to notice my sword. I instantly shot my hands up and notched Emily to follow my movements.

"We bring no harm," I declared.

I turned to look at Emily. "She is looking for her mate, and we believe he may be here. If we get close enough, he may smell her."

The hydra snapped its heads to the right, and we cautiously followed. "Bloodstar, please stay here."

She seemed relieved and instantly sat. I knew she didn't want to be close to any more hydras. As we got closer to the cave, I took a step back in surprise. There were hundreds of heads, no thousands. I put an arm in front of Emily and pushed her behind me. They all seemed to hiss simultaneously.

I took a deep breath in. I needed to relax and not judge by appearances. They may become my allies, and I can't be scared of them. I swallowed and let Emily go. I stayed put and let her walk by herself but gave her a transportation potion, just in case. Once she disappeared out of my sight, I turned to look at one of the hydras.

"Take me to you leader, please," I said, and the hydra I directed to get up, and I followed. This hydra seemed to have at least six heads, and they all seemed tangled up together. I followed, but I couldn't get rid of this tingling sensation. I shrugged it off. I was just worried about Emily.

In a few seconds, once we walked over a few hydras. We reached what seemed to be a door. The hydra that brought me turned around, not saying a word. I stared at the door for a few seconds deciding if I should knock.

I gained confidence and knocked twice. Simultaneous rough voices come from the other side of the door, and my hands suddenly start shaking. When hydras transform into their human forms, there are as many people as the number of their heads.

To say the least, I'm terrified. I opened the door and stood in front of me. There were twelve identical people.

They were all dressed identically and seemed to move at the same time.

"Hello," I said, standing straight. "I come to offer you a deal that you won't be able to deny," I declared.

They all smirked and signaled me to sit in front of them. I sat, crossing one leg over the other, like a lady it's supposed to sit.

"Tea?" They asked, and I nodded. "What is it that you have to offer us?" They put the tea in front of me, and I reached out for it.

"I happen to know your grudge against the phoenixes," I declared and brought the tea towards my lips." And that my friends are an interest we both share."

"What would be your reason to hate them?" They asked.

Flashes came to my mind, but I cleared my throat before they noticed my moment of weakness.

"That doesn't matter. I want us to help each other," I replied.

"Okay, but can we at least know your name?" They pressured, getting impatient with my stubbornness.

I smirked, "You will know it, with time. That is, if you agree, of course?"

"We like you!" They boomed, getting up. "You will have to give us time to think and vote with the rest of our people. We can't put them in danger without their consent. Give us two hours"

I nodded and shook each of their hands. "It was nice doing business with you," I declared before turning around to leave.

As I stepped out, I was looking for the hydra that took her. "Excuse me, where is the girl that was with you?"

They hissed and pointed to a corner of the cave, and there it was Emily, crying while holding her knees. I instantly ran to her side.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked while lifting her face.

"He is not here A. What if I never found him? or what if something wrong happened to him?" She said, sobbing nonstop.

"Hey, I'm sure there is an explanation for everything and you'll find your mate," I didn't want to worry her, but none of this made sense. I hugged her closer to my chest. I wished to comfort her. I wished Bloodstar was inside here as well to help me make her smile.

Suddenly Emily didn't seem to be there at all. There was this amazing smell that seemed to compel me to follow it. I got up, and I got deeper and deeper into the cave.

'What is happening to me?' Was the only thought running through my head. The hydras seemed to move to make way for me to walk. I stopped in my tracks taking control of my body, turning around to go back to Emily once again.

"No, you're not!" Cahya suddenly screamed, inside my head, taking control over my body.

"Cahya, what the hell are you doing?!" I screamed.

"Stopping you from committing a mistake and meeting your destiny," she explained breathlessly. "Remember when I said try to keep an open mind. I'm going to need you to do that now."

"What about Emily? We left her all by herself back there," I pressured.

"She has been following us this whole time Asteria," she replied. "Just think about us for a second, forget about Em."

"Cahya, I'm scared," I confessed.

"So am I, and there is nothing wrong with that," she declared, not leaving space for discussion.