“Try harder, Saphira.”

    I focused even more intently on the cute little mouse in front of me on the table. He was just sitting there, staring up at me with beautiful eyes filled with terror and a cute little nose …

    “Saphira!”

    I jerked. Right. I was supposed to be turning him into a horse. But he was such a sweet mouse. How could I do that to him? Transformations were painful for any creature, and growing bones was especially agonizing. The pain this mouse would be in … could I really do it? Yes. I could. I had to do this. If I mastered my powers, I could finally leave Aeaea and my mother behind. I’d have the power to do whatever I wished. I would be free.

    Mother circled me, her clinical gray eyes perusing the scene before her. Today, she wore a gold chiton made of the finest cloth in the Otherworld with matching sandals. Her hair, the color of roses, was piled high on her head in an elegant way that I could only dream of. She was flawless, beauty incarnate. And I was her lackluster daughter, a disappointment in appearance and magical skill.

    “Focus,” she clipped out, pointing judiciously at the mouse. “Make him a horse.”

    I nodded once, squatting down to be at level with the mouse, the only thought in my head being that of a black stallion. My eyes fluttered shut, the familiar energy bubbling in my stomach. It rose through me like vapor, stretching out from my fingertips for the mouse.

    The image of the mouse sparked in my mind unbidden, and my power fled me. I sagged back on my butt, sighing. I’d failed. Again.

    Mother sighed. “That’s enough for today. Return to your room, Saphira.”

    It was a dismissal, one I gladly took as I struggled to my feet, wobbling slightly from the energy I’d pulled for an enchantment that hadn’t happened. Hesitantly, I looked upon my mother. Her ivory-skinned face was set in harsh lines, her arms crossed over her chest.

    “I’m sorry, Mother,” I murmured.

    “No, you’re not,” she retorted without heat. “You’re glad you failed. Can you tell me why?”

    I said nothing.

    Her eyes narrowed. “You didn’t want to hurt that mouse. That prevented you from finishing the enchantment.”

    Again, I remained silent. I knew from experience that arguing with her served no purpose save to anger her. Besides, she was correct. My reluctance to harm animals was one of the many problems I had with performing magic.

    “Until you get over your empathy for the creatures, you will never reach your potential,” she informed me. “I have nothing more to teach you.” With that, she turned her back on me.

    I fled from her magic room, running through the rest of the palace with my hair flapping behind me. I ignored the knot in my stomach and her order for me to return to my room, bursting out into the sunlight. Bare feet pounding on the hot, coarse sand, I dashed into the jungle behind her palace. The sand was soon replaced by the dirt, foliage-ridden floor of the jungle, a change my feet were long used to. As I went, I noticed some of Mother’s animals — all of them men at one point, now slaves to her will. I couldn’t look at them long, their desolation reaching me even though none of them had human voices anymore.

    Soon, I reached the cave on the north peak of the island, facing out toward the rest of the ocean. Rounding the cliff-side carefully, I hopped inside. The stone was cold to the touch and I shivered slightly as I made my way to the small pool of water in the center of the cave. The pool was protected on all sides by evenly spaced stalagmites that reached for the ceiling of the cave and then curled slightly inward, almost like the claws of a beast. When I was younger, I used to wonder if Cerberus had tried to steal it for Hades.

    I moved forward and the water trembled slightly, as if sensing my approach. The inside of the cave was cooler than outside, the walls moist and the entirety of it smelling of seawater. I sat carefully by the pool, making sure the rough linen of my chiton protected the majority of my leg from the stone beneath me. Resting my weight on my arm, I stared at the water. It was by no means pure; it could only be described as opaque, though it wasn’t dark. It was as if the sky had been spilled into the sea, as the color of the water matched that of Zeus’s realm perfectly. Sometimes, I would swear I could see moonlight or sunlight dancing in it.

    The flap of wings distracted me from my thoughts, padding paws following soon after. I didn’t turn. A large white owl flew around to perch upon a stalagmite beside me, his large eyes deep with knowledge. A proud lion took position on the other side of me, squeezing between me and yet another stalagmite so that our bodies touched. The heat of the beast threaded through me and I smiled at him in thanks, stroking his back once.

    “What are you two doing here?” I asked.

    “I saw you flee from the palace looking very upset,” Daedalus explained, his feathers ruffling in affront. “I alerted Hector and we followed you.”

    Hector nodded, his mane shaking with him. “What happened in there?”

    I shrugged. “The usual. Mother wanted me to turn a mouse into a horse. I almost did it this time, but …”

    “But you looked at it, thought it cute, and couldn’t go through with it,” Daedalus finished for me. He and Hector were both well aware of my problems.

    I sighed and hung my head, my golden-brown waves falling into my eyes. “Yes. Mother was disappointed again.”

    “Good,” Hector growled fiercely. “If you continue to disappoint her, you won’t become her.”

    “But I need to learn what she knows if I am to leave this island,” I told him, leaning forward and running a hand through the pool. The water was warm and smooth, coating my skin like a blanket. “I don’t want to be trapped here forever like her.” Gods knew Mother would never let me leave; she clung to me like a vine to a tree. If she couldn’t leave, then neither would I. She believed that I wanted to be a sorceress like her, but my only desire was to escape. I could only speak of my plan in the cave, which was protected from Mother’s magic and her spies. It was why Hector and Daedalus often met here, safe from her constant scrutiny.

    “There are other magics you could learn.” Daedalus leapt from the stalagmite, floating down to the ground. “And there are better teachers you could seek.”

    “Like who? There’s no one else on this stupid island. It’s me, her, and her prisoners.” I sighed. “I would turn you two back in a heartbeat if it was possible.”

    “We know,” Hector replied, resting his head on my thigh. He had been Achilles’ counterpart on the Trojan side during the Trojan War. While near death, he had begged for a savior. What he received was my mother, who stole him away to Aeaea. She made him into a lion when he refused to break his vows to his wife Andromache and sleep with her.

    Daedalus, on the other hand, was no warrior like Hector. He was a genius inventor and craftsman, creator of the Labyrinth which had been the prison of my cousin, the Minotaur. Mother hated him for constructing a wooden bull that my aunt, Pasiphae, could use to mate with a white bull that Poseidon had once given to Pasiphae’s husband Minos as a sacrifice. Minos kept the bull instead of sacrificing it, and so Poseidon made Pasiphae lust for the bull, ultimately culminating in the Minotaur and Pasiphae’s permanent disgrace. Mother never forgave Daedalus for aiding Poseidon and, after Daedalus’s son Icarus died when they escaped from the tower King Minos had imprisoned them in using wings they had constructed, Mother captured Daedalus and made him into an owl. She once told me that, since he wanted wings so badly, he could have them forever.

    Unfortunately, a sorceress could not undo another sorceress’ magic without her staff or wand, and Mother always had her staff with her. It was made of the remains of a willow tree, curved like a fanciful walking stick. At the top of it was a massive quartz, which allowed Mother to focus her powers even better than without it. She didn’t trust anyone with it, not even me.

    So Daedalus and Hector were prisoners of a petty sorceress with abandonment issues. And I was her most prized possession save her staff. She would never let any of us go.

    I shook my head. No, I wouldn’t think of that. It would only make me angry. I returned my attention to the pool in front of me.

    “Who do you want to see, Saphira?” Daedalus inquired.

    I shrugged. I had already spied upon Odysseus the other day. “Telemachus.”

    Hector growled in displeasure. “Why? It’s not as if he does anything besides fight with his father and train.”

    “It’s the only way I can know him,” I replied, moving my hand across the surface of the water. “Show me Telemachus of Ithaca.”

    The liquid rippled, twisting and turning like the labyrinth Daedalus had created. Soon, the image of Telemachus appeared. He stood tall and broad like his father, dark hair rippling in the breeze, wearing … armor? Yes, Telemachus was wearing armor instead of the traditional exomis tunic that fastened on the left shoulder. And he didn’t appear to be in Ithaca.

    I frowned. The scenery for Ithaca was all wrong. I could see a beach behind him where a ship rested, warriors removing supplies from it. There were plenty of trees and bushes that were similar to those found in Aeaea’s jungle, but not the ones that grew in Ithaca. White flowers bloomed everywhere — on the ground, in the bushes and the trees …

    “He is on the Island of the Lotus-Eaters,” Daedalus noted. “What could he possibly be doing there? From his father, he would know to avoid it.”

    Hector snorted, lifting open one eye to regard us. “Isn’t it obvious? The royal brat has grown tired of living in his father’s shadow. He’s out to prove himself superior, to enhance his reputation at the expense of his father’s. Disgraceful. Today’s youth have no respect, no honor. For his pride, he will fail. The gods will see to it.”

    “Even if the gods don’t, he won’t make it off that island.” Daedalus gestured with his wing to Telemachus’s men. “Do you see their faces? They already desire the lotuses. Soon, they will give into temptations. The Lotus-Eaters need do nothing at all.”

    They were right. I’d learned about all the lands in the Otherworld; only people like Mother and I could go to the Island of the Lotus-Eaters and make it out without divine intervention. Telemachus and his men were dead if I didn’t help them.

    I leapt to my feet. “I need to get to the Island of the Lotus-Eaters.”

    “How?” Daedalus demanded. “Circe will never let you leave, especially not to help Odysseus’ son.”

    “Then I’ll have to make certain she’s not around to stop me.”

Hector and Daedalus didn’t like my plan at first, but eventually agreed when they realized I wouldn’t be swayed. It was decided we would leave tonight after my weekly dinner with Mother. But first, I had to find the poppy flowers.

    “I know they’re around here somewhere,” I mumbled, shifting plants aside to try to find the poppies. “Aha, found them!” Kneeling down, I ripped three out by the roots, the grass itching my bare skin. I stood and stashed the poppies in my satchel, glancing over my shoulder to make certain none of Mother’s spies were around. On this island, I never knew who I could trust, save Daedalus and Hector. Hector was using his body to block me while Daedalus kept a lookout from the trees.

    “You’ve got what you need, now let’s head back.” Hector whirled and dashed off to the palace while I chased after him, Daedalus following us from the skies.

    The sun was just setting, casting an eerie glow upon the castle. Mother had made it herself out of the finest stone she could create, and it was a citadel the gods themselves may have lived in. It sparkled in the mornings when the sun hit it, and at night it seemed to shine with the moon. There were a couple back entrances for the servants Mother kept to tend the household, and that was where Hector, Daedalus, and I stopped.

    “Do you know what to do?” I whispered to Daedalus.

    He nodded, blinking once. Hector grunted his agreement.

    “Good. Wish me luck.”

    “You’re going to need it,” Hector muttered.

    I ignored that and strode inside, making a beeline for the kitchens. The human servants were bustling around to make a feast Mother would approve of — or they would be turned back into animals. Mother didn’t just collect warriors, though that was her preference. She collected artists, cooks, inventors. Essentially, anyone she had a use for was brought to Aeaea by some nefarious means and enslaved. Those who worked in the household were allowed to retain their human forms so long as they pleased her. A couple of them had mental breakdowns from the pressure.

    There were too many of them for me to slip the poppy root in Mother’s tea. I had to distract them. Focusing on a curtain, I visualized a fire eating its fabric. Soon enough, a small flame spluttered awake, and it grew until the servants noticed it and shrieked in fear. While they all clustered around the curtains, trying desperately to put out the fire, I hurried to the pot of steaming tea the head cook was making. I threw the poppy flowers in, watching the petals dissolve in the boiling water. The root itself wouldn’t dissolve without magical help, so I pictured the roots and, in my mind, crushed them into little pieces no one would be able to see. When I looked, the roots themselves were gone, crumbs blending into the dark water. With that done, I hurried out of the kitchen and into the dining hall.

    The dining hall was truly grand, with a mammoth table and matching wood made out of numerous olive trees. Mother sat at the head of the rectangular table, her plates set out in front of her as she awaited the meal being brought in. She nodded at me as I took my seat at her right side.

    “Did you enjoy the island today, daughter?” she asked blithely.

    “Yes, Mother, it was beautiful.”

    “Was it fun playing with Hector and Daedalus?”

    “Yes.”

    She clicked her tongue. “Honestly, darling, I have no idea why you bother with the creatures. They cannot speak to you, cannot think beyond their animal needs.”

    That was what she thought. I refrained from answering and gazed down at my plate. Mother had no idea that her spell just gave her prisoners the bodies of animals, not the minds. She also didn’t know that I could communicate with animals, had been able to since birth. She’d use it against me for sure if she knew.

    The servants brought in the first course, pork with vegetables. Mother was handed a goblet of her special tea while I was given ale.

    “Good eating,” I murmured to her.

    “Good eating,” she replied, and sipped some of the tea.

    Throughout the night, I kept up a stilted stream of conversation with my mother. I could tell she was growing weary, but she fought the pull of the poppies as she continued to eat and drink. I only had one cup of ale, picking at my food while Mother carried on.

    “Medea had the nerve to challenge me — me!” she yelled, slamming her goblet on the table. “I am far stronger than that weak mortal. She wants to battle at the upcoming Witch’s Summit.”

    “Where is it being held this year?” I asked. The five main witches of the Otherworld — Circe, Medea, Perimede, Agamede, and Thrace — met up once a year to exchange spells, stories, and essentially one-up each other. Each had their own island in the Otherworld. Medea lived on Solaris, Perimede on Lemuria, Agamede on the Isle of the Phoenix, and Thrace on Theracia. The Witch’s Summit was held on one of their islands each year. It was the only time Mother was permitted to leave Aeaea.

    “Lemuria,” Mother replied. “What a dreadful place. I don’t know how Perimede stands all those dragons.”

    Lemuria neighbored the Island of the Cyclopes and was home to the dragons of the Otherworld. Perimede often specialized in animal magic. Perhaps I could seek her out as a tutor once I left Aeaea. Maybe she would take me on as an apprentice. The rare times I’d met her when the Summit was held here, she seemed like a very lovely woman, if a little quiet.

    “It must be wonderful,” I murmured wistfully, glancing at Mother to see her reaction.

    She was leaning back in her chair, head thrown back, eyes shut. Little snores emerged from her throat, signaling her descent into deep sleep. I smiled. It had worked.

    I stood up silently and fled the dining hall, using the servant’s entrance to emerge onto the island. It was a chilly night and I shivered, wishing I had time to bring a cloak with me. Unfortunately, there was no time. Not for me to pack, at least. I raced to the beach where Hector and Daedalus awaited me.

    “Are they here?” I demanded, nearly out of breath.

    “Yes,” Daedalus replied, gesturing to the figures I could see approaching from beneath the ocean.

    Hector dropped a large satchel at my feet. “Clothes and your magical tools. I thought we could use them.”

    I grinned. “Thank you, Hector.”

    He grunted. I knew that was his way of saying you’re welcome.

    The figures grew closer and finally stopped a few feet from the shore. They had the torsos of horses, save for being covered in scales instead of hair. Their manes were made of fins, scales glistening blue and green in the moonlight. I knew their lower halves were those of sea-serpents. The hippocampi of the Otherworld traveled to and fro, never settling down on any island. Very few were able to see them, but I’d befriended them as a child when I tried to swim away from Aeaea and became stranded. They were the only creatures who could navigate the Otherworld with ease. Even my mother, Circe, needed a map.

    “My friends,” I bowed my head.

    They returned the gesture. “What is it you wish, Saphira?” the greener hippocampus, Ios, asked.

    “I wish passage to the Island of the Lotus-Eaters.”

    Meko, the bluer hippocampus, cocked her head. “Why do you want to go there? The Lotus-Eaters are crazed.”

    “I need to help someone,” I explained. “Please, will you take me and my companions there?”

    Ios and Meko exchanged looks and then nodded, turning around so that we could climb on their backs. I settled on Meko’s back, while Hector awkwardly clung to Ios. Daedalus would fly above us until he grew tired.

    “Are you ready?” Meko asked me.

    “Yes.”

    “Then let us go.”

    Meko and Ios set off, swimming faster than I could ever hope to. Their serpentine bottom halves slashed through the water, propelling us forward as the wind stung my eyes and blew my hair back.

    I glanced behind my shoulder, staring at Aeaea. The island was dark save for the palace. Mother would awaken in a couple of hours and discover I was gone. Hopefully, she wouldn’t find me until I’d managed to save Telemachus.

    Maybe she wouldn’t find me at all. And maybe I could find Perimede and become her apprentice, growing in power until I could beat my mother and free my friends from their animal bodies.

    I faced forward again and, for the first time in a long time, I grinned.

    I was free.

    The hippocampi swam all night, never wavering from weariness or the changing between night and day. My feet and the hem of my chiton were soaked, and Hector appeared to be very unhappy with the seawater currently wetting his fur. Daedalus enjoyed flying in quick spurts, quickly resting between me and Meko when he grew tired. He knew to conserve his energy for the coming adventure. The sun began to peek over the horizon as we finally caught sight of the Island of the Lotus-Eaters. The tall trees bloomed with ripe lotuses easily spotted from the ocean, adorning majestic cypress and alder trees that seemed to spiral to the sky. 

    “We are nearly there, Saphira!” Ios called.

    “I see!” I replied back.

    The hippocampi stopped a few feet from the shore, and Hector, Daedalus, and I took that as our cue to disembark. My chiton was further sodden as I trudged through the water with my companions, quickly reaching the sandy beach.

    I turned around to wave at them. “Thank you for your aid! Say hello to the others for me!”

    Meko and Ios bowed their heads and left, swimming to another island and another adventure. I grinned. They really were good friends. I glanced down to see Hector shake the water from his body, his mane growing larger as it dried in the air. His lips curled away from his teeth as he growled.

    “I hate water,” he grumbled, prowling past me. “I can smell humans further inland. We should head that way.”

    “Of course.” With Daedalus perched on my shoulder, I followed Hector into the jungle. The small sliver of sunlight we had became blocked by the lotus trees, leaving the jungle chilled and dark. Goosebumps rose on my arms and I rubbed them, trying to soothe my skin.

    “Are you certain they are this way?” Daedalus inquired.

    “Yes. People have a very distinct scent. We’re getting closer, so be quiet now.” Hector’s stride slowed as he stalked through the lotus bushes, keeping his body low to the ground. I’d never seen Hector hunt before — he usually tried to act as human as possible around me. At that moment, he truly looked like a lion, not a man trapped inside a lion’s body. An instinctual part of me trembled in fear and warned me to run. The rest of me told that part to shut up and continued walking.

    Soon enough, I heard voices.

    “…Eating those things!” a man yelled. “You’re getting addicted!”

    There was no reply to the man’s words.

    “Please stop!” a younger boy added. “The lotuses aren’t good for you.”

    I exchanged wary looks with Daedalus as Hector stopped in front of us, using his body to prevent me from going further. I ducked down and lifted a particularly large leaf away so that I could see what was happening.

    A man with dark hair and wearing Ithacan armor stood with his back to me, facing a group of similarly-armored soldiers sitting on the ground and stuffing their faces with lotus flowers. They appeared to be completely ignoring him. At his side stood a boy almost as tall as him with blond hair cropped short. The boy wore an exomis, not armor like the others. He was probably just there to carry their weapons.

    I stepped through the leaves despite Hector’s warning growl. “Need any help?”

    The man and boy turned around. Telemachus’s dark eyes stared into my gray ones, freezing me to the ground. The boy appeared confused by my presence on the island. I had no idea who he was, though I doubted he was of importance.

    “Who are you?” Telemachus bit out sharply.

    “I am Saphira, daughter of the sorceress Circe,” I explained, dipping my head in greeting to him. “And who are you?”

    “Telemachus, son of Odysseus.” He straightened as he spoke, a mask of bitterness crossing his face when he spoke of his father. Hector was right; Telemachus did have a problem with his father.

    “Welcome to the island, Prince,” I replied. “Though it isn’t a very good vacation spot. Did you take a wrong turn?”

    “Not at all. I came here on purpose.” He hesitated before continuing. “I am going to reenact my father’s journey, you see. I shall prove myself better than him.”

    I threw a glance at his gluttonous crew. “And you thought it wise to bring a crew full of mortal men to an island of addictive delicacies? Surely you knew they would be unable to resist the lotus’s call?”

    A flush appeared on his cheeks. “I-uh-I believed the Lotus-Eaters were the ones who got us addicted.”

    I shook my head. “No. The lotuses themselves do that; the Lotus-Eaters just help things along. They’re probably waiting until you and your companion succumb to the lotuses before they introduce themselves, if there are any left at all.”

    “What do you mean by that?” the boy demanded.

    “The Lotus-Eaters aren’t exactly the most popular people,” I explained with a shrug. “A while back, they tried to ensnare the lover of the witch Agamede. Agamede grew so enraged that she nearly wiped them all out. The few that remain rarely come out for fear of incurring the witch’s wrath.”

    “Makes sense,” the boy muttered to himself.

    “Quiet, Galen,” Telemachus retorted. He stepped toward me, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. “How do you know this?”

    “Agamede regularly brags about it at the annual Witch’s Summit.” I rolled my eyes. “It’s her favorite story. She thinks it makes the others afraid of her.”

    Telemachus frowned. “Does it?”

    “At first, yes. After the tenth time she told it, everyone grew bored and then irritated. Medea tried to kill her last year.” I didn’t particularly blame her; Agamede was a whiny woman, and her one claim to fame besides her island home was her near-eradication of the Lotus-Eaters. Since the Lotus-Eaters were peaceful addicts, it wasn’t much of a boost to her reputation.

    “Interesting.” Telemachus gestured to his men. “Can you fix them? Galen and I are the only ones who are resisting the lotuses, and I really need to be on my way to the Land of the Laestrygonians.”

    “Fix them? No. But I can help you get them back on your ship.”

    “And how will you do that?” Galen cut in, raising his brows dubiously.

    I glanced over my shoulder to see Hector and Daedalus still crouching beneath the heavy leaves. “Guys, come on out.”

    Telemachus and Galen immediately stepped back when Hector revealed himself. To be fair, Hector started it when he bared his teeth and growled threateningly at them. I flicked his skull a couple times and shook my head at him. He huffed in annoyance and sat on his haunches; I believe he was trying to appear as non-threatening as possible. His glare didn’t help much.

    “Why do you have a lion with you?” Telemachus’s hand tightened on the hilt of his sword.

    “And an owl,” Daedalus chirped in, though he was only understood by me. “Does no one see the owl?”

    “He’s my friend,” I answered, ignoring Daedalus. “His name is Hector, and he’s a very nice lion. The owl is Daedalus.”

    “Does he like to eat Greeks?” Galen asked; I couldn’t tell whether he was joking or not.

    “Yes,” Hector replied. “And I’m not nice. I’m a fierce predator.” He puffed out his chest in pride, and I held back a snicker.

    “No, he doesn’t eat people at all.” I shot Hector a dark look. Thank the gods the others couldn’t understand him. “He’s really a kitten.”

    Hector growled.

    Telemachus barked out a laugh. “He doesn’t look like a kitten. He looks like a giant, carnivorous lion that wants to eat us.”

    Galen nodded his agreement.

    “Hector, stop intimidating them,” Daedalus ordered. “We need them to like us, otherwise this could go very badly.”

    “I’m not a kitten,” Hector grumbled, but nevertheless laid down on his belly and didn’t make eye contact with them.

    I scratched him behind the ears, and he purred contentedly. “See? Harmless. Although, he doesn’t like it when people other than me touch him. So keep your distance and be respectful.”

    “I am completely fine with that plan,” Galen murmured, and Telemachus nodded.

    “So, do you want my help or not?” I gestured to the crew. “You’re not going to be able to get them back on the ship without me.”

    “What do you have in mind?” Telemachus asked.

    I shrugged. “I can make the lotuses disappear — it’s a simple illusion spell. Then, Hector can scare them onto the ship.”

    Hector lifted his head. “I like this plan. Can I eat them?”

    “No, you can’t eat them,” I hissed quietly. “What is wrong with you today?”

    “Sorry. I still have some hostilities toward the Greeks from the Trojan War.”

    “It was over two decades ago!”

    “So?”

    I shook my head. There was no use in arguing with Hector about the Trojan War. He still believed the Trojans would’ve been victorious if the gods hadn’t helped the Greeks. He purposefully ignored the fact that the Trojans had divine aid as well.

    “Very well, do your spell,” Telemachus agreed, stepping aside so that I had a full view of his crew.

    I nodded once to him and focused on the crew. Their eyes were glazed over, their hands grubbing for every last bit of the flower they could find. I straightened, centering myself and focusing on the scene before me. Blanking my mind, I painted a canvas, a new version of the scene. Only now, there were now lotus flowers. There were only leaves and dirt.

    The outcry was immediate. The men hollered and wailed, demanding the return of their precious drug. I opened my eyes to see them turning on each other, demanding the flower.

    “Where did you hide the lotuses?” one yelled.

    “Why’d you take the last of my stash?” another hissed.

    On and on the fighting went. I looked down at Hector and gestured at him to go forth. A purely predatory smile graced his leonine face as he leapt forward, releasing a roar that shook the trees to their roots. At once, the brawling stopped as the crew stared at Hector in confusion and then fear. Then, they let out screams as they ran back toward the beach, their lotuses forgotten for the moment.

    “Chase them onto the ship!” I called to Hector as he bounded after them. “Keep them together, and remember that their weapons will be on the ship!”

    “I shall make sure he knows,” Daedalus told me before flying off toward the beach.

    I turned to see Telemachus and Galen staring in the direction they had all run in, their mouths agape. It seemed they couldn’t believe their comrades would run like children from a lion. I knew Greek warriors were very protective of their pride and reputation, but I saw nothing wrong with running from a threat when they had no weapons on their persons.

    “Why didn’t they have any weapons on them?” I asked.

    “They didn’t think they needed them,” Galen explained, as Telemachus was still too stupefied. “They didn’t see the Lotus-Eaters as a threat.” He looked around and noticed the lotuses were visible once more. “How are the lotuses back?”

    “It was only a temporary spell. Once the crew left, there was no more reason to hold it. Now, we should go before Hector chases them into the ocean and they’re lost forever.”

    Telemachus and Galen moved very quickly after that, hurrying to the ship. Once there, we saw the crazed crew using their spears in an attempt to keep Hector at bay. Hector prowled around the ship, roaring and baring his fangs whenever he felt necessary to stir up fear. It would’ve been rather funny if I wasn’t sure that some of them were about to jump ship.

    “You’re going to have to tie them up,” I explained to Telemachus. “They’re going to go through withdrawal from the lotus flowers and they can have hallucinations. Some of those hallucinations can be violent or nightmarish.”

    “I hope we have enough rope,” Galen muttered as he hesitantly approached the ship, warily skirting Hector.

    That was my cue to leave. I had to find Perimede on Lemuria, and to do that I had to call back the hippocampi. I stepped away and gave a half-hearted wave. “Well, I’ll let you continue on your quest. Hector, Daedalus, let’s go.”

    “Wait!” Telemachus yelled, and I halted.

    “Yes?”

    “Come with me.”

    I frowned. “Go with you? Why?”

    “Because you’re a powerful sorceress,” he replied.

    Hector and Daedalus started snickering. I shot them both lethal glares and returned my attention to my brother.

    “I’m Circe’s daughter,” I reminded him.

    He shrugged. “I know. But you didn’t try to turn any of us into animals, so you can’t be evil like her.”

    “Circe isn’t evil — she’s just lonely. Being alone on a tropical island isn’t nearly as fun as it sounds.” Being trapped with your mother and her prisoners was even worse.

    “Be that as it may, we might have a chance at beating her with you with us.” He peered at me. “You seem familiar to me in some way. Have we met before?”

    I glanced away. “No, I doubt it. I’m rarely off Aeaea.” I doubted there was much of a family resemblance between us. My hair was more golden than brown, my eyes the gray of my mother. I was paler than him, too, and short.

    He shrugged it off. “Well, would you like to come with us? We’re going to be traveling all over the Otherworld, and to be honest, we are in sore need of a guide. You seem like you know your way around.”

    That’s a gross exaggeration, I thought to myself. It was my fault he thought this, though. I’d led him to believe I was the worldly daughter of Circe instead of a fellow prisoner on Aeaea.

    “I don’t leave Aeaea often, so I wouldn’t be much of a guide.” There. That would dissuade him for sure.

    “You’re still added protection against the perils of this world. Please, come with us.”

    Translated, that meant he had grossly exaggerated his capabilities on this journey and needed someone to help him out of tough situations. His crew had fallen at the first stop, and he was definitely feeling the sting to his pride. I opened my mouth to tell him that I wouldn’t go with him when Daedalus intervened.

    “Go with him, Saphira,” he said.

    I frowned at him. “Why?”

    “You have always wanted to know your father and brother.” He gestured to Telemachus. “Now’s your chance to know at least one of them. And he can always drop you off at Lemuria when he draws near to it. It could be a fun adventure. Besides, Circe cannot go after you. She’s imprisoned on Aeaea.”

    “That doesn’t mean she can’t bring me back,” I reminded him.

    “The worst she can do is send a few sea creatures after you, maybe employ magic at most. But you’re missing one colossal point.”

    “And what is that?”

    He fluttered in front of me, blocking Telemachus from my view. “You’re free now. Don’t squander it.”

    Hmm, Daedalus was right. Why should I go back? It wasn’t like Mother could physically drag me home. And if I was constantly traveling on a boat, her magic would be less likely to find me, as would her sea creatures.

    I turned to Telemachus, who appeared a little uneasy at my conversation with an owl. “Very well, I will go with you.”

    He smiled. “Excellent.”

Circe dropped the manservant she’d been choking, watching him gasp for air. Pitiful creature. He, like the others, had failed to give her the information she sought.

    “Do you have anything worthwhile to tell me?” she demanded curtly. She didn’t have time for incompetence; her daughter was out there, alone, probably terrified out of her mind. Saphira had never been off Aeaea save to travel to one of her fellow witches' islands for the Witch’s Summit.

    “No, Mistress,” the man hissed out, massaging his throat. Bruises appeared where her fingers had encircled his skin. “There was a fire in the kitchens, and we were so busy taking care of that that we didn’t notice if anyone slipped poppies into your tea.”

    Circe approached him, and he shrunk back in terror. “You are aware that whoever did this possibly has my daughter? What has Saphira ever done to you worthless creatures?” Saphira was far too kind-hearted to be mean. She spent all her time with animals for the gods’ sake.

    The man shook his head. “N-nothing. We all adore Saphira, I swear!”

    Circe’s lip curled up in a sneer before she walked off, leaving him cowering on the floor of the kitchens. The other servants clung to the walls, their gazes averted. Smart. With her mood, there was really no telling how she would lash out at them.

    She retreated to her work room, which held all of her magical tools. Just yesterday morning, she had been training Saphira. Another failure, but not an unexpected one. Her daughter really needed to learn to turn off her empathetic nature. It wouldn’t do anything but hold her back.

    Approaching the antique mirror hanging on the wall, Circe perused it. She hadn’t used the mirror in years, had no use for it, so the bronze frame was slightly rusted and the surface held a slight blanket of dust. She waved her hand at it and the dust fled, as did the rust. There. Good as new.

    “Show me Saphira,” she commanded. Saphira had to be all right. Circe would accept nothing less.

    The surface blurred slowly at first, then actively started to contort and swirl. Eventually, it cleared to show a ship. Saphira sat beside a lion and an owl — Hector and Daedalus, Saphira’s constant playmates — while surrounded by prisoners. There were at least ten tied to the ship’s mast and to the sides, all struggling to get free. Yet, Saphira didn’t appear to be a prisoner. She was snacking on a loaf of bread and talking to someone just out of Circe’s line of vision. It was a man, that much she could tell, but there was something familiar about him …

    Circe gritted her teeth. “Widen.”

    The scene pulled back and Circe gasped, stumbling away from the mirror. “No. It can’t be. How could she have found him?”

    Saphira wasn’t talking to just any man. She was talking to Telemachus, the son of Saphira’s father Odysseus. The man who had left Circe for his mundane wife. A man she would never forgive.

    It all started making sense. Saphira had enough magical ability to create a fire seemingly out of nowhere, and she would’ve known it would distract the servants. Saphira also would have been able to dissolve all of the poppy flowers in Circe’s nightly tea. Saphira would know just the right amount to ensure that Circe was unconscious, but not dead.

    Circe clasped her hand against her chest. Her daughter had betrayed her. And for what? A worthless human. She hadn’t even bothered to leave a note to let Circe know she hadn’t been kidnapped.

    Well, enough was enough. Saphira was coming home where she could continue to reach her potential. The girl wouldn’t be safe off of Aeaea. Odysseus had made enemies on his travels, as had Circe herself. Saphira would be a prime target.

    Circe drew closer to the mirror, inspecting the scene for any sign of her daughter’s location. The crew appeared to be going through lotus withdrawal, so clearly they had come from the Island of the Lotus-Eaters. But where would they head next?

    Wait. Odysseus told me he went to the Land of the Laestrygonians after he fled the Island of the Lotus-Eaters. It appeared Telemachus was retracing his father’s footsteps and had dragged Saphira along for the ride.

    Circe smiled. She knew their exact route. She could send some creatures to retrieve Saphira once they landed and everything would go back to normal. Yes. This was a good plan.

    Now, to find some hippocampi she could trust …

"What do you want us to do?" a hippocampi demanded of Circe.

    Circe sighed, fighting for patience. She'd come to the beach and cast a spell so that she could understand the creatures, and now all they were doing was questioning her. "I want you to go to the Land of the Laestrygonians and bring back my daughter. I'm sure you know Saphira."

    "Sure we know Saphira," it replied. "Nice girl. Good swimmer."

    "Yes, yes," she bit off impatiently. "I want you to bring her home."

    "What if Saphira doesn't want to come back?" the other asked. 

    "Make her!" Circe barked, and the hippocampi shrunk back toward the sea. "Now go. Return my daughter to me in three day's time or suffer my wrath."

    They didn't need to be told twice. Immediately, the hippocampi set off for the home of the Laestrygonians. They would reach it before Telemachus and Saphira. Circe grinned at the sunrise on the horizon. Saphira would be home very, very soon. And she wouldn't be allowed to leave again, not for a long time.