“What about Lucien?” Carrick demands angrily, and no doubt he’s perturbed they haven’t been responding to his requests.
Maddox jerks in surprise and my heart squeezes to realize… wherever he’s been, Cato didn’t tell him about Lucien.
“I cannot say,” Cato replies in a deep but totally smooth voice that sounds like it should be recording Barry White cover songs.
“Can’t or won’t?” Carrick growls, which is impertinent but Cato seems unfazed.
“Is there a difference?” Cato counters, absolutely no irritation in his tone about being questioned. “The result is the same for you.”
I wince because that was harsh. Cato is essentially saying it’s none of Carrick’s business regarding his brother, and it’s a potent reminder of how little control these demi-gods have over their lives.
Cato turns to me and I straighten a bit, totally disconcerted to have the huge god who can command lightning, among other things, focused on me. He tips his head, “Good luck to you, Finley, in the upcoming prophecy. I’m pulling for you.”
I blink in surprise, any feelings of intimidation evaporating. I even take a step closer to him, head tilted. “You are?”
Cato smiles, and wow… it is the most gorgeous smile ever. His teeth may be the most perfect I’ve ever seen, and they gleam against his mocha-colored skin. But it’s not just that… his smile actually reaches his eyes. It makes him seem almost human.
Certainly approachable.
“Absolutely,” he replies. “All of us are.”
“Even Rune?” I can’t help but ask.
“Even Rune,” Cato says with a nod. “Or so he says.”
“If he’s rooting for Finley, it’s merely so he can kill her after she thwarts the prophecy,” Carrick says in a low growl. “Most likely, he’s lying.”
Cato’s gaze shifts to Carrick, and he nods. “You’re probably right about that.”
And with that… Cato disappears.
It shocks me to know that one god acknowledges another may be untruthful. But truly, it’s not like these beings are actually ethical. Look at what they’re making me do.
Look at the way they use the demi-gods.
“Someone want to tell me what’s going on with Lucien?” Maddox says, and Carrick and I turn his way.
I move into Carrick, slipping my hand in his. He squeezes it. Carrick tells his brother in a grim voice, “Things got bad when we went to Micah’s realm to get the Blood Stone.”
“Bad how?” Maddox asks, and it’s a tone I’ve never heard before from the big lug. He’s always so genial and easygoing. Now he’s tense with an underlying hint of violence in his voice. It’s the first time I actually see him as a demi-god who would fight in brutal wars and carry out acts of brutality if the gods so demanded.
I rush in to diffuse the situation, hoping my gentler tone would help. “We got the Blood Stone, but Micah killed Charmeine. He and Lucien battled, and he threw Lucien into the Crimson River.”
Maddox’s gaze snaps to Carrick. “What does that mean? What happened to him in the river?”
Carrick shakes his head with a grim tightening of his jaw. “I don’t know. He didn’t seem to burn, but merely sink below the surface. I’ve appealed to the gods to find out, but as you could see from Cato just now… they’re not sharing.”
“He’s fine, I’m sure,” Maddox says, trying for a dismissive air to his words, but they come across shallow because he doesn’t believe it.
“Let’s hope,” Carrick says quietly.
“You have the Blood Stone?” Maddox asks, changing the subject. It seems the right time since I know Maddox and Carrick aren’t the types of brothers to discuss their feelings, and it was getting perilously close to that.
Carrick fills him in on everything that happened when we went to Micah’s realm, including a bit more detail on the battle between Micah and Lucien, to which Maddox once again reiterates his surety that Lucien will be fine. “I tried to separate the Blood Stone from the chalice, but they seem pretty bonded.”
“And the game plan is to protect them both,” Maddox concludes. “Maybe add some more protections to the condo, assuming you want to keep it here? Because one of us can take it to another realm. It would be hard for Kymaris to find us, especially if we hopped realms.”
“I’ve thought about doing that,” Carrick admits, rubbing his hand along his jaw. “But I feel like we’re better here with a big force around it, in the very off chance Kymaris could track us somehow. I wouldn’t say no if you wanted to move in here for a while.”
“I can do that,” Maddox says, and I wonder where he’s been staying the last few months. Probably at his Dark Fae lady friend’s house with the torture basement. “And then we sit around and wait.”
Carrick nods in affirmation, and that’s not exactly what I want to do. “I don’t think we sit around and wait.”
“Want me to help you practice your magic skills?” Maddox says with a waggle of his eyebrows.
This results in a growl from Carrick, and Maddox shoots him a wink. Carrick offers a glare in return.
But I’m not joking or in a playful mood as I pull my hand free of Carrick’s and step away so I can face them. “I need to establish some contact with Zora.”
My gaze moves back and forth between the brothers. Maddox looks intrigued, while Carrick seems dubious with a hint of stubborn refusal in his eyes. I immediately point at him. “And don’t think to try to tell me no. I agreed I would only try to contact her when you were around, but if you think you can deny me, I’ll do it when you aren’t.”
“Then I won’t leave your side,” he retorts ominously.
That pisses me off, so I give him a reminder I’m not without means. Envisioning the library, which I know will be empty—Rainey and Myles are at work and Zaid is out running errands—I latch onto the conference table, pull it hard, and step out of the gym and right into a chair.
I’m kicked back with my feet up on the table, hands laced behind my head, before Maddox materializes.
He grins, noting Carrick isn’t here. “He must have checked the bedroom first.”
I snicker because I’m sure that’s where Carrick went.
The expression on his face is not warm and fuzzy when he materializes. I think he might order Maddox out so we can have a “debate” about the safety of contacting Zora.
I’m sure it might go something like our talk went the night Rainey decided she wanted to get married and we had to go dress shopping. It devolved quickly, lines being drawn. Eventually, neither of us won as Carrick agreed to let me out of the condo after I threatened to do it anyway without me telling him where I was going. In turn, I had to agree to let him come with us, which, honestly, wasn’t a concession on my part.
It would be hilarious because Carrick would hate every bit of it, but truth be told… I love having him around no matter the situation. I just feel more settled when he’s within sight of me. This has been more so after realizing that he’s not indestructible with Lucien’s loss in the Crimson River.
Before he can say anything, though, I make the first move. “I feel very strongly about contacting Zora, and you’re not going to talk me out of it.”