AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"So we're going back to Greece," Harvey mused, running a hand through his hair.
"Crete," Wyn corrected. "Mount Ida's in modern-day Crete."
Harvey blinked. "Which is in Greece."
I tuned them out, trying out a smile as I glanced at Wane. "Do you want to spar? I could use a way to get rid of all this energy."
And it seemed to help Wane that morning his memories kept him from sleep. Since we had hours until we could take any kind of action … I needed something to do. Now we’d decided to act, waiting was driving me insane.
"As long as you don't cheat," he replied with an easy smile.
I forgot how to breathe. Godsdamn, he was beautiful. And mine. How the fuck was he mine? It made zero sense, but I wasn't about to complain that an Adonis like Wane wanted someone as surly, spiky, and foulmouthed as me. I wasn't insecure, not after ten years with him, but still very baffled.
"I never cheat," I assured him, affronted. "I've never once cheated in my life."
Kai snorted loudly. Rude.
"I'll make something to eat," Em offered, heading for the door after he'd swept his gaze over all of us twice, checking we were okay. "I want to bake. We need some more bread."
"There's a loaf already in the bread bin," Wynvail said helpfully, but Em shook his head and left the room.
"It's his stress thing," I told Wyn. "Baking. It helps."
"Wow." Verena blinked, her freckled face slack with surprise. "A healthy coping mechanism? I'm shocked. What are your stress things? Murder and disembowelment."
I exchanged a swift glance with Kai and Harvey.
"No," Harvey protested.
"Embroidery," Kai said so seriously I might have fallen for it.
"Oh, speaking of," I said, hooking my arm with Kai's when he got to his feet, seeking more touch. "I want you to needlepoint me a pillow. With a cute, widdle bunny wabbit on it. I want it to have a baby pink bow."
Kai snorted and shoved me into Wane who caught me easily, his hands feathering down my wings. I immediately thought of ways to cheat while sparring so I could feel his hands on more places.
Verena smirked and shook her red head. "Fucking weirdos."
"Aww," Harvey breathed, his mercury eyes big and round. "Her first term of endearment for us." He pretended to wipe a tear and we laughed, all pretending to be completely, ordinarily fine. Denial? Here? No, sir.3
Verena rolled her eyes hard. "I'm going to explore the house. Enjoy your needle—whatever the fuck it is."
"I will," Kai assured her fiercely. He'd carry that lie to his death.
When I headed for the door, my arm linked with Wane's, Kai halted me with my name. His amusement had faded, a furrow between his dark red brows.
"Later, I want to take a look at your back. I—" He sighed heavily. "I've never read the full prophecy. I didn't want to know any of it. But I think we're going to need it now. If Phoebe's right, that fate's coming for us no matter what we do. We should at least find out what we're up against."
I really wished I didn't agree with him, but I couldn't find a reason to disagree. So I nodded and promised to find him later.
But I really didn't want to know what great and terrible fate awaited me. Hadn't my life already been great and terrible enough?
CHAPTER 22
KAI
"You look like you're walking to the gallows," I remarked, my eyes on Haley as she approached the table in the cluttered library room where I'd been pouring over mythology books for the last two hours. Harvey had helped me at first, but something in one of the books made him slam it shut and storm out of the room, muttering about having better shit to do. The old myths were full of assault and rape; it didn't take a genius to see he was remembering what had happened to him. But he ran off before I could bring him out of it, and this was too important to leave.
Cronus had been around for hundreds of years—millennia even—and these books might read like fairy tales and fiction, but they were real. They were full of his strengths, weaknesses, and motives. He might have been powerful enough to rule the world, but he could be outsmarted.1
