“A day. Give her a day, Thanatos. No more.”
He agreed. It wasn’t a hardship. Iliana had already agreed to tell them tomorrow.
Athena turned toward one of the temple’s back chambers. “I’ve had a librarian compile some documents. They can help you sort through them.”
“Will you be assisting tonight?”
She shook her head. “I have a meeting with Zeus.”
Then, she was gone.
Thanatos cursed softly. The antechamber contained a long rectangular table covered in scrolls and books. Far more than he’d expected.
They would take hours to pore over.
Despite the task ahead of him, a more significant issue weighed on his mind. Everything was converging. The Kabeiroi’s vigil. The sleeping god. Athena’s barely concealed urgency.
And Iliana, at the center of it all.
Chapter fifty-four
ILIANA
Hermes smiled as he turned to Hypnos, his earlier unease forgotten. “Where’s Anubis?”
“He went to see Osiris,” Iliana answered before Hypnos could. “He said he wouldn’t be gone long.”
She was anxious. She wanted all of them there. The comfort of their presence had become a strange kind of anchor.
Hermes’ smirk softened. He wasn’t avoiding her after their tense conversation, which was a good sign. But there was something different in the way he looked at her now. Less cocky. More…searching.
“How is your hunt going for my…ancestors?” She’d almost said ‘family.’ After opening up to Thanatos about her father, she wasn’t ready to say the word out loud to anyone else.
Hermes stared into her eyes. “I’ve got some humans looking into it.”
“What have they found? Anything that explains why we were targeted?” She leaned forward, hungry for any information.
Hypnos rubbed his temple. “I don’t like this. Especially not with the Kabeiroi watching.”
Iliana stiffened, questions about her family’s history vanishing. They told her about the spirits last night. The Kabeiroi weren’t a threat—but they weren’t protecting her either. They were just watching and waiting, for something only she and the Fates knew.
She shook her head and focused back on the gods.
Hermes lounged against the coffee table, his casual arrogance firmly in place. “The Kabeiroi aren’t our enemies.”
Hypnos shot him an incredulous look. “You’re sure?”
“If they wanted her dead, they wouldn’t be hiding.” His tone was light, but his eyes were distant. He tapped the table as if impatient to get moving again. “They aren’t an immediate danger.”
“Or they’re waiting for something,” Hypnos warned.
Were they waiting to witness her success—or her failure?
Hermes shrugged, seemingly bored, but Iliana could see his mind working. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out. The curse, the prophecy, everything.”
She knew he’d inevitably discover the answers. The prophecy.
Iliana shivered and exchanged an uneasy look with Hypnos.
