“I don’t know,” he admitted.
At the mention of her family, Iliana broke.The grief slammed into her all over again. The officer at her workplace. Ashes in the wind. The certainty of being alone.
She tried to swallow it down, willing herself to maintain the composure that had gotten her this far. Grief, however, was stronger than pride. Tears spilled down her cheeks, landing in her lap.
A warm hand touched her forearm, startling her. Her teary gaze rose to meet golden-brown eyes holding quiet compassion.
Thanatos’ voice was soft. “Iliana?”
She jerked her arm away, swiping her face. “Yes.”
Anubis watched her with remorse on his face. “I should have chosen my words more carefully.”
His sincerity put a small crack in her barriers.
“My family? What’s so special about them? Why would they be cursed?” She glanced at Thanatos, who was still crouching near her chair, closer than he needed to be.
She was aware of how small she must look to him, vulnerable as she wiped tears from her eyes. If they had wanted to hurt her, they would’ve done it already. That thought should’ve reassured her, but it didn’t.She’d cursed out Hypnos. She’d tried to stab him.
Oh, shit.
He could’ve killed her with a thought, or, more likely, put her to sleep permanently.
Thanatos must’ve sensed her building panic because he slowly stood and took a step back. “I will not harm you.”
She tensed and shoved aside the terror. These men, these gods, already held too much power in this situation.She wouldn’t let them see her fear.
“I do not know how far back the curse was placed,” Thanatos continued carefully. “Or how many of your family members it might have affected. Do you know much about your relatives?”
“I was adopted.” Her voice wobbled, but she pushed on. “I was an infant. My records were sealed, I think. My parents said they couldn’t get them, but I don’t remember why.”
Thanatos looked troubled.“That changes things. If you were adopted and your birth family is unknown, then how did Athena know about a family curse?” He met her eyes. “Either it is not tied to your bloodline, or someone knows more about your origins than they shared with me.”
Her parents would know. For a split second, she considered asking them to let her speak to them. If these gods were real, then the afterlife would be real too.
Thanatos’ voice pulled her thoughts back to the present. “Your curse—”
“Curses exist? Really? Is that why I keep trying to hurt myself while I sleep?”
“Only in your sleep?” Thanatos asked.
She nodded. “I…I started waking up in dangerous places. Then the roof.” Her breathing quickened. “I can’t sleep. I don’t want to sleep.”
Anubis frowned. “Yet, you have only slept since you arrived.”
Both his and Thanatos’ gaze moved to the doorway.
She turned.
Hypnos rested against the door frame with his arms folded across his chest.
She jumped to her feet, dwarfed by all three gods despite her own taller-than-average height. She felt the need to run. To flee the room even though she had nowhere to go.
Thanatos stepped between them, holding up a hand in her direction. The gentle god, who’d been consoling her, now looked hard. Protective.
“I told you not to come,” Thanatos snapped. “You broke her trust. How am I supposed to protect her now?”
Hypnos barely reacted. “She thinks we kidnapped her. We did. What if there’s no curse? I sensed nothing while she slept.”
