Iliana straightened, holding a frozen meal. “I know this is lasagna, but how am I supposed to read the instructions?” She squinted. “It looks like Spanish, but not quite. Italian?”
Hypnos glanced at the label. “Yes, that’s Italian.”
She startled when she finally noticed him. Her posture tensed. After a moment, she offered a timid smile. “Thank you.” Turning to Thanatos, she asked, “Are we in Italy? No, wait. There were labels in German and English, too…”
Thanatos nodded and gave her a small smile.
“Switzerland?”
“Switzerland,” Thanatos confirmed.
Iliana’s jaw dropped. “Really? So, that teleportation thingy you did earlier; can you go anywhere in the world?”
Hypnos barely stopped himself from groaning.Thingy?He suppressed the urge to correct her terminology.
Anubis chuckled. “Yes.” He looked at the box in her hands. “Is that what you want for dinner?”
She glanced down at the frozen meal as if she’d forgotten she was holding it, then blushed. Again. “Um, sure.” She turned to the oven and fiddled with the dials, flipping the box over and attempting to read the instructions.
Hypnos walked over and held out his hand. “I’ll do it.”
Her grip tightened before she handed it over. Icy fingers skimmed his, sending an unwelcome spark up his arm. “Thank you.”
He nodded, turning to preheat the oven.
Behind him, Iliana took a seat at the counter. “So, is there someone we can talk to about the curse?”
“Circe might know something,” Thanatos said.
Hypnos snorted. “If you want to get hexed for fun, sure.”
“Your optimism remains as inspiring as always,” his brother replied. “I think Hecate would be a safer bet. The problem is getting her to help. We might need Hermes to contact her.”
Hypnos frowned. “Or we could ask Morpheus to see if any of the Arae might be useful.”
Thanatos’ voice darkened. “Too risky.”
Hypnos grunted. The daemones of curses tended to be obsessed with those that caused their own deaths, not in helping the cursed. He didn’t want to involve his son either. If he called one, he’d have to call all three.
“I would like Hypnos to check on you since the curse only triggers when you sleep,” Thanatos said to Iliana.
“Oh.” That single syllable contained worry and hesitation.
Hypnos turned, catching the way she fidgeted with her hands. His voice was calm, but guilt churned in his stomach as he said, “Relax, little human. I won’t use my powers on you unless you ask.”
Thanatos chose his next words carefully. “Trust takes time. We have some, but not much.”
Hypnos turned back to the oven, scowling, wanting the entire ordeal to be over.
Anubis’ voice pulled him from his thoughts. “What is it?”
In a hesitant voice, Iliana asked, “Can gods speak to the dead outside their pantheon?”
Silence was the only response. Hypnos leaned on the cabinets, arms crossed, waiting to see where she was going with this. Would she back off or push to know more? He watched her carefully. He was still trying to decide if she was naïve—or clever enough to fool them.
Thanatos cleared his throat and shook his head. “No. We guide the dead. We do not summon them. Such attempts can come at a grave cost, and the natural order must be maintained.”
Iliana’s eyes narrowed, but Hypnos could see the cogs working in her brain. “So, you couldn’t call out any spirit and talk with them, like a medium?”
