Before Anubis could respond, Hypnos inhaled sharply, breaking the quiet. He straightened from his hunched position over Iliana, pulling his hands away from her.
Instead of relief on his features, his typical frown deepened.
Thanatos tensed. “What is it?”
His gaze moved between Iliana and his hands as if debating whether to reach for her again. “The curse…it’s resisting my attempts to keep her unconscious.”
Anubis lifted Iliana into his arms, standing with slow, careful movements to avoid jostling her. “Meaning?”
“When she was first brought to me, I didn’t have a problem keeping her asleep without touching her, but now…” he trailed off, placing a hand on her arm, and followed Anubis to the bedroom. “Now, I need contact with her to keep her under.”
“Can you stay with her?” Thanatos asked, meeting his brother’s gaze. “She needs to rest until morning.”
His twin tensed before exhaling in resignation. “Do I have a choice?”
Anubis glanced at him. “No.”
They moved through the house and into Thanatos’ bedroom. Anubis placed her on the bed, trailing a hand over her forehead before stepping back. He lingered briefly, gaze locked on Iliana—then turned and left.
Hypnos slowly crawled in next to her, maintaining a careful distance while keeping contact. He met Thanatos’ eyes and nodded.
Thanatos shut the door quietly behind him.
Anubis was already in the living room, glaring at the bloodied dagger. Thanatos joined him, conjuring a bottle of whiskey and pouring two glasses. He slid one to his friend. “You cannot blame yourself.”
“Then who should I blame?” he asked, not bothering to reach for the drink.
“We all blame ourselves. But if we stay caught up in that, we will be too distracted to protect her.”
Anubis mulled over his words before lifting the glass and taking a sip. “Then I am training her.”
He arched an eyebrow. “You were planning to already, were you not?”
“Yes,” his friend ground out. “But I will make sure she survives. Even if we fail her again. I need to know she can protect herself when we are not there.”
Thanatos considered it. “I’ll teach her about the Greek gods.” He swirled the amber liquid in his glass. “She deserves to know what she’s caught up in.”
“Just the Greek pantheon?”
“For now. That’s where the trouble seems to stem from. You can handle the Egyptian gods.” He pointed to Anubis with his glass.
“And Hermes?”
Thanatos ran a hand across his chin. “If he helps, we take it. We should not depend on him. If he gets bored, he may leave.”
At least for now, Iliana was safe.
He watched the flames, his fingers idly skimming the rim of his drink. Almost to himself, he said, “She’s different.”
Anubis remained still, waiting for him to continue.
“She does not fear me,” Thanatos admitted. “She challenges us. I know I have reasons to protect her, but even if those were gone, I do not know if I could walk away.”
Anubis scrutinized him before nodding. “I feel the same. I had agreed only because of our friendship.”
“And your boredom,” Thanatos tacked on.
He chuckled. “And my boredom. I know this might come as a shock, especially with what Anput…” Anubis swallowed. “I know you are interested in Iliana, but I wanted to make clear that I am as well. If you tell me to back off now, I will.”
