Hermes stilled. The voice wasn’t close. Not even on this continent.
He narrowed his eyes.
Then came another voice, rougher than the last.“…move quickly…before they realize…”
Before they realize. Present tense. Not a plan for tomorrow or next week.
Tonight.
Hermes appeared in Tokyo. The neon city was energetic. Crowds of humans rushed across streets and moved past him, unaware of the god in their midst.
The voices had grown silent.
Hermes hissed. Had they felt his presence and fled? He extended his senses once again.
There was another whisper, too faint to pinpoint the location.“…no mistakes…take her out before…”
The rest of the message was fractured, leaving him desperate to learn more.
His pulse grew erratic. It wasn’t from excitement or a chance to hunt down more information. It was fear. Cold. Sharp. Unfamiliar.
He followed the speakers—Dublin, Vanaheim, the Underworld, Prague, and Caracas—each location another breadcrumb, a challenge. They’d studied his movements. Anticipated his reactions. Dropped just enough hints to keep pursuing shadows and acting rashly.
Dread filled him.
Hermes had enemies, sure. Many. But few knew how to stay ahead of him for long. Still fewer could operate in multiple realms with this kind of finesse.
He stopped chasing.
He closed his eyes, then opened himself, letting his divine awareness stretch across the globe like an invisible net. His senses expanded outward, pulling at pieces of conversations faster than he’d ever tried to decipher before.
Nothing. Again.
And then, faint and slippery, he heard,“They will fall with her—all of them…”
Hermes’ eyes flew open.He wasn’t following voices now. He wasn’t the hunter. The realization had ice water flowing through his entire body. He was being baited.
How many times had he warned heroes away from being led by their desires? Especially those that led straight into traps. He should’ve heeded his own advice. Now, all it took was a single moment of diverted focus, and suddenly he’d been outmaneuvered.
They knew he was listening and wanted him to hear. He hadn’t stumbled across their conversation. The messages were deliberately dropped for him to follow, to distract him. To pull him away from her.
Or worse. To make him panic and do something stupid.
They were using his curiosity against him, his need to find out information that would help him protect Iliana. He’d chased them halfway across the world. He’d let himself be led around like a fool. All because the moment he’d heard her name, heard a threat, his careful strategy evaporated.
This was why caring was dangerous. Why attachments made you weak. Hermes wasn’t thinking like the clever god who’d outsmarted Zeus himself. He was acting like a desperate idiot willing to tear through different realms to keep one mortal woman safe.
Hermes left behind Caracas an instant later, reality blurring as he tore through space. A ringing started in his ears. A crackling energy formed around him as he flew.
His arrival in the clearing was too loud, not like his usual silent entrances. It only sounded like a snapped twig, but it was loud enough for the other gods to know he’d appeared.
Iliana stood in the middle of her gods, looking rattled but unscathed. He’d made it back in time to warn them. She was safe now, but she wouldn’t be tonight.
Thanatos stood over her protectively. Anubis held her hand, his stance rigid. Hypnos’ expression was impassive, but his energy was tightly coiled. Tension wound around them all, so thick Hermes could’ve sliced it with a dagger.
He barely stopped himself from grabbing Thanatos’ arm. He didn’t smile, wink, or joke. Instead, he closed the distance between them.
She was in immediate danger, and they were running out of time.
