Elio’s lips press together, his eyes shining with tears. “I don’t know.”
Chapter 49
Starlight
MAX
“Idon’t think he would have wanted to stay in there forever, though,” Elio says, his hand resting on Ezra’s glass casket. “But we can discuss it later, when we’re all rested.”
“I think you’re right,” Willow says softly.
Elio and Willow had placed his body in a glass casket, as is custom in the Sun Court, to preserve him until the funeral. As Ezra’s wife and brother, it’s only fitting that they decide what happens next.
Right?
“He was so good to me,” Willow whispers, clutching her injured arm to her chest.
After the jewels fell, the metal insets sank through her skin like acid, and the result isn’t very pretty. Or functional.
Elio’s brows knit together. “I thought you blamed him for what Ethan did to you.”
“Oh, no. After you left the Sun Court, Ethan became even more vicious. Ezra and I were each other’s only comfort. It was Ezra who came up with the idea to fake my death. With Devi’shelp, we made it appear as though I’d drowned at sea, and after that, we never saw each other again.”
The corners of her lips quirk. “Your brother offered me a second chance at life, but it cost him dearly, as you can imagine. Ethan didn’t want any of us to escape him, even in death.”
They’re discussing Ezra as though everything is finished.
As though he’s gone forever.
It disgusts me how easily they slip into the past tense, how quickly they start turning him into a memory.
My heart is hollow. The space where it should be feels empty, carved away more than cleanly removed. I’m not only sad, I’m angry. Furious that the gods saw fit to place him in my path only to steal him at the first opportunity.
There are no tears left in my eyes, no more salt to sting my cheeks. I want to fight.
I want to rebel against their divine plans. I want to grab the world by the throat and demand an explanation. I want to scream until the stars themselves answer for what they've done.
Because Ezra deserved better than this. He didn’t survive a cruel curse and claw his way back to life for nothing. The gods made a mistake, and they should be held accountable.
Maybe it's denial.
Maybe it's madness.
But mourning him means accepting his death, and I’m not ready for that. Not while his soul is still out there. Not while the same cruel gods who took him expect me to bow my head and cry.
I grip Devi’s lower arm. “Nick was captured by the Reds. We need to save him.”
My godmother caresses my hair. “And we will, Freckles. We will. But not today.”
Despite their healing abilities, they’re all in terrible shape. Bloodied. Exhausted.
But I’m not.
My fists clench at my sides. “I need to do something.”
“You have to rest. You’re in shock.”
“Where’s Percy?”
