Page 124 of Somnium

A rhythmic tap filled the silence as Kai’s fingers drummed impatiently against the table. “Do you kids plan on sharing with the rest of the class?”

Sera looked to her brother, then back to Elias, before she tossed her chin in a gesture for him to take point.

“We only have one night where it’s guaranteed that Oneirios will be sufficiently indisposed for several hours and won’t be anywhere near that hangar,” he said, his eyes flicking to Cadi. “The Rite of Dedication.”

She shuddered, unable to contain the visceral reaction the memories of that night induced. The echoes of screams as followers were bound, the acrid taste of blood and lavender coating her tongue. Nearly a full month had passed, but it was still enough to make her stomach churn.

Cadi sat up straight as the days and weeks fell into place and she realized …

“That’s only a few days away.”

Both Sera and Elias nodded.

“Which means I have less than that to find a suitable stand-in for me at the hangar,” Sera said. “Someone with experience in witchcraft to double-check everything so the rest of you clowns don’t accidentally blow yourselves up or bring on the end times.”

“And why is that, exactly?” Kai asked.

“Because if I’m not at the rite, that means the only person on our side with eyes on our brother during this whole thing will be stuck on the dais with him,” she explained, “and something tells me he won’t be able to slip away to make a phone call.”

Elias tutted a laugh, bobbing his head in agreement.

“Where should I be?” Cadi asked as she slid off her chair to stand next to him and study the blueprints in front of her. Even though she didn’t have the faintest idea what she was looking at. Architecture was not her forte, but she’d like to see anyone else in that room map out upper extremity muscle innervations the way she could.

Elias angled his head to look at her from the corner of his eye. “You’ll be at Sera’s with Cuba.”

Cadi’s mouth fell open with a shocked squeak. “So while Sera is at the rite and the rest of you are storming a hangar, I’m on dog duty?”

“Actually,” Sera said from across the table, “if we’re being technical about it, Cuba is on you duty.”

Cadi’s jaw clamped shut and her expression quickly shifted into a glare. “Excuse me?”

Not only was she being sidelined, again, but the dog was put in charge of babysitting? This could not be real life.

“You’d be completely defenseless against him, love,” Elias said, taking her hand. “The safest place for you is behind the wards at Sera’s.”

“But what about you?” she challenged, her stubborn pride raising its hackles. “You aren’t a god. You don’t have any magic sparks or water persuasion or⁠—”

“I’m not the one he’s coming for, Cadi,” he said, an edge of panic sharpening his voice.

“But—”

“Sweetie,” Sera interrupted before Cadi could push her luck any further. “I love you, and we all know you’re more than capable of taking care of yourself, but I’m with Elias on this one. My brother is fixated on you, and that’s not something that should be taken lightly.”

Cadi held her friend’s stare, but the willful pride that had been simmering in her chest began to soften at the pleading look on Sera’s face. As much as she hated being left behind while everyone else took all the risk, she knew it would only make things worse if they were all distracted worrying about her.

Her shoulders dipped in submission, but she didn’t bother hiding her frustrated growl.

“Fine,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest, fully aware of how childish the move made her look. She didn’t care if she was thirty-three; they needed to know that even though she had agreed, she wasn’t happy about it.

“Perfect, then it’s settled,” Kai said, jarring everyone back to business in the way that only he could. “I can get in contact with Freyja, see if she is available to stand in for Sera at the hangar. Her history with the craft, as turbulent as it may be, should suffice for our needs. Though I doubt she will agree to help out of the goodness of her heart.”

A smirk curved his lips, and Cadi suspected that Kai held a tiny bit of admiration for his other sister’s apparent cutthroat attitude when it came to negotiations for her services.

“I’ll walk you out,” Elias said as he started to help Seth gather the last few bits of intel into his case. Cadi slipped behind them to the living room and watched quietly from the sofa as Elias eased the door shut behind the gods with a soft click.

He turned to face her, his shoulders dipping as he let out a hushed sigh that somehow managed to carry through the entire apartment.

“I know you’re not happy about sitting this out,” he said as he crossed the room to sit beside her, resting his arm against the back of the cushion. Cadi lifted a single eyebrow in response.