Page 80 of Somnium

The only thing she seemed to have gained was a cortisol spike and an ache so deep it felt like it was trying to bury itself in her soul. How was she supposed to just sit back and wait, hoping her friends didn’t end up on the wrong side of the most powerful deity that currently existed? But it wasn’t like there was anything she could do to help. She wasn’t a goddess or a hot bartender with insider knowledge about the Order or a high priest who⁠—

Cadi’s head snapped forward.

A high priest slipping in and out of secure temple offices without a good reason would be about as subtle as a gun.

But an attendant …

She sucked in a breath, her plan taking shape as she pushed off the wall and jogged back inside.

The sound of low conversation greeted her when she pushed open the door to Elias’s apartment. The three gods sat huddled together in the living room, heads bent low in discussion while Elias leaned against the table next to the door, chewing on his thumb so aggressively Cadi thought he might hit bone if left alone for long enough.

His head whipped toward her at the sound of the latch clicking shut, and he took a single step before pausing his stride, assessing her as if she were a wounded animal, liable to snap if approached too quickly.

Smart.

“Are you okay?” he asked, slowly reaching out to take her hand. Cadi’s eyes flicked briefly to the place where he held her before she fixed him with a cutting stare and slid her fingers from his grip.

“Not particularly.”

Elias nodded, lowering his gaze to the floor between them, but not before a brief glimmer of hurt flashed across his face. At least he had the good sense to know when he’d fucked up.

“What can I do?” he whispered.

Cadi crooked an eyebrow. “I’m glad you asked. I actually have an idea that I think will help you guys.”

Elias looked up. “I don’t want you to worry about any of this. We have it handled.”

A brittle laugh scraped from Cadi’s throat. If this was what he considered “handled,” it was a miracle The Crow had stayed in business for so long. Shaking her head, she stepped around him and made a beeline to where Kai was still perched on the arm of the sofa.

“Really?” she called over her shoulder. “Because, to me, it sounds more like you’re stuck. What with your priest source turning out to be a bust.”

Elias flinched back at her biting tone, his wounded expression triggering an ache in her chest. An ache that the anger simmering in her gut insisted she ignore. He descended into the living room, moving to stand beside Sera at the opposite end of the couch, wisely placing three deities and plenty of space between them.

“You said the high priest can’t search in as many places as you need without raising red flags, right?” she asked, turning to address Kai.

The god lifted his eyebrows, clearly surprised by the gumption Cadi had found outside on the sidewalk. His gaze darted to Elias before quickly returning to hers with a dip of his chin. “That’s right.”

Cadi let the corner of her mouth tip up in a confident smirk. “What if I told you I knew someone who could move through the temple unnoticed? With access to every secure area. Someone you could trust.”

Kai blinked rapidly, then turned to the others. The three of them exchanged looks that shifted from shock to confusion to excitement in seconds before the god of the sea faced her again, an intrigued twinkle in his green eyes.

“Who did you have in mind?” he asked as he lifted his drink.

Cadi squared her shoulders, hoping her resolute stance would hide the way her stomach was doing somersaults. She’d made up her mind, and she was far too stubborn to back down now. Her eyes shifted to Elias, watching him just long enough to see the pieces of what she was saying click into place. His posture went rigid.

“Cadi …” he warned, “don’t.”

Someone, take this man’s shovel. He could not seriously think he was in any position to be making demands. It took all of her strength to keep her face from betraying her as she turned her attention back to the gods, lifting a shoulder in a casual shrug. “Me.”

At the edge of her vision, she saw Sera turn to look at Elias. But Cadi kept her focus on Kai, his eyes narrowed in quiet assessment.

“And just how is it that you plan to do that?” he asked, his tone suggesting he fully believed she was out of her depth and more than a little insane. Cadi just smiled at him.

“You’d be surprised how few people give a second thought to temple attendants moving in and out of rooms. I have experience, and the head attendant is practically begging me to come back. She’d be too relieved to be suspicious if I agreed.”

Kai tilted his head, no doubt working out the details in his mind before turning to Sera and Seth. “What do you think?” he asked.

Seth stroked his finger and thumb against his beard, nodding slowly. “It has legs, I’ll give it that. This could be the exact thing we need to⁠—”