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You look beautiful, Soyale.Lokene shot me a wink over his shoulder and then gave Bion a begrudging look.I’m fine, and it seems Bion has a knack for finding the weaknesses in the Ancients’ magik to yank me from confinement. Once free, it was a bit of a jog, but it seems I got here just as things were getting interesting.
I was growing suspicious that Bion enjoyed causing chaos and was an expert at creating the distractions that caused the weaknesses in the first place.
Bion grinned at me.Nope. This was all you, doll. Your sudden appearance and the water show were just what I needed to free your lover boy.
“Enough! Enough!” a deep voice boomed as a third Ancient stood. I eyed the man with dark, wavy hair as he motioned for both parties to calm down.
My war was with the Ancients responsible for the Lure, not these Ancients. Sure, I was less than pleased with them and wouldn’t be doing them any favors in the foreseeable future, but I didn’t truly want to fight them. I wanted them to stop toying with my mates and leave me in peace.
With that in mind, I lowered my arms, allowing the water to crash back through the holes in the floor to rejoin the shimmering pool beneath the floating marble building.
Reluctantly, the gray-haired Ancient lowered his hands to his sides again. With a fierce scowl on his face, he opened his mouth, but was cut off by the dark-haired man.
“So help me, if you are about to say she started it, I will beg the Lure to take you, Jacque.” I got the impression from the raven-haired man that this was not the first time Jacque had tried his patience.
Jacque sat down with a huff, crossing his arms over his chest. Now who was behaving like a child?
That’s your uncle.Lokene sounded positively delighted to drop that bit of news on me.
That cannot be the truth,I protested, searching the sulking Ancient’s face as though I might recognize an uncle I’d never met.
Don’t you see the family resemblance in the stubborn set of his jaw and the ‘I-don’t-give-a-crap attitude?’Lokene teased.
I glanced at Bion, hoping he would tell me Lokene was joking, but he gave a slight nod of his head.
Sorry, Zosi. He’s definitely your uncle. Happy family reunion.
You know what is worse than not having a family? Having a family that doesn’t care about you. The day Sheba learned to fly would be the day I would call this man my uncle and accept him as family. He could have stopped by to say hi anytime since I was awakened, but had chosen not to; instead, he’d been part of a plan to take my mate away from me. I wouldn’t forgive that so easily.
Ancients can’t interfere, Soyale.You needed time to figure out who you were and adjust to your new body and abilities.Lokene tried to ease my hurt, but I wasn’t having it.
Ancients seem more than happy to involve themselves when it suits them and then claim the excuse of not interfering when a situation is messy and they want to avoid it, I snapped back.
They’d sure been happy to toss a war in my lap, take Lokene from me multiple times, and finally, they’d dumped Bion and psycho Lily on me.
Bion seemed to be working out for the best, but I doubted the Ancients had seen that one coming. I sure hadn’t.
Bion quirked a brow.Working out for the best?
Don’t read too much into that. I just don’t feel like killing you at this precise moment, which is more than I can say about Lily.
Dark-haired man turned to me, tilting his head in a polite bow. “Hello, Zosime. It is a great honor to meet you in person. I’m Anthony.”
He paused, awaiting a response from me. I let things get to the edge of awkward before tilting my head in acknowledgment. Still, I refrained from speaking, preferring to let him explain things.
“First, I want to apologize for the manipulations which were used to bring you here. While I was not among those who agreed to use those tactics, I am nonetheless guilty for not making any effort to stop it.” His eyes didn’t flinch from my unwavering gaze, and a seed of respect began to grow inside me.
“What now?” I asked, voice flat. “Are the Ancients going to continue to interfere with my life? Or will I be allowed to do the job I dedicated my life to?”
“We are not your enemy. Please save our kind, your mother’s kind.” There was a raw note to his voice. “You’ve seen the effects of the Lure on humans and how quickly it can spread. Now that it has mutated and is tainting Ancients, there is even more at stake. Ancients who have given into the Lure have the ability to spread it to other worlds. There is more at stake than just our two worlds.”
He was afraid, and I couldn’t blame him.
Taking in each of the Ancients’ somber faces, I realized they were all terrified. Unlike humans who lived with the knowledge that someday they would die, death had never been something for the Ancients to fear.
Now it was a very real possibility they would be wiped from existence, their memory nothing more than a handful of fanciful tales of fictional Greek gods.
Sucked to be them.
