AllFreeNovel
Share Us
There was something about Dr. Ophidia that had drawn my brother in—and it had drawn in Pollux, and then Orestes, and even Achilles—as evidenced by her continued existence.
Unless I was totally misreading Paris, he wanted to give her a chance. Like Achilles, he’d seen Dr. Ophidia as a threat. Something had changed.
He wanted to trust her.
I’d seen this before, though. He’d fallen for the wrong person and the world had ended. I couldn’t let history repeat itself, but I also wouldn’t rush to judgment. I’d played a role in that war as well.
“Would you?” I picked up where Paris left off. “Say the fate of the world depends on it.”
“Obviously, no, then. If I’m weighing the life of every human on Earth against finding a piece of pottery, obviously I wouldn’t look for it.” Those expressive eyes darted down to the place where Paris touched her then back to me.
She wasn’t lying, but in her head, finding each piece of the seal had nothing to do with fate. And we’d look insane for trying to make her believe otherwise.
So we were stuck. Again.
Leo
They believed the shard had power. Maybe they didn’ttrulybelieve it would end the world, but whatever group they were part of did.
As a historian, and someone who dove deep into ancient civilizations, I had to keep an open mind. If I put my twenty-first century lens on everything I saw, I would never understand what I was looking at.
It was much harder to keep that open mind when it conflicted with what I wanted to do. Now, I wasn’t giving in. But these guys had intense and solid beliefs about the shard I’d found.
So I could give it a little bit of time. Maybe by understanding them a little better, I’d get some insight into the “seal.” And who knew? Maybe that would also help me find the other pieces.
Eventually.
“Do you know what the seal is meant to do?” I asked. “Besides ending the world?” My tone was a little too light for what had gone down today, but I’d reached the point in the evening where I had exhausted all my mental fuel.
As if just by thinking it, my body agreed. My jaw cracked and eyes watered, I yawned so big.
Whitby was out of the question, but the town seemed big enough to have a hotel. It was time for me to say goodnight, go to bed, and figure out my next move. “Sorry. I’m beat. Thanks for the—” Was I really thanking them? I stopped myself. “See you later.” That was better. It was polite enough given the man across from me had tried to throw me off a train.
Digging my phone out of my pocket and essentially dismissing them, I searched for a nearby hotel.
“You can stay with us.” Hector’s deep voice interrupted my swiping.
Shaking my head, I kept searching. “Thanks, but no.” There was a small bed and breakfast nearby, but when I went to the website, the hours said,closed.How late was it?
I could go to the train station. Find a bench.
That idea held absolutely no appeal for me.
“You’ll be safe,” the man said, and I snorted.
Without looking up, I pointed at Achilles. “Are you speaking for him?”
“I said I was sorry.” Never in my life had anyone sounded less sorry, but when I peeked up from my phone, he was staring at me, frowning. I paused in my search to study him.
He could be—no—people didn’t turn around that fast.
“Achilles won’t be there. Only me and Paris.”
“Sorry?” Orestes leaned forward to glare at Hector. “I don’t fucking think so. You don’t know Leo. If anyone is staying with her, it’s me, or Pollux. I actually give a shit if she lives or dies.”
Wow.That was really… nice. Placing my phone on the table, I waited to see what would happen next. I’d never been in the position where someone cared about me enough to stand up for me.
I liked it.
