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I need to forget that asshole and the way my heart skips a beat whenever he’s around. He’s still the bad guy in my mind, and that’s not about to change any time soon.
Chapter Fifteen
Maximus
“We’rereadywheneveryouare,” Linus says, giving the signal as Mateo, Kallen, and Titus take their places at the top of the hill. A cool breeze filters past us, ruffling Olivia’s hair as she ties it into a braid beside me. I can’t help but stare at her, unable to take my mind off my mate, especially after the day we spent together yesterday. Those damn brothers of mine are always taking up her time, but I finally got a chance to keep my mate to myself ... at least for a few hours.
“Let’s run over the plan one more time,” Osias says, pausing to look up from the papers. “You three will dissipate closer to the cave this time.”
Mateo rolls his eyes but doesn’t say anything as he repeats the plan again. “We’ll dissipate closer to the cave, and I’ll break the wards while Titus sends you all the signal. From there, you’ll be able to dissipate straight to the cave.”
I eye Kallen suspiciously, searching for any sign of unease, but he looks resigned yet ready, like what he’s been saying is true and he’s prepared to put a stop to his father’s treachery.
Osias nods and looks over the maps again.
“You’re ready, Liv?” Osias asks my mate, and she nods, patting the pouch at her side. This might just be the best chance we have at ending this fight for good, and we need to use this opportunity for what it is.
We didn’t discuss it as a group, but the rest of us know that she has the dagger with her.
I wish I could land that killing blow for everything he put her and her family through, but I know it should be Olivia that gets that privilege, especially after she and Mateo retrieved it.
I’ll do everything in my power to make sure she succeeds though.
“Let’s go then.” Osias gives the signal, and Mateo nods, giving Olivia a wink before he’s swept up in a silent wind, his body breaking apart and disappearing from view.
“We aren’t sure how far they’ll be from the cave, so we may have minutes or hours, people,” Osias announces. “Be ready for the signal.”
I wrap my arm around Liv’s shoulders and pull her closer to me, loving the comfort that soaks into me as she returns the embrace. I know we’ll get out of this, that we have the upper hand, and if anything, we have the dagger, so we’ll be able to escape unscathed even if they’re ready for us. But I can’t shake the feeling of unease that settles over me. Anxiety thrums through me, but I do my best to push it down.
“Are you ready, angel?” Adrian asks, stooping to place a kiss on her cheek. I grimace as a grin spreads on his lips, wishing I could be that upbeat about … well, anything, but especially this. I should at least feel a little excitement at this close of a chapter and the beginning of our new life, but something weighs in my stomach, something that I just can’t place.
“Of course.” She smiles back at him, tightening the satchel at her side.
“I’ll be glad when all of this is over,” Kyros says, and Olivia sighs in agreement.
The best-case scenario, of course, would be preparing the students for a battle that will never come, but with everything that has weighed us down this far, I can’t help but think this is too easy.
I frown and look ahead, over the hill and down towards the arena below where the students are already training. We have a contingent of soldiers staying behind in case Romulus is ready for them, and the students are warmed up and ready if they’re needed, but we don’t expect it.
“Max,” Olivia murmurs, lightly nudging me with her shoulder. “What are you thinking?”
I take a deep breath, my head and my heart warring for supremacy, but I just shake my head, not wanting to unnerve her. “Nothing, princess.”
“Maximus,” she says in warning, clearly not believing me, but before she can get another word in a yellow flare bursts before us—the signal.
“Follow the signature to the infernal realm, alpha team,” Osias shouts as the flare of magic explodes into an elaborate fireworks display, giving us enough time to lock on to it.
“Ready?” I ask Olivia as I shift my hand down to hold hers.
“Ready.” She nods in agreement as our powers swirl together, transporting us to the sweltering heat of the infernal realm.
Screams pierce my ears the moment we reform, and I grit my teeth as I take stock of the situation. Demons and gods are scattered on the ground, knocked out by the blast of power Mateo must have leveled them with when he broke the wards. They must have caught them off guard, but from the looks of it they’re starting to rally as they converge past their fallen comrades.
We rush forward as one, our hands slipping apart as we focus on the demons swarming Mateo, Titus, and Kallen. I send my power out and suck a few demons into a swirling tornado, their bodies disintegrating as they hit the ground. Olivia releases a blast of fire and air towards a god in front of Titus, wrapping them in a cell of flames.
“Thanks,” he says as he moves to the next god, his powers lashing out like a whip as they slice into the dark god.
Osias and Octavia charge forward as one, their powers combining into a whirlwind of light and shadow that swallows demigods and gods whole, transporting them to fates know where. I scan the crowd of enemies, taking stock of where the major players are as Adrian sends clones of himself out to battle against the demons. Despite what Olivia and Octavia reported, there still seem to be hundreds of them under the control of the archdemons, even though the word went out to many to escape while we battled against the dark gods.
