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I stroll over to what used to be the manor for the gods, remembering the moments of levity we had here before it was all snatched away. It seemed like I was almost about to have it all, my brother, my sister, and my mother, a real family after all these centuries trapped under Romulus’ thumb.
He never wanted children, after all. He wanted minions, versions of himself that would gladly do his bidding. I guess one out of two wasn’t a bad trade.
Olivia deserves to have that though—a life, a family, the love of her mates. After everything I’ve done to bring the prophecy to life, after selfishly wanting to have it all and putting my sister and her mates in jeopardy once again, I deserve to pay the price.
I drag my gaze away from the aftermath of my foolish dreams and focus on the school in the distance, where the future lies ... or where it would’ve lain. I never admitted the truth to anyone, not even myself really. But I knew the second that Helene wrapped that stream of air around her neck, and the force of that echo reverberated to the depths of my soul.
“We were supposed to have forever,” I murmur, smiling sadly at what could have been. “But I know what I need to do.”
I have to fix this mess, I have to do whatever I can to help my sister, to help my—
I cut myself off before I can even think the word, not wanting to accept something I can never have, not when my days are numbered.
Blood for blood. The greatest sacrifice of all.
I know what that means. The spell requires the blood of the caster, it requires the life of someone connected to them in order to be broken. There’s no doubt in my mind that Romulus knows this, which means there’s no way we’re going to lead him back to the cave.
The only blood of his kin is me—I’m the key to unlock Maximus before the spell drains him dry.
Chapter Twenty
Olivia
Sleepthreatenstodragme under as I rest my head on Adrian’s shoulder, all of today’s events piling up on my chest and carrying me off into a restless slumber.
“Olivia,” a man’s voice calls my name, shocking me out of my sleep. My eyes fly open despite my eyelids gritting like sandpaper across them, and I leap up, ready to fight off whoever—
Mateo?
I shake my head, hoping to clear away the thick fog that has been looming over my mind for the last few hours, but it doesn’t work.
“Liv?” Mateo asks. Before I even know what’s happening, his arms wrap around me and pull me in against his firm muscular chest.
Sighing a breath of relief, I sink into his embrace, relying on his strength to keep me upright.
“Let’s sit back down,” Adrian says, clasping his hands around me from the back and tugging me back down onto the chair. I sink down without an argument, letting the hard wood keep me balanced. Of course, Adrian could have made any chair, but I insisted it had to be uncomfortable to keep me awake and focused.
Maximus’ emerald eyes are hard on me when I look his way, clearly still pissed at me. He’s, of course, been telling me that I need to go back to the academy, that I need to get some rest, that we should at least make beds out here, but I refused every single one of his suggestions.
It just seems wrong to even be comfortable here when he’s trapped in there with nothing but the hard cave floor to sit on.
“Liv, are you okay?”
My shoulders lump slightly at Kyros’ voice, my chest warming with a flicker of hope that he’s back so soon.
I turn in my chair and blink at my other two mates, not even realizing Kyros was there before.
I’m clearly not the best guard, I guess. Fuck.
I grimace and try to shake myself out of this. I need to be here, and I need to be alert.
“Did you find something?” I ask Kyros hopefully, reminding myself not to get too excited. It’s only been a few hours, after all.
“I didn’t—” Kyros starts, but Mateo cuts him off.
“But Titus did. He said he found the spell that Romulus used. He just needs to gather a few ingredients and then we’ll get you out of there in no time,” Mateo announces, clapping Kyros on the shoulder. I look between the two of them, noticing a shadow almost looming over Kyros that hadn’t been there before.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, focusing on Kyros, my stomach sinking as I wait for the giant ‘but.’
