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“My guess is that our sister wouldn’t agree this is from the Netherrealm,” Luc said. “But we’ll certainly ask her.”
“Did you try anything yet?” Nix asked Lachlan.
“We tried burning. Fire is useless. Chopping makes it grow back thicker.”
“Anything else?”
“Climbing is too dangerous. And it seemed to respond to blood. A soldier bumped into it, got stabbed by the thorns, then sucked inside where he was… consumed. After that, it sprouted new thorns.” Luc looked at Lachlan, who shuddered. “I can still hear him screaming.”
“That’s pleasant,” Luc replied.
“We’ll try Lexa’s fire,” Nix said. “And she can fly, maybe get over the top?”
Silence drifted through and around them, binding them up in their worry.
“This is… unfathomable,” Lachlan eventually said. “I just don’t understand it.”
While Luc didn’t really have a heart, he did feel for the young prince, his bride now missing behind this monstrosity. And for his brother, whose god-yoke would certainly be an issue. Luc had seen many things in his life wandering, but nothing like this.
After telling Lachlan they were going for Lexa, Nix returned them to Sol.
“Are you… okay?” Luc asked. “I mean, I know you’re not okay, but …” His words drifted away, not sure how to process what he’d seen.
“I can’t talk with her. I don’t know what to do.”
“You’re a god, Nixus.”
Nix looked up. “And what good has it ever done me? What good is it doing now? I can’t talk to her. I can’t feel her. I can’t fix the god-yoke.” He tapped his chest. “I can’t fix it with my powers. I am powerless.”
Luc swallowed his initial comment on being powerless. It wouldn’t help. Instead, he took a deep breath, wishing he had better words of wisdom for his brother. He didn’t. He was fresh out, and perhaps he’d never had any to begin with. He’d bungled being a god so badly he was trapped in Sol without an ounce of his power.
But then—he’d dreamed about the hedge before Nix had told him. Luc opened his mouth to tell his brother, then closed it, unsure of himself, doubting what he’d experienced. How could he dream of Brinna and the hedge? He didn’t know how to explain that to Nix. He didn’t know how to explain that to himself.
“What about Father and Mother?” Luc asked instead.
Nix stood with a frustrated sigh, his hands in his hair again. “Father isn’t exactly a paragon of compassion when it comes to helping mortals.”
“We both know she isn’t mortal. It’s an impossibility. Perhaps you can appeal to his love for you? It isn’t like you can control a god-yoke,” Luc replied. “You could agree to be his replacement.”
“No. He doesn’t want me anyway. He wants you.”
Luc rolled his eyes. “We both know that’s a terrible idea.”
“It isn’t,” Nix said, though his tone was distracted.
“Maybe Mother could help. She controls the seasons. She could cast winter early, freeze the hedge.”
“It’s an enchanted hedge,” Nix said. “If my power didn’t work, I’m not sure hers will either. Besides, Mother isn’t prone to helping mortals any more than father.”
That was true. “So we’ll just try Lexa’s dragon fire?”
Nix nodded. “We’ll probably be making the same point. Enchanted.”
“Who set the enchantment?”
Nix looked up, his eyes widening and his hands leaving his hair. “That’s the question!” He snapped his fingers and pointed at Luc. “The right one.” He stood.
“Who has the most to gain by trapping the Fareviews behind the hedge?” Luc mused.
