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Lore appeared at his side and draped a hand over his strong shoulder. Her touch was solid; she was a spirit no longer.
They’d brought her to life before the final ceremony in this timeline? Good to know.
“As you can see, we acquired the orb anyway.” Lore smiled smugly at Rathbone before whispering to Azar, “Tell him he can watch my triumph in three days. We have a surprise for him.”
“You can watch Lore’s triumph in three days,” the Astra parroted. “We have a surprise for you.”
Lore controlled him so completely? How? And who had found the last bones? How had Azar acquired the orb, if not Rathbone?
“You will not win this,” the king spat at the goddess. He grabbed at her, claws bared, and Neeka jolted. Chains circled his wrists. She’d changed things, but not enough.
The vision morphed again, skipping ahead once again, depositing her in the harpy throne room. Azar walked in with a flesh and blood Lore, who took her place on the dais, made her victory speech, then unbridled her evil.
Three visions in one. Not uncommon and always spurred for the same reason. One event was tied to another. Prevent the first, and you prevented the others. Yay. On the flip side, the final path had begun to solidify, soon to be unchangeable. Every decision executed from this point forward set the dominos in place.
The vision ended, and trepidation pierced Neeka. “Save Maximus,” she tried to scream in real life. Pinpricks of scorching pain penetrated her chest. Ow! Ow, ow, ow. Hot liquid rushed up her throat, gushing from the corners of her mouth. Her world tilted until she flipped end over end, her body weightless.
Falling?
Impact! Organs popped like balloons. Agony. So much worse than ever before. She moaned and writhed, fighting to see past a blurry haze. Where was she? What had happened?
Something warm and soft cupped her cheek, and she went still. Her world continued to spin, scattering her thoughts. Rathbone. Maximus. Azar and Lore. The vision!
She blinked rapidly and met Rathbone’s gaze. His mouth was moving, his expression tinged with desperate concern. “Save Maximus,” she commanded with the last of her strength.Don’t be too late, don’t be too late.
His head whipped up, fury radiating from him, just as it had done during her premonition.
Dread punched her. Was she already too late?
She followed his gaze, ignoring the influx of pain, and groaned. Sure enough. The Astra had arrived in reality and now imprisoned the teenager with his arms.
“You have twenty-four hours to give me the orb, or I will execute your son. I look forward to hearing from you.” With a nod in their direction, Azar vanished, taking a struggling Maximus with him.
Rathbone yanked an arrow from Neeka, demanding, “What did you see? Tell me!”
Despite the pain, she remained lucid. She knew she couldn’t not divulge the truth, the full truth, and only the truth. “If you fail to give the Astra what he seeks, he acquires the orb another way and Maximus dies. Lore still wins.” And dang it, this looked bad—for Neeka. Like she’d set everything up for another perfect betrayal. Distract Rathbone with the old get-arrowed-and-fall bit while the Astra collected Maximus, then hang back and persuade the king to risk the end of the world to save the boy. “By giving him the orb, we help Lore destroy us all, anyway.”
He drew in a deep breath, then pulled out another arrow. “I’m the only one able to dismantle the orb.”
“Not according to my vision,” she muttered. The absolute worst thing she could say in her own defense, and yet, truth was truth.
A vein pulsed in the center of his forehead. “Very well. I’ll give the Astra what he seeks. I’ll also convene with Hades and convince him to let you speak with Siobhan. We will find the remaining bones, ensuring Azar cannot resurrect Lore, even with the orb.”
A great plan. So why was her stomach churning and her instinct burning?
29
“Tell me what payment you seek.” Rathbone stood in Hades’s throne room, Neeka at his side. “Let my female converse with the goddess in your mirror, and I’ll pay your price, whatever it is.” Why waste precious minutes arguing over semantics when Rathbone was willing to give up everything he owned?
And there would be an argument if he attempted to bargain. He and Hades were family, yes, but business was business. There was no way Hades would allow the two females to interact out of the goodness of his heart.
“Um. Maybe I should do the talking,” Neeka said from the corner of her mouth. She probably thought she whispered, but she did not. Her words echoed from the walls. “You kind of suck at negotiating.”
“She isn’t wrong.” Hades pet the cat in his lap. “Why pay for this? And you know I’ll make you pay dearly.”
Rathbone snorted. “Offer an answer free of charge? Hardly.”
“Perhaps the answer is my payment.”
