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He inhaled slowly. “You need to understand what it was like in there. To be locked away from your family, trapped in a realm with only a castle for one, no company, in a wasteland world. There was only enough food to sustain me for the first three months. After that, I starved but couldn’t die. I wasted away for almost a century, losing my mind slowly until something came to me in the night.”
My eyes widened. “What was it?”
“A wolf. I don’t know how it found me or how it got in, but it must have slipped through the portal somehow. They always found me. Animals,” he explained. “So I did what I hated, and I killed it and ate its flesh and consumed its soul.” He tore his gaze from me to the window, his face paling. “It’s not something we like to do, but we can do it. Souls make us stronger; eating them does anyway. It’s barbaric and not a practice we’ve done in a long time, but it is one Freya is doing.” His voice dripped with anger. “It gave me the strength to force myself through the portal door, shattering the realm. When I got out, I realized what I’d done. The forest around the portal had died after I’d shattered it, and every animal and person in a five-mile radius, they…” He trailed off. I didn’t need him to finish. They’d died. My heart sank.
“It’s not your fault.” I went to him and held his hand in mine. “You didn’t know that would happen. It’s Freya’s fault. She did this. You killed the wolf because it was your only choice. I’d have done the same, especially if my family were out there, needing me.”
He moved his gaze to meet mine. “I’m going to end this tonight. I promise. Once she’s dead, I’ll help you find your sister before I move on to my father.”
I jolted. “Your father? Lucius?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Don’t you remember what I told you? He hunted us, tried to kill us and our children.”
“Y-your what now?” I spluttered.
“Not mine, but Thalia’s and Lena’s. They had children. Demigods.”
“Right.” I rubbed my temples. This was all so weird. I had read about demigods somewhere. “Half mortal, half god.”
“Yes.”
“You never had any?”
He shook his head. “I never met anyone I wanted to do that with, well, until…”
“Freya.”
“Right.” He rubbed the side of his neck. “Then I was locked away, so.”
“Yeah, that makes sense, I guess.”
He rolled his shoulders back and propped two pillows behind his back. “I never really wanted children anyway, but Thalia did. She loved being a mother. Unfortunately, demigods’ life spans are only a little longer than a mortal’s. They would all be dead by now.”
My heart ached for her. “I’m sorry.”
“She’ll find them.”
Of course. She was goddess of the dead. She wasn’t bound by the normal barriers between life and death. “How is it that only she can break the cloaking spell?” I wondered aloud.
“We all have different strengths. While we all possess magic and have heightened senses, each of us has extra abilities, making us unique. Aziel can create storms, shapeshift, and control the waters. Thalia can speak to the dead, is gifted with the power of divination, although she tries not to see into the future when possible as it takes a great toll on her, and has healing powers, compulsion, and strong magic.”
I arched an eyebrow. “What about you?”
The corner of his lip curved up. “Aside from being the most handsome?”
I rolled my eyes.
He continued. “I’m the strongest of my siblings. I can communicate with animals, even control them to an extent, and—” He smirked. Ugh. I knew that look. “I’m also incredibly charming.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You might be overestimating that one.”
He grinned, a teasing smile on his lips. “I don’t know. It seemed to work on you.”
Raiden had never fallen asleep. I’d asked him twice if he could go get more coffee or if I could go, but he annoyingly wasn’t letting me out of his sight. After finally crashing for a couple of hours, I awoke to the sound of them talking.
