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Once Konner touched Justin, they disappeared, Sterling and Koran going with them.
Two down, one more to go.
I turned back to my sister, who was now the embodiment of Artemis. She had one small hand on the god's chest, her face tilted up to meet his eyes.
“Hermes, this is my world. All here are under my protection. Including the oracle that Apollo is hunting. She is mine too. Stop all of this. Forget about her. I will say this one last time. You aren't welcome here, for many here have forgotten you, outside of textbooks.”
“She has made me look like a fool, Artemis!” He growled, not trying to remove her touch.
Lexi shook her head. “No, she did not. You did that yourself. Tell me this, though. Why do you dislike her? What has she done to you?”
Instead of answering her, he flung her hand off and lunged around her, heading straight for Lily.
Lily didn’t move. She kept a small smile on her lips while she stared into Hermes’ eyes. The god grabbed her, spinning her around so her back was against his chest. Wrapping one arm around her throat, he pinned her to his chest, while his eyes watched the rest of us.
But I had also responded, my body flowing up off the ground without conscious thought. In one smooth motion, I pulled my sword and swung it up, its point aimed at the god’s torso. I had placed it so I wouldn’t hurt my mate by accident, but would stop the god if I took a step forward.
I wasn’t sure where Shane came from, but he appeared on Hermes’ other side, in human form. My eyes flicked down to his hands, noticing he hadn’t exposed his blade yet.
Good thing. Bane would have meant the end to Hermes.
Lily spoke softly, as if she was talking to a child, her head back against his shoulder so he could hear her. “Henry, my mate has a sword pointed at your kidneys. It is my understanding the weapon is alive and is thirsty for blood.” She paused.
I nodded. “Yes, he really wants to slice into you and bathe in your essence. He is longing for a god’s blood. It won’t kill you, but that doesn’t matter. You will still experience considerable pain from his actions.”
The god only snorted, pulling Lily in tighter. I don't think he believed that my sword—Eri—had a mind of its own.
Shane took up the narrative, pulling out his blade and holding it up to the fading light. “Of course, this blade is different. Do you know what its name is? God’s Bane. Someone made it for me. Its one goal? To kill gods.”
Hermes, who had lifted a few inches into the air with my mate in his hands, froze. He realized the blade that the Alpha was caressing was way too close to his body. All it would take is the slightest cut to end his immortal life.
His heels settled back down to the ground and he turned to stare at the man.
“Where did you get it?”
Lexi laughed, the sound rich and sultry. She sauntered up to stand in front of the god, looking past Lily to Hermes’ eyes. By the way she was standing, I couldn’t tell if she was still Artemis or was now my sister. Perhaps a mixture of both.
“I made it, Hermes. It is something my incarnation learned how to create. We give the weapons life. We forged the one pointing at your belly, but it cannot kill you. Just cause you considerable pain. But the one bathing in the sunlight? That one can annihilate you.”
“Why would you make something like that, Artie? Something that can kill even you? Why did you want to do this?” His voice had risen until it cracked as he forced the words out.
She sighed, shaking her head slightly. “Because it is important for me to control the narrative on this planet. You and Apollo think this is all about you. It’s not. It’s about something bigger. There is more going on than your paltry egos. We need to fix this world because without it, everything else will fail. Including us.”
Hermes stared at her in amazement. His grip on Lily loosened, but she didn’t move, standing there watching Lexi.
The god's face grew pensive as he thought about what he had just heard.
Lily’s smile softened. “This is how it should be.” Her voice took on the eerie quality that showed she was now speaking as The Oracle. “The Messenger will think about what he learned here today. The Sun God, though, will return. He wasn't here to learn for himself and he won't believe anything a lesser god tells him. It will be a near thing, since what he wants to control is important for his very existence. Without this planet, he would not exist.”
Hermes lowered his arms, now pulling back from Lily as if she was poisonous. He shook his head, paused and then shivered, his eyes flickering between the two women standing in front of him.
Lily turned to stare at him. I wondered what he saw with the twin gazes looking at him. With the women now between me and the god, I dropped the point of my sword to the ground before moving to one side. I wanted to be able to defend them if I needed to.
Their eyes showed they were not quite human. Lexi’s had changed from her usual green into a dark brown, the shape rounder like those on a bear.
Lily’s were now a pure shimmering white, with lavender circling on the outside of them. The white contained pinpricks of purple that flared and then died before flaring once again.
They were beautiful. Mesmerizing, reminding me of the sun. I wondered if this was what Apollo feared the most, that she could possibly replace him. If gods could even be replaced.
