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I push my head forward. It’s not a confirming nod. But not a denial either. “Meg’s a harpy, okay? Historically speaking, she gets off on fear and terror. She could’ve been stringing me along—”
“Even whenyouwere the one to first broach the subject? Because you overheard my wannabe cool witch auntie talking preliminary war strategies with her wingwoman because they were…what? Preparing to dominate in Iremia’s weekly Battleship tournament?”
I frown, wishing she were referencing any two females besides Hecate and Circe. I also wish I could find half a line of laugh-worthy stuff about her sarcasm.
But there’s a higher commitment for me here. A larger truth we have to dig into, even if the real story simply doesn’t exactly match what Megaera revealed to me during our chance face-off back in the Alameda University library.
A lot of my brain cells devote themselves to that hope.
But a lot of my instincts are already ordering me to give up the mission.
“I’d like to confirm nothing better than that, sweetheart,” I tell Kara, combing a tender hand through her hair. “Would’ve enjoyed a tournament like that. Nobody enjoys sinking a few plastic warships more than me.”
Her eyes darken. There’s a thick, sad sheen in them. “Maybe we’ll need that strategic genius sooner than we thought.”
“Whatever’s in store, we’ll do it together.” I flatten my free palm along her belly. “Especially this.”
Kara drops her head between her stiffening shoulders. She flattens her hands atop mine. “This,” she whispers. “Oh, God, Maximus. I’m so scared.”
I curl my fingers upward, enforcing our clasp. “If you weren’t, I’d be worried. And for the record, I am too.” I don’t hide my deep frown. “My comfort zone is self-control. But I already love this jellybean more than I ever thought possible.” And just like that, my scowl is gone. And my eyes are brimming with as many tears as hers. “And I loveyou, woman, for creating him.”
Her face lights up with a watery laugh. “Him?You’re that sure, huh?”
“Fate wouldn’t screw with me by tossing in the extra chromosome.” My pulse already edges toward panic from the consideration. What would I do with a girl? How huge could my heart stretch—or my self-discipline shatter—to handle the protective love for her?
Kara’s sweet lips brim with a full smile. Though my thoughts remain as concrete lines of logic, there are gallons of emotions behind them. Energy that I pray she sees. That I send to her heart and soul in gigantic waves. I have my answer as soon as she lifts one of her hands to the side of my face. Her touch is gentle but meaningful. Vocalizing nothing but saying everything.
“No matterwhatfate decides,we’redeciding on love,” she whispers. “Even if that means fighting for it. Againstallof them.”
I breathe in, determined to sew her declaration into my senses as fast as possible. I show her my commitment too, copying her motion with my palm along her cheek. “Them,” I repeat, locking my gaze to hers. “You mean Hecate and Circe? Or Hera and Megaera?”
“All of them,” she says. “But just to start with. With everything we know now, I’m not crossing Hades off the list anymore. By extension, even Arden and my mother. Or your father.”
A low growl twists up my throat. “Zeus won’t mess with us. He wouldn’t dare.”
There are new shadows in her gaze. “He might not have a choice, Maximus. Not if all your suspicions, and Megaera’s confirmation, prove true. If there’s a war coming and Hecate is going to risk the stability of all the realms—”
“Then we’re walking the DMZ,” I insist. “Down the middle, no questions asked. Nobody gets our commitment. I refuse to compromise the safety of our family just to help any of them make a point.”
She flashes the barest traces of a smile. “We may not have a choice, Maximus.”
I don’t want to be so instantly defensive, but I am. At once, I recognize the reason. She may be right.
She’sprobablyright.
“Oh, hell, sweetheart.” I can’t conceive anything more poetic, no matter how hard I try. “You really are scared.”
“Scared in one book is prepared in another.”
Though Kara looks ready to speak exactly that, it’s been given volume by a much different voice. Someone capable of lower registers and, at least in this moment, steadier authority.
My front door opens, facilitated by the only person besides the super who possesses a spare key. I’m smirking big before Jesse North is finished crossing the threshold, rolling his wheelchair with more game than a rock star at a fan con. Even his stretchy rubber hand toy has come out for fun, smacking up and down from one of his palms like a yo-yo.
Fortunately, he keeps all the arrogance below his neck. From there up, despite the half grin he’s flashing, he’s clearly focused on our freshest announcement.
“These two crazy kids filled me in on the way up,” he explains, gesturing to Kell and Jaden. “So no congrats gift right now. But don’t worry. I’m good to shell out for the nursery’s six-foot teddy bear.”
Kara rises. “It’s all right. And you do understand, more than most, that it hasn’t exactly been a normal week for us.”
