Page 93 of Invoking Ruin

The Void heaves, shudders, and then explodes outward. I start hurtling in the opposite direction as the crack closes itself in a few moments. Healing itself like a god.

The rift knife gets trapped in one of the tiny fissures as it heals closed. The blade shatters, nothing but shards of metal that meld into puffs of smoke.

Another fissure of Void catches on one of the wings on my sandals. It slices the thing clean off, and my vision blackens as I start to plummet.

Hermes is going to be so pissed.

Chapter twenty-one

Dionysus

I’m halfway through my first very important lap around Olympus when I spy Atê flying out of the garden.

The sight alone screams that something’s wrong. I long to go after her, but it can’t penetrate the imperative screaming through my mind:

Need to walk. Need to leave her. Forget about her.

That’s what’s best for me, isn’t it? She’s nothing but poison. A magnet for ruin, dragging everyone around her into bad decision after bad decision until we’re all dead or worse.

I should be grateful she sent me away. After being obsessed with me for centuries, it was the least she could do.

But I can’t make myself believe any of that.

Instead, my mind turns over and over in an endless circle. The longing, the aversion to the longing, the rationalizations.

I realize now just how effective her powers are. If she hits her mark just right, she’s able to really send your head spinning. Her compulsion feeds back into itself, and until I complete her instructions, I know I’ll never be free of it.

If it weren’t so damn frustrating, I’d be impressed.

I’m nearing the end of the first loop when Lethe steps into my path, blocking my progress.

“Get out of my way,” I spit.

She cocks her head to the side, like a bird, eerie and disconcerting.

I loathe being around her, even if what the others say is true and she’d been forced to erase my memories. She tried to keep others from speaking ill of Atê, too. No matter what she does, I don’t see myself being comfortable around her anytime soon.

“She did a better job than I anticipated,” Lethe says, studying me. “You weren’t expecting her to ruin you.” She’s not asking me a question. I’m not even sure she’s talking to me, but to herself, assessing me like a scientist.

I try to go around her, but she steps in my path each time. When I try to push past her, the feel of her cool, glassy skin sends shudders down my spine.

It also lands me on my ass. Hephaestus comes out of nowhere and shoves me to the ground. “Watch where you’re going, brother.”

“I am,” I say with a growl, pulling myself to my feet. “She’s the one putting herself in my way.”

Hephaestus’ lip curls with the promise of violence, but Lethe places her hand on his arm. “Be easy with him. Atê’s compulsion is strong. He can’t help it.”

“That’s his own fault. He should have thrown her in Tartarus when he had the chance.” His arm slides around Lethe, drawing her close.

“She’s flying into the Void right now to save us all,” Lethe protests, a pout forming on her pale mouth.

Flying into the Void.

My Atê.

Hephaestus says something to Lethe, but I don’t know what. A buzzing in my skull grows into a roar, driving me to my knees. I cover my ears, as though it might block the sound. Atê’s compulsion tries to assert itself, digging in so deep I can practically feel the slices it leaves inside my mind.

Clever goddess. She’d hit me when I least expected it. Who knew telling her I had feelings for her was the way to make her leave me alone.

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