Page 97 of Invoking Ruin

Fuck it.

I launch off Pegasus’ back, throwing myself towards her. The empty air seems to hold me, to stretch out time, and for a perilous second, I’m sure I’m going to plummet and lose her forever.

Then my arms wrap around her waist, warm and solid, and I clutch her to my chest, letting out a shout.

Fuck.

Pegasus dives as I try to slow our fall, angling our bodies horizontally to catch more air. Hermes’ sandals tug at her feet, almost jerking her out of my grasp. I hold tight as Pegasus flies under us.

We hit the horses’ back with a thump, and I grab on just as he spreads his wings, pulling up out of the dive.

Atê starts, opening her eyes at last. Relief blooms in my chest, stretching towards the sun like a flower. She blinks up at me, her green eyes dull, almost faraway, but she’s here. In my arms. Alive.

Nothing else matters.

“There you are,” I breathe, almost in disbelief. I have her. We survived.

And there’s nothing but blue skies and sun above us.

Atê just stares at me, almost like she’s never seen me before. A drop of icy panic rolls its way down the back of my neck. Does she know who she is? Did the Void take her from me after all? I hold my breath as she cups my face, her brows knitting together in disbelief.

“Dionysus? What are you—? How did you get here?”

I laugh with relief, something that only makes her brows scrunch together a little more. Part of me loves being the one to catch her off-guard rather the other way around.

“I’ll explain when we land. For now, I have you.”

Chapter twenty-two

Dionysus

Back on Olympus, things are both a little better and a little worse. Atê lost consciousness again during our descent, and two days later, she still hasn’t woken.

The damage the Void left on her only became apparent once we’d landed. She has deep scars on her neck, running down her sides all the way to her feet. They’re shaped like circles, as if small creatures had taken a hundred bites out of her.

I’ve never seen anything like it.

Her hair has also greyed. Long iron streaks run through her inky waves to match the fine lines at the corners of her eyes and mouth. Like she’s been drained of her immortality.

Eris has come by at least twice, bringing precious vials of Ouranos’ tears. Barely more than drops, but they’ve eased the ravages of the Void.

I can only imagine how angry the other gods are, that their queen is expending such resources on Atê. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that only encourages Eris.

Actually, I do know better, and I absolutely say it is.

I haven’t left Atê’s bedside. So far, no one besides Eris and Lethe has invaded our space.

The peace won’t last. My brothers will send for me. I know I should make time for them, but I don’t have the patience for my family right now.

My hand curls around Atê’s and I kiss the back of it, feel the wrinkles there, before sighing.

“You’d be so confused by all the attention your mother and sister have given you since you came back,” I tell her. “You’d hate it.”

She doesn’t respond. I don’t really expect her to.

No one can tell me if she’ll ever wake or if the Void took too much from her. There’s been talk, when they think I’m not listening, of moving her to some Sanctuary, but I’m not letting them take her anywhere.

Not while there’s still a chance someone wants her in Tartarus, or worse.

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