Page 10 of Until the End of Ever
There. This felt right. This felt perfect. Her heart beating hard against my chest.
It also felt hopelessly dangerous.
Step away. Let her go. Don’t get more attached.
“Nothing is going to happen to you,” I vowed, meaning each word.
If you’re listening, Great-uncle, feel free to write that down.I was not letting her disappear. No matter the cost.
After I’d given in, it was impossible to stop touching her. I gently guided her onward, keeping my arm around her waist.As usual, the space where my palm touched her was electrified, hyperaware.
“You’re so confident, I almost believe it.”
I managed a smug smile. “You should. I’m never wrong.”
Ronan was the first to leave the mouth of the cave. Pale, visibly grumpy, wearing a dark pair of sunglasses, and holding a black parasol over his head, he’d never resembled a vampire more.
“When’s the portal back again?”
“In two hours or so?” I estimated as Kleos and I emerged. Iulia gave us five hours, and we couldn’t have been gone for longer than three. “And there’s another one at dusk, Highvale time. We could take the portal to the actual town of Delphi, if you’d like to visit the temples in the meantime.”
“Nah,” my friend replied. “I’ve already been. It’s boring compared to meeting those guys in there.”
“I wouldn’t mind seeing Delphi. Athena has a temple there, right?” Kleos asked.
I nodded. “And Apollo. All right, we can split in two groups. Ronan, you’re aware how to spot a portal. If we’re not back on time, take it and get Iulia to reopen it at sundown.”
“I’ll wait for you. I could do with a nap. See you later—” he started, smirking.
“If you call me Daddy, there will be multiple hells to pay,” I warned.
My friend pouted. “That’s not fair.Theygot away with it!”
“They don’t know better. I’m plotting my revenge,” I assured him.
Somehow, the others took that as a joke.
Silver opted to remain behind, no doubt needing the rest, but both Gideon and Kleos wanted to see Delphi.
I activated the portal, pressing my hand against the rock nearing the cave’s entrance, and pulsing my energy through it until the doorway shimmered. We could no longer see our companions on the other side.
I stepped through, letting the familiar wave of magic pass through me, like breaking the surface of water.
“You’ve really been here before, huh?” Kleos asked.
“To Delphi, yes. To the cave, no, but several sources made it clear that there was a direct portal between the two.”
“You always seem like you know what you’re doing,” she grumbled. “Makes the rest of us appear inadequate by comparison.”
That was woefully inaccurate. I had no clue what I was doing withher. “You couldn’t be inadequate if you tried, Valesco. Come on. Athena or Apollo first?” I asked.
Both opted for the first option. We all had seen enough of Apollo for—well, a lifetime, as far as I was concerned.
“Two by sea—” I found myself muttering as I led the way, reflecting on the strange prophecy.
It made no fucking sense to me, but that in itself meant that it was a proper prophecy. Theyneverhelped anyone. But now that Silver made us hear it, it was impossible to dismiss it entirely. We’d been given the words of the gods about our fates. Kleos’s fate, specifically. We had to work it out.
“I wrote it down,” Kleos announced, handing me her notebook.
