Page 52 of As Darkness Fall
“Gotcha,” I said with a smile, easily absorbing the impact.
Jo looked up from my arms. “Youhavebeen working out, Dan.”
My smile became a grin. “Thanks.”
“But why aren’t you or any of your friends kicking his ass?” Jo asked. “Isn’t he, like, your enemy?”
I sighed, setting her down. “It’s complicated to explain. A lot’s changed, Jo. He’s actually kind of our guest here.”
“Slash prisoner,” Johnathan said, bluntly acknowledging his position. “It’s more like house arrest than anything.”
Nobody denied it.
Jo looked at me, her face questioning whether this was my decision or not.
“He’s kind of, sort of, on our side now,” I explained. “In a way. Kinda. He’s not against us anymore, how’s that?”
“If you say so,” Jo said, stifling a yawn.
“Aaron, do me a favor?” I said. “Show her to a room?”
The vampire nodded and gestured for Jo to follow him up the stairs. She looked to me for confirmation.
“It’ll be fine,” I promised. “We’ll bring you some food, and once you’ve eaten and rested some more, we’ll bring you up to date on everything.”
Well, maybe noteverything. She didn’t need to know about our plan to rob Hades.
Jo and Johnathan disappeared, leaving just Vir and me.
“We can’t do this, Dani,” he said quietly.
I turned to look at him.
“What are you talking about?” I asked. “Robbing Hades? You said we should.”
“No, not that,” he said, stepping closer. “We can do that. Maybe. There’s a chance, I guess is what I mean. It’s incredibly dangerous for you, not to mention stupid, but there is definitely a chance that the three of us, with a bit of help, can pull it off.”
“Then, what are you talking about?” I asked, crossing my arms as if that could cover up the strange butterflies I felt from being alone with Vir.
What was he talking about? Was it us? Did he finally agree that our Soulbond needed to be severed? I was ready to try again if he was. The sooner I was freed, the sooner I could begin making my own choices, instead of always second-guessing myself and trying to figure out if what I wanted trulywaswhat I wanted or if it was caused by the bond.
I longed for that freedom.
The elevator chimed, and Vir and I swayed back away from one another as the rest of the team tromped into the penthouse. Their boots left dirt all over the clean, white marble tile, but they didn’t care.
Vir and I nodded back at a chorus of hey’s, but the team was more focused on getting out of their gear and getting clean than anything, except maybe eating. In seconds, they had all left the room as well, leaving Vir and me alone again.
I looked at him. “Well, explain. Why can’t we give Lars the Idol? What else don’t I know?”
“The Idol is active,” Vir said. “If Lars gets both, if he knows how to wield both their powers combined…”
“Yes?” I wished he would just spit it out instead of being all hesitant.
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop him,” Vir said. “He’ll be strong. Possibly too strong.”
“That bad?” I whispered, looking him straight in the eyes. I knew it couldn’t be easy for a god to admit weakness, but I had to be one hundred percent certain he wasn’t overexaggerating.
Vir nodded. “That bad.”
