Page 86 of Aïdes the Unseen
Hephaestus.
Or someone wearing his shape—broad shoulders, thick arms, heavy-lidded eyes almost hidden beneath a hood. He leaned against a lamppost across the street, hands in his coat pockets, watching. Not stepping in.
He’s watching too.
Moments later—another ripple inside the café, hushed voices against the storm-light—that meant others were rising. Athena’s triangle of eyes. Dionysus’s quiet laughter. Each one drawn by the surge radiating from Irina.
The city’s heartbeat quickened.
The sky shattered.
Lightning tore vertical scars across a slate-gray sky. Rolling thunder vibrated through the pavement and the café walls. Sidewalk vendors shuttered, pedestrians fled to doorways—everyone except us.
I felt it—waves ofpressure, the old bloodlines, the raw hunger of immortals reaching through the city, trying to reclaim what they thought they owned.
Irina’s fingers tightened on my arm, too tight. Not conscious, but full of intent. She stepped into me, shielding. Body-to-body.
Her eyes lifted. Storm-dark.
Clear.
“Back. Off.” Her voice trembled, so soft I almost expected it to fracture... but it didn’t.
The magic in the air might be hunting her, but in that moment, sheownedit. The power pulsed and found form in her words. Her posture.
As for the others? Their smiles flickered—surprised at first, then calculating.
Apollo’s grin turned brittle. Kassian’s eyes narrowed with ironic affection. Oscar flashed false brightness that didn’t register beyond his mask.
But she held them. Sheheldthem.
I saw her will blooming.
The force shimmered over her, cloaking her like it belonged.
And it was breathtaking.
A low rumble of thunder vibrated underfoot. I felt brittle electricity in the air: her power humming, the dog at her heels tensed like a coiled spring.
One careless move from Kassian—his hand drifted toward her arm?—
And the puppyleaptforward.
He collided with Kassian’s side, snarling, wool-hair bristling. The strike surprised him—because gods never expected retaliation fromanimals.
But this wasn’t any animal.
The momentbroke.
Kassian staggered back. The café door flew open. Lukas shouted for silence. Oscar stiffened, instantly calculating risk vs. gain. Hephaestus slipped away into shadow, Athena’s eyes blinked, and Dionysus grinned like it was the best party he’d crashed in centuries.
Irina exhaled—her power slick and primal at her back.
And I… I was ready. One step forward, and I wouldendthem.
The storm raged overhead as if the sky had recognized the opening. Lightning split the air above us. My fingers flexed at my sides.
Irina looked up at me. Her eyes glistened like moonlit water. The puppy growled again, low and certain.
