Page 107 of The Shadow Gods

Her eyes were as obsidian as the seal, making her skin so, so pale. And her hair.

The red locks were gone, replaced with dozens of jewel-toned serpents. Green. Gold. Black. They hissed, not angrily, but making their presence known.

They wound around each other, over Leo's smooth skin, before darting toward me, tongues tasting the air.

Leo shot forward, ripping her hands from mine to cover my eyes. “Hector! No!”

But our eyes had already met. I'd already seen her form. The serpents darted forward, smooth, blunt noses touching my cheeks.

Carefully, I pulled her hands from my face. “Leo. It's okay.”

“No, no.” Maybe she tried to fight me, but I was stronger. Gentle, but refusing to be resisted, I tugged her hands from my face until I could see her. She kept her eyes shut tight, as if that would be enough to save me.

Gods. She was stunning like this. Curious, I reached a finger toward one of the serpents. Like her, their eyes were closed, and the first flinched when I touched its small head. Leo let out a breath as I stroked the snake. I watched her, waiting for the signs that she understood this magic.

“Whatever we did to bring you back,” I said, “you are part of us now. You can't hurt me.”

“You can't be sure.”

For a woman as smart and logical as Leo, she still hadn't come to understand that the power of gods didn't follow things like reason.

“I'm sure.”

She shook her head, pale skin flushing, proving she was very, very alive.

Unable, and without a bit of instinct to stop myself, I pressed my lips to hers. The snakes hissed, a gentle release of breath, and then she kissed me back.

I pulled away, just an inch. “Look at me.”

She did, revealing those familiar, golden-brown eyes.

“I love you.” I kissed her once more. “Tell me this is real.”

“It's real,” she whispered, then drew back. Her gaze went over my shoulder, widening in shock. “It worked.”

I turned to see what she meant and froze. Next to Pollux stood his mirror image, except for one very obvious difference.

One of them was dead.

Castor looked away from his twin to Leo. “It did. But unlike you, I don't have a body to return to.”

Pollux's hands twitched at his side. I got it. One look at Paris, and I understood. If I only had one moment with my brother, I'd want to embrace him.

“I don't know how to fix you,” Pollux said.

Castor shrugged. “You can't.” His gaze flicked to Athena, who stood like a statue, hands over her eyes, then to something beyond the goddess. “There's somewhere else I'm meant to be.”

Pollux turned, but there was nothing there. Nothing we could see, anyway.

His twin smiled, and his body seemed to flicker. “Our sister.”Helen.

Paris flinched at her name and stepped forward. Next to me, Leo was so still.

“I'm sorry,” she said. “This isn't fair.”

The expression on Castor's face was peaceful, though, and accepting. He spoke as if he hadn't heard her. “Our mother.” His voice was barely above a whisper. He was fading, moving from one plane to another. “This is better, Pollux.” He turned to face his brother right before he disappeared completely. “Where I'm going is better.”

Nodding, Pollux watched him fade from existence. He took a deep breath, shoulders slumping then straightened. Jerking his head up, he met my stare. “Do you feel that?”

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