Page 61 of The Shadow Gods

My brother had come alive. That was the only way to describe him now. All those emotions he kept hidden roared to the surface. He let them out. He laughed.Laughed.

Fear made my stomach knot. We had so much to lose. Not that we hadn't lost everything, but the first time it happens, leaving you dazed and empty and wondering what the hell had happened, you don't have anything to compare it to. The utter ripping out of your guts—no one can prepare for that.

But now? I had muscle memory of loss. I could feel it right down to my bones. The possibility of it happening again terrified me.

And it didn't just scare me for me. There had to be an emotion worse than terror. I was staring at a truck, frozen in place, as it barreled toward the people I loved most in this world. If there was an emotion for that, thenthatwas my feeling.

Unable to swallow another bite, I picked up my glass of wine and took a huge swallow.

No one noticed how dark I'd gone. They were orbiting Leo like moons.That's good.It meant they didn't feel the impending doom I did. I wasn't so selfish to wish my friends and brother mirrored me.

Turning my attention to Leo, I studied her. Her face was flushed, pink instead of that pale cream and gold color. Her brown eyes were happy and focused on whatever Orestes was saying.

She lifted her glass to her lips, and that was when I caught it. The slight tremor. The way her gaze darted at me, then back to Orestes. Her smile was wide but a little tight.

Something was bothering her too.

She sat across from me, so I watched her. If she felt me staring, she didn't call me on it. But her knuckles were white as they gripped her fork, like she was worried she'd drop it.

A change came over her. She got quieter, and the food on her plate remained uneaten. “Tomorrow,” she said when there was a lull in the conversation, “I have to protect us on purpose.”

“After today, I don't think Poseidon will—” Hector started, but she cut him off.

“He will. They will. Athena is waiting, and she's counting on me being weak. We're going to be in the middle of the sea for hours, and not only will we be at their mercy, but every person on that ferry will be too. We have to be prepared.”

“If Athena shows her face, I'll rip her wings off.” Achilles placed his wine on the table hard enough that the stem shattered. Unbothered, he placed a cloth napkin over the spill and threw back the dregs left in his glass. “Then her arms. I'll toss them into the ocean and wait for Poseidon to see them sink to the bottom.”

One side of Leo's lips tipped up in a smile. “All night long, I've been sitting here, thinking about tomorrow and whatever comes next.”

She stood and went to the plastic container where we kept the seal, picked it up, and brought it back to the table. Without saying a word, Achilles cleared a spot for her to place it.

“What are you thinking?” I asked as she stared at it.

“We need answers. There's power in these pieces, and we haven't explored it enough. We've let it show us memories, but what if it can do more? What if we could use this power? It's yours. The gods gave it to you without realizing it. I think we have to stop being afraid of it.” She peered at me and then back to the container. “I think we should put the pieces together.”

“No,” both Hector and Achilles answered at the same time.

Achilles sliced a hand through the air. As if it was that easy to cut off the conversation—slice. Done. General Achilles has spoken.

Leo lifted ruddy brows before narrowing her eyes. “We don't know what will happen.”

“It will release the gods,” Hector answered. All his lightness had vanished, leaving the Hector I'd known for the last millennium. “I know exactly what will happen.”

“You don't, though,” she argued. “I'm not trying to be a jerk, but you assume that's what will happen, and what if it's not an opposites thing? Breaking apart the seal keeps the gods in place, putting it back together makes them free. But it'syourpower. You decided how to wield it when you dropped it into the ocean the first time, so you can decide how to wield it now. Two gods are already free, and it might not have anything to do with these pieces being found. Athena brought me back to life, and I didn't find the first piece of the seal until two years ago. That means she had enough power to stuff my soul into this body.” She held out her arms, then let them fall to her sides. Her hands slapped against her jeans as she sighed. “Do you see what I mean?”

I did, but it didn't make the knot in my gut disappear. She was right about one thing, though. It wasourpower. That meant—in theory, at least—it answered to us. We were connected.

“The difference between Athena and Poseidon versus the entire pantheon is exponential,” Pollux said. “And think about what toys they have to play with now. Nuclear missiles. Presidents. Dictators. Or maybe they just wipe us all out and start again.That'sthe risk, Leo.”

Every bit of color left her face. “I know.”

This wasn't a spontaneous decision on her part. She'd been studying and preparing for this her whole life. She was singularly created for this challenge. No one else in the world would be as ready as her.

And I trusted her.

At once, Hector, Achilles, and Pollux began arguing about the problems with the plan. Their voices got louder and louder until all three of them stood, hands braced against the table. Orestes said nothing but watched, gaze narrowed, as they argued.

Leo sat, not looking at any of them, but I could tell she was listening. At times, she swallowed, and others, twisted her fingers in her lap. Guilt warred with certainty as my friends argued against the end of the world.

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