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Butstumpedisn’t me anymore. I demonstrate it by whipping up my head and letting a burning breath escape my clutching throat.
“He learned something,” I state. “That has to be it. He’s discovered something that we haven’t. But not everything. That’s why he took off.”
“Sneaked off,” Kell corrects.
“Accurate,” Jaden says. “Tooaccurate. Dude didn’t even say goodbye to you, K-demon.”
“Because it was that urgent?” Kell queries.
I shake my head. “Because I was doing enlightenment out in the fields with Hecate and Circe.”
Jaden’s suddenly ashen. Kell too. I don’t wonder about myself. The blood started draining from my vital senses before we left the meadow.
“Because…” my brother finally blurts, “whatever scoop he’s after…involves her.”
I don’t indulge even a second of confirming that accuracy. Jaden’s words confirm how certain he is of it, and Kell’s victorious sniff conveys the same.
But she doesn’t preen for long. Already roping her focus back in, she tilts an intense look my way. “So what’s the call from here?”
For a second, I can only blink. This is unusual for us, since she’s normally comfortable as the one with the priorities, plans, and decisions. But this time, the reins feel just fine in my grip. I take over with an eager and confident look.
“Well. I do see a truck with a hidden key box that one of us happens to know about.”
And an invisible ashram perimeter that I no longer care about breaching.
For the time being, she and Jaden don’t have to be apprised about that part. Not that either of them will be screaming at me to turn the vehicle around. A one-night canyon slumber party was about the limit for both of them, as they prove by rushing back toward the truck like superfans at a concert stage.
More vibes that might be smart to follow.
No matter how strongly I don’t want to believe them.
No matter how much it hurts to be suspecting, more and more by the second, that maybe the perimeter isn’t there for keeping the world out.
But why is it so important to control everyone who stays in?
I shake my head, still refusing to believe that’s the whole case. That the goddess who rescued me from Hades’s wrath with all that calm fortitude can also be such a desperate boundary setter. That makes no sense to any section of my heart or synapse in my head.
There’s even littler logic to what I plan on doing now. If I really want all the answers to my dilemmas, it’s more rational to stay in Iremia. But that also means more time apart from Maximus—perhaps a lot more, if Hecate decides to get more protective of me in his absence.
No. Not the right solution, on any level.
I have to get back to his side. If the last week has taught me anything with terrifying clarity, it’s that forbidden love ignites the hottest crucibles—which forge the strongest survivors. Our kilns have become incredible fires in their own rights, but they’re an unstoppable force only when bridged together. I’m better, in every single way, only with the love of my soul by my side.
It needs to happen.
The time is now.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
MAXIMUS
I agreed to reconvene with Arden and Jesse in a couple of hours, but after ninety minutes, my head is on the verge of pounding.
I rise and wander downstairs, hoping the coffee stand off the library’s lobby has been kept open. Thankfully, there’s basic black java and mini packs of ibuprofen available. I grab three of each, feeling vindicated about the call as soon as I return and spot them both.
“Ohyesss.” Jesse raises both arms,Hallelujahstyle. “Come to papa bear, magical liquified beans.”
Arden opts for a less effusive approach. “Thank you.” But his calm gratitude is overtaken by a furtive glance around. “Am I missing the almond milk, by any chance?”
