“We don’t have a fucking cypher to use it.” Rydon seethed. He swallowed, taking a moment to compose himself. “And in case you haven’t noticed, we don’t have the amulet.”
Cassandra ignored him, focused on Terena. “You need to get the cypher to use it on Daris. Before that though, you need to make himwantto break the bond.”
“He doesn’t evenknowabout the bond,” Ren said, her voice small.
When Rydon looked over at her, her face was still pale and she seemed haunted. He took hold of her hand and squeezed it.
“You need to tell him. And then make it seem like it’s the worst thing ever for you two.”
“What? Why?”
“Because when the cypher gets into his head, she can amplify his desire to break the bond. It’ll make him do something… stupid… that should break it.”
“Should?” Rydon snapped.
“Theoretically.”
“The cypher’s a woman? You’ve seen her?” Ren asked.
“Yes to both.”
“What will it make him do?”
Cassandra opened her mouth to reply, her eyes shifting between them. Taking a step back, she held out her hands.
“You have to remember, you are bound by the Fates, so it has to be something significant. Something… unforgivable. So, theoretically, that’s how we break the bond. But we need to control the situation so?—”
“Unforgivable?”
“And that will break it?”
Cassandra waggled her head. “Theoretically.”
“What about in reality?”
“I don’t know!” Cassandra sniped with a stamp of her foot. “We’re dealing with the Fates here, and I’m trying to walk a very fine line between saving her soulmate and getting us all hunted by the Furies!”
“What?” Rydon gasped, lurching forward. “What about the Furies?”
“Never mind them. If this works, they won’t bother with him. Or us.”
“But they might? If he breaks the bond, the Furies will kill him?”
“I don’t think so,” Cassandra whined, her eyes darting between the two. “If he’s under the influence of a power beyond his control, like the amulet, they might not retaliate.”
“Fucking gods,” Rydon groused, stabbing his hands into his hair and turning away from the seer.
“So, none of this is anything you know with certainty,” Ren bit out, her face blotched as she glared at Cassandra. “You’re asking me to trust that this will work without any guarantee.”
“If you’ve a better idea, goddess, I am all ears!”
“Talk to Hermes, Ren,” Rydon cautioned, watching as the wheels spun inside that head of hers. “Don’t do anything rash. He knows way more about this stuff than we do.”
“But can we trust him?” Terena pondered, her eyes on the ground.
“I don’t know him,” Cassandra replied. “But I know the Olympians as a whole are not trustworthy. He’s not called the trickster god for nothing. If you confide in him, he might twist the situation to suit his needs.”
“But isn’t that why I found him?” Ren asked, throwing out her arms. “I have to believe the Fates led me to him for help! If I do this, won’t they punish us? I’m drowning, here, Cassandra!”
