Kylo spoke up at her words, my monsters’ presence drawing closer again as Alora’s anger seemed to diffuse slightly. “Did you have someone in mind?”
A small smile tugged at her lips with his question, shocking me given the situation and how upset she just was. “I do,” she answered, cocking her head slightly to the side as she answered him, though her smile slipped away as she did. A look of concern morphed her features as she sighed and continued, “But if Helen is an enemy, then it means you might have more in Divinus.”
Helen was definitely an enemy. After meeting Elias and him confirming their names, the same exact ones Helen had said, and her knowledge of them coming here to kill students before it happened…There was no room for doubt or speculation anymore.
My brows knit together. Why was she even mentioning Divinus when our plan was to go to Ordinarius?
Alora snagged a strand of her hair that had fallen, twirling it around her finger as her brow furrowed.
I took the moment to glance back at my monsters with a searching look, wondering if they had any idea where she was going with this, because frankly I was lost. I was met with blank looks and shrugs.
At least I wasn’t the only one in the dark.
“Alora,” I started, startling her slightly from her thoughts as she dropped her hand to her side and snapped her eyes to me. “Why would it matter if I have more enemies in Divinus?”
Her shoulders pulled back as she lifted her chin, voice ringing out confidently as she answered, “Because that’s exactly where you need to go. My aunt Zurie lives there with her mates. You can stay with them, and I know they’ll protect you while you train.”
My brain all but short circuited as my mouth dropped open.
One: How did her aunt live in Divinus if she was from Hell?
Two: What the fuck?
“Divinus? Why would we go there to train?” Kylo asked incredulously at the same time that Lucien barked out a laugh and stated, “Absolutely not.”
Elwin’s quietness had me craning my head to the right to glance at him. He seemed to be mulling over Alora’s words, staring intently at her with a furrowed brow.
I really wanted to know what was swirling around inside that brain of his right now.
“Is it because of Zeus and the origin of Pandora’s box?”
The pointed question had me sucking in a gasp, dots connecting and flying into place. How had I not come to this conclusion earlier?
In my countless hours of research, I found plenty of passages that contradicted one another, but the one fact they all had in common was that Zeus gave the box to Pandora, telling her it was a beautiful gift to her. The catch was that he told her that she could never open it. Eventually, as would happen with any of us, curiosity got the better of her and she did open it, releasing the curses into the world.
Helen is Zeus’ daughter.
My breath hitched as my heart rate increased. Elwin’s green eyes locked onto mine, the look of horror on his face surely reflected on mine.
That…that would mean she’s doing his bidding and that Zeus, the freaking God of the sky, was real. Not only real, but alive and apparently gunning for me if his daughter was here to keep an eye on me and torment me.
I blew out a heavy, shaky breath, drawing the gazes of my monsters to me.
That’swhere Alora wanted to send us?
She instantly turned sheepish as my aghast look turned her way. “That’s why I said you might have more enemies in Divinus,” she breathed out, eyes crinkling on the edges with her wince.
Crossing my arms across my chest, I raised a single eyebrow at her. “I’m waiting to hear how and why this is somehow a better plan than mine to go to Ordinarius. It seems there are gaping holes in both of our plans, bestie.”
My voice dripped with sarcasm, considering she’d given me such a hard time about my plan not being perfect.
“Can someone please fill me the fuck in?” Lucien whined, not shocking me in the least.
Elwin was my consistent reading partner when pouring over the books we’d found. Lucien wasn’t exactly the sit-in-one-spot-for-hours-to-research type of guy…more like the feast-on-my-pussy-while-I-read-a-romance-book-out-loud type of guy. I honestly couldn’t say which I loved more—I needed both. I was greedy like that.
Elwin sighed before grabbing Lucien and shoving him behind me again. Kylo followed. I knew he’d catch them up on what we’d gathered ourselves while Alora and I continued to talk.
Alora’s hands gently grabbed my own, letting them hang between us as she started her pitch. “I know this sounds risky—because it is—but it’s the best bet you have of defeating the curses. A true fucking chance.” Her hands tightened on my own. “What’s the point of running into a battle with them in Ordinarius if it means likely dying? Wouldn’t you at least want a fighting chance? Who’s going to take them down if you die, Alex? Tell me that!”
