I nodded, unable to find my voice to speak the words.
Ryder’s face relaxed with potent relief. My dried, cracked lips spread into a wider smile. I licked them, tasting the salt of the ocean and the remnants of metallic blood. My tongue tasted the reminders that he was truly dead, the battle was finally over.
He didn’t say another word. He leaned over me and pressed his lips to mine, taking my mouth in a hungry, desperate kiss. I felt his need to my toes and then again as it surged back to my heart.
He kissed me in a way he never had before. Or maybe it was just different for me.
This was my first kiss in freedom. This was my first kiss without the paranoia of looking over my shoulder or the hushed conversations of how we would run away. This was the first kiss of an unapologetic relationship. This was the first kiss in which I gave everything that was me and didn’t feel like I was poisoning Ryder with my lips or killing him with my touch.
This was the first kiss of Ryder and Ivy forever.
And I loved the taste of it.
His fingers trailed over my stomach and landed on my hip. He cupped the bone with his rough hand and squeezed.
I loved the feel of him. I loved his familiarity with my body.
I loved him.
When he pulled back there was a smile on his face and light in his eyes. “You nearly killed me.”
I didn’t tell him how close I’d come to killing myself. “I had to do it.”
He nodded, the humor draining from his face. “I know. But no more. Please. For my sanity… for my heart.” He took my hands and pressed them to his chest where I felt the steady thump-thump beneath corded muscle.
“There are no more demons to fight. We’ve slayed them all.”
We stared at each other until someone cleared their throat behind Ryder. I found Hermes standing not far away. I realized we were still on the beach. Ryder had carried me away from the water, but not far. Hermes looked incredibly uncomfortable as we lay side by side, drinking in our special moment.
“Sorry to interrupt,” he said dryly. “But we’ll need to go back to Olympus and… fill them in.”
“No.” Ryder jumped to his feet and pulled me up with him. “There’s no way in hell. We’renotgoing back there.”
Hermes looked to me with beseeching eyes. I doubted he wanted to go back to the mountain any more than we did, but he was right. We needed to explain what happened or this would never go away. Olympus would bother me until the day I died.
“We’ll go with you,” I told the Messenger. “This one last time.”
“Ivy,” Ryder growled.
I slid my hand over his roughened jaw and coaxed him to look at me. “It’s okay, Ryder. This time we’re calling the shots. They can’t touch us.”
His forehead wrinkled with worry. “You’re sure?”
“Yes,” I answered confidently. “I promise we’ll be okay.”
He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, but he nodded his consent. “One last time. If we have to.”
Hermes’s shoulders slumped with exhaustion. He didn’t bother saying another word, but I heard his unspoken irritation. He had lost three brothers in the last few days. They were evil men, but to Hermes, they were family.
I couldn’t say what waited for us back on Olympus. We could be walking to our death. But for some reason I doubted it. I trusted Smith enough to go back and face the consequences of my actions.
Plus, I needed to say goodbye to Honor. I couldn’t leave her again without at least offering her a sanctuary should she ever need one and giving her the tightest hug known to mankind.
Hermes stepped between us and put a hand on each of our shoulders. Before I could take a breath we were back on the mountain. We were standing in the same frigid spot he’d first brought us to. The same ice cold wind assaulted our bare skin and after the warmth of the beach, the difference in temperature was shocking.
We stepped through the gates and hurried up the hill again. It wasn’t at all quiet this time. It was loud and restless and I had to strain to hear myself think. Signs of the battle littered the streets and razed buildings. The carnage was overwhelming even after being a part of it.
We walked in complete silence all the way up the hill. When we reached the plaza in front of the temple, we saw the true slaughter of the bloody battle.
