Nick landed beside her, breathless but grinning.“Oops.”
Sarah shook her head, relief washing through her as Protogenus retreated from the area.
***
ARI CARDONNE
The chaos in Seattle unfolded like a nightmare.
People screamed at invisible attackers.Blood appeared on the pavement with no visible assailant.Glass shattered spontaneously.
The Dioscuri was invisible.
Unfortunately for him, so were she and Xavier.
Ari ghosted through the crowd, seeing Xavier’s faint heat signature flicker beside her even when no one else could.Their bond allowed one simple, unbeatable advantage: they could see each other when invisible.
Rain slicked the streets of Seattle with a sheen that reflected every neon sign and shattered storefront lamp, turning the city into a fractured prism of light.A scream echoed from between two buildings.It was a sharp, splintering sound that chilled her despite the humid air.The Dioscuri variant was striking at random, unseen by the crowd stumbling through the storm.People tripped over discarded umbrellas and broken glass, never seeing the blow until it landed.
“There,” Ari whispered, reappearing long enough to point.
The Dioscuri variant moved quickly, almost flickering with each shift in position.His invisibility wasn’t clean; it wavered like heat on asphalt, revealing a silhouette just long enough for Ari to track him.
She leaped.
Her hands struck solid flesh, and the sudden collision knocked both of them to the ground.The variant’s invisibility fizzled as he hit the pavement, revealing a man with wild eyes.He snarled and lashed out, but Ari was already moving.She dodged the blow, spun behind him, and locked her arm around his throat.
“Stay still,” she hissed.
The variant didn’t listen.Sweat and rain drip-traced down his face as he bucked hard enough to slam her into a dumpster, but Ari gritted her teeth and held on.Her muscles screamed.Her shoulder burned.But she kept him pinned long enough for Xavier to flash into visibility and deliver a strike to the variant’s ribs—hard, but not lethal.
A vehicle screeched to a stop at the alley mouth.
“Backup,” the variant chuckled weakly.
“Not a chance,” Xavier said and vanished.
Seconds later, the van exploded from the grenade Xavier planted before sprinting free.
The Dioscuri variant convulsed suddenly beneath her grip.
“No,” Ari tightened her hold, trying to keep him conscious.“Don’t you dare.”
Foam bubbled at his lips.And he went still.She closed her eyes for one brief beat as rain washed over both of them.Xavier’s hand landed gently on her back.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said.
And they did.
***
PISC
Underwater, the world was a darkly muted dream.It was cold and full of blood.He stood at the edge of the collapsed seawall, tasting the current with the back of his tongue.Beneath the brine, beneath the churned sand and gasoline oil slicks, a deep, thrumming vibration vibrated through his gills.Protogenus had released a sea monster.
Ichth surfaced beside him, water streaming from the ridges of his dorsal crest.His black eyes narrowed as another tremor rippled through the waves, closer now.The lights along Miami Beach flickered with each impact.
“Do you smell it?”Ichth rasped.
