“Whatever happened to formal invitations? Sending a messenger?” She scowled at Aidan. “Poor form, young man, poor form.”
Aidan stared over the slightly hunched woman’s head out the window, his nostrils flaring briefly as he attempted but failed to look remorseful. “Loretta, this was an unplanned event, as I am sure you are well-aware. Had it been planned, you would have received an invitation.”
She folded her arms and made a sharp noise. “You should have had us here months ago. I watch and I watch. I wait and I wait. And still you all sit on your immortal asses doing nothing. Andyouknow the odds. I know what you’ve been fretting and spiraling over in those ledgers of yours.”
Looking past Aidan, she glared at every single god in attendance for good measure. “Are we going to allow amortal kingto destroy the stability we have created? You do know he aims for our wellspring. Plans to cut off the very source of our imbuement, so that mortals will be born without their divine spark. We have jobs for a reason! If we can’t do them, then the fates will end us and begin again as they have done before. Is that what you want? To be wiped from existence?” Reaching into her pocket, Loretta unwrapped a small hard candy and popped it into her mouth, sucking on it noisily while shooting everyone looks that made them duck their gazes, abashed and properly chastised.
Elysia vaguely remembered Aidan explaining how mortals received a drop of diluted magic, but she had no idea how the wellspring worked, or how someone like Garrison could impact it. Sickening dread filled her stomach as she watched the gods stay silent. They looked ill. Like they hadn’t truly believed things could be that bad, but now that Loretta had spoken, they did.
“Oh, stop sulking,” Loretta groused. “Show us your wall, Aidan.”
Aidan rubbed his ink-stained fingers together, his face hardened in worry, but then he nodded. “Very well. As you can see, the grid gives us the possibility of watching the mortals who we have theorized as being key to the unfolding events. Interestingly, most of them fall into different houses, which led us to consider the possibility of gods championing mortals and giving points for behaviors that improve our overall odds of defeating Garrison. However, open betting could work as well where we place bets in live time on what we believe will occur. This would be messier, but possibly allow us to capitalize on the dramatics in a more effective manner, playing off our family’stendency to wish to outdo one another. We’ve been increasing our reaper team to handle the uptick in work as they are the ones following the mortals. Of course, we are open to suggestions at this point, as you all know the siblings much better than me.”
Oren puffed out his chest. “My boy will trample you all. The fates already told the new lady of the dead that he’s to go after Garrison. Basically, isn’t even a contest at this rate.”
Ramona adjusted her thick glasses dryly. “Your boy would be dead without mine.” She paused. “That or mine might get him killed. And did you ever consider that he might die trying to kill his father? Aidan, what are the odds on Topp Blatz dying?”
Aidan cringed and muttered something Elysia couldn’t hear that made Oren’s face turn red. “How does she even know about my boy? Did she get to see the grid before us?”
Ramona stared at Oren like he was a bug. “Some of us actually do our jobs instead of getting drunk and making storms in the woods. Rollickus has been petitioning me for months. He wastes his brilliance on your axe-wielding forest brat.” She leaned in closer, looking impressively menacing given her stature compared to Oren’s. “And with odds like his, maybe your boy should stick to playing with the little animals and leave the real work to those of us with brains.”
Elysia looked at the back of Aidan’s head like she could burn holes through it.Topp had bad odds?Why hadn’t he told her that? That was information she should have. Gods, she wouldn’t have even told Topp about what the fates said if she had known that. She knew Aidan was trackingthe oddsin his ledgers, but she hadn’t realized he meanttheirodds, as in who was going to live or die and the fate of the world. Her gaze narrowed on the anxious, number-spinning god. As soon as she could scrub her memory of being called sexually ravenous and force herself to look him in the eye again, they were going to have a chat.
Grim coughed loudly, breaking up the squabble. “Does anyone else have any questions or suggestions?”
Aidan sat sprawledin one of the living room armchairs with the fire blazing. Face resting in his hand, his hair fell into his eyes as he stared tiredly into the flames. Elysia was curled up on the rug, wrapped in a blanket and clutching a cup of tea. Still peeved, she glanced at him. The man was drained, but she needed answers, and she wanted themnow.
“Are you happy with the plan?”
Aidan nodded, eyes still stuck to the fire, his fingers now sinking into the skin above his jawline. “Loretta’s help will be invaluable—she’s an oracle, if you didn’t realize. With her assistance, I can narrow down the most likely paths to success in a fraction of the time it would have taken me alone.” He inhaled tiredly, shifting so he could look at her. “Once we have the most likely scenarios along with the odds, we can do a big reveal withallthe gods, and the meddling will commence.”
Elysia tucked her legs underneath her, allowing the blanket to pool around her lap. “What could possibly go wrong?" she murmured.
The corner of Aidan’s mouth pulled up. “Only everything.”
“What are Topp’s odds?” The blunt, blurted question turned her stomach upside down. Aidan’s breath deepened, his chest moving like there was a weight on it while his blue eyes cast over her and then pulled away.
Sitting up, he unbuttoned his jacket and leaned forward, clasping his hands together. “I’ll have a better idea once Loretta and I get to work.”
Her tongue pressed against the roof of her mouth as she stared at him. That was a shit answer, and he knew it. Her dark eyes bore into him. She could sit here all night if he wanted, but hewasgoing to give her a real answer.
Sensing her mulishness, Aidan’s hand dropped heavy on his thigh, his mouth pinched. “The most likely outcome right now is that he dies trying to kill his father.Butdefeating Garrison is stillon the table, which tells me that either something needs to change, or even if Topp dies, it contributes to Garrison falling.”
Elysia’s eyes welled, and her nostrils flared as she swallowed. “You should have told me. I wouldn’t have told him what the fates said. It was cruel to let me do that.” She turned her face away from him, staring at the fire.
Aidan’s voice became sharp. “The fates wanted you to tell him. I stood against the fates once, and I won’t directly do so again. We have to be careful.”
Anger overrode her guilt and fear. “You’regods. What could have possibly happened that you’re all so afraid of the fates?”
Her condescension wasn’t missed by Aidan, but he simply looked at his long, ink-stained fingers before coming to some internal decision.
“Ask me again another time.” His voice was quiet but firm, and his blue eyes burned.
Her brows turned down. It wasn’t his friend’s life on the line. “I’m asking younow.”
Aidan stood, brushing his hair back into place and tugging on the sleeves of his jacket. “No. I’ve respected your need for space. I’ve supported you the best I can given what you’ll allow. And now I’m asking you to let this be. It’s my story to tell, and tonight isn’t the time, but Iwilltell you.”
Elysia drew back as if he had slapped her. She stumbled awkwardly over her words. “Okay. I didn’t realize—okay.”
