Louis crossed his arms. “A few things that I was going to suggest have already been completed. Maddison has opened a proper connection with the other Atlanteans. The five of them have a new, strengthened power, and much more control. I can see it between them. We also have Axl now, and he may just be what we need to tip this battle in our favor.” He turned to him. “What would you say to being stationed on the front line?”
Axl was nodding before he’d even finished. “Yes. I figure it’s a good opportunity to learn from the strongest in how to control my power.”
Louis looked excited by the prospect of playing with Axl’s new power.
“Fantastic! I have some ideas of how to utilize the new god in our corner. It could be our one advantage.”
Axl looked pleased by this. I was excited to see him embracing the changes with the same enthusiasm he embraced every experiment in his life.
Louis turned back to me. “I’m excited to see that you and Asher have completed your true mate bond.”
Fuck yeah we have,Asher murmured in my head, and I swallowed hard, because I had an actual visceral reaction to him talking to me like this. A reaction that was not appropriate in a room full of supes.
I focused again when Louis continued: “But, Maddi, you need to do the same with your brother. Not exactly the same, of course…” I shuddered at the mere thought. “But the three of you are unique beings, and part of the message from Josephina, the dragon queen, had to do with the three of you and a combination of your powers. It’s very important. We won’t know how important until they get back with the entire message.”
Mab had said the same thing, and I was not stupid enough to keep ignoring that advice. “Okay, I’m going to work on that straight away … as soon as I sober that moron up.”
Connor let out a particularly loud snore to help prove my observation.
Looked like I was going to have my work cut out for me.
“Is there an updated timeframe on the gods releasing?” Asher asked. “Could our power be used to strengthen the prison?”
Princeps Jones spoke up again. “It could be any day,” he said. It hurt my heart to see him looking so defeated. Even his voice held little inflection. “The supes there now, monitoring it, have mentioned that the energy-cage is cracking.”
“At least Sonaris’s death didn’t explode them out,” I added, because it had been a very real worry when he’d first died. After all, it was his magic that locked them in there in the first place.
“As long as Sonaris’s power exists in the world,” Louis said, “his spells will remain active.”
“Could my favor still stand?” I wondered. “Owed to Axl now?”
Louis nodded. “Most likely. Did you agree to anything?”
“I agreed to spend time getting to know him. A month on his island.”
Louis rubbed at his forehead, almost subconsciously, like he was thinking it through. “I can’t tell you for sure, but I suspect you’ll end up at that island again one day to fulfil that request.”
Axl met my gaze and he smiled. “Vacay on the island,” he joked.
A chuckle escaped before I could stop it. “Deal. Once we handle the gods.”
His smile didn’t fade, and I was so relieved that more and more of Axl’s personality bled back into him every day. His eyes had not returned to his beautiful color, but I was growing used to the startling green-blue they were now.
Louis clapped his hands, shaking off some of his fatigue. “Great! Now that’s settled, I have a mate to check in on, and a new god to train. I’ll talk to you all soon. Inform Princeps Jones if there are any new developments, otherwise I’ll be back when Jessa returns.”
We waved him off, and I wasn’t sure why, but Louis’s return had made me feel worse, not better.
Maybe because this was it, the final countdown, and I wasn’t sure we were going to win this time.
Chapter 16
Atrue mate bond between regular supes consisted of an ability to sense the other, feel their emotions, and know if they were in danger or hurt. A true mate bond between dragon shifting supernaturals had the added bonus of mental talk—communicating in each other’s heads.
And a true mate bond between Atlantean-supernatural-gods … we had no fucking idea what that entailed, but it sure as shit was taking Asher and me through a bunch of new experiences, one being the mind-blowingly intense sex, where we shared more than just our bodies, but also our energy.
I was growing addicted, and now used any excuse to get Asher into bed. Or the pool. Or on any usable surface, really. I mean, it was my one chance to escape the mental load of daily worrying. Asher, and his magic as fuck hands might be the only thing keeping me sane.
In the week since Louis and Princeps Jones had returned, Axl had left for Atlantis, and the rest of the defenders were stationed on the island. According to their last report, the cage was eighty percent compromised, and we were talking days until the gods released.
