Him and five other Atlanteans. I was amassing a veritable army of energy signals inside my own power, and I liked being able to tap into all of them to know they were safe and not in pain. Only with Asher could I go deeper.
Just as it should be.
Asher would always be part of my soul, but the others … they were part of my heart, and my family.
Chapter 18
“You ready for sports bonding Wednesday?” Larissa asked, head back as she enjoyed some unexpected sun at breakfast.
I grimaced, spooning more yogurt into my mouth. “I wish. Louis wants us on the island today. He has no idea how the gods aren’t out yet, but our time is up.” I wasn’t even wearing my uniform, since I knew his final call and step-through would be arriving any time. Instead I wore ass-kicking boots, jeans, and a long-sleeved Henley. This was my battle armor.
“Louis will send a step-through soon, so we don’t create any sort of power imbalance by showing up any other way,” I told her, scraping the last of the yogurt from the tub.
Larissa’s face was wreathed in worry, but before she could voice any of them, Ilia dropped into the seat beside me.
We were both distracted by how disheveled she looked. “You’re not going to Atlantis without me,” she said, voice raspy. “If the gods are killing us all, I’m going down with you, bestie.”
I didn’t comment on that, because there was no way in hell she was on the front line. This was a war with the gods, and as badass as she was, Ilia was still just a regular supernatural. And I loved her too much to risk her life, even if I would have preferred she was at my side. It was bad enough that the Atlantean-five would all be there. Ilia and Larissa was not happening.
Deciding a distraction was the way to go, I leaned back so I could take her in. “Girl, what did you and Calen get up to last night?”
Her shirt was on backwards. Her hair was completely sticking up on one side of her head, red curls looking more like a tumbleweed.
“I mean … did you look in the mirror at all?” Larissa asked, sad humor tingeing each word. She’d argued to come with us as well, but unlike the headstrong Ilia, had finally conceded that she would not be much help, and would probably end up a liability in this fight.
Ilia grinned, never embarrassed by anything. I had a sense that we could walk in on Calen and her screwing, and she’d just grin and ride her man like the confident bitch she was.
“We kind of … fell off a cliff,” she said, reaching out to snag some of the toast sitting on the table. It was just plain old buttered toast, but she inhaled it like it was the best thing she’d ever eaten.
I pushed a glass of water toward her—she looked like she needed it. “Uh, how did you fall off a cliff?” I asked, enjoying this moment of normalcy. It might be one of the last—
I cut that thought off quick fast.
Ilia shrugged. “Apparently when you have sex in a car, you should be careful not to hit the gear stick with your ass. It would be a good idea to have the handbrake engaged as well. You know, for extra safety.”
My lips twitched. “Your car went over a cliff?”
She nodded. “Yeah, it happens. Took us a few hours to climb out, because I kind of knocked Calen out when I punched him, and then I had to half carry him up the cliff.”
I caught Larissa’s eyes. “We should stop asking questions now,” I said dryly.
She snorted. “Probably for the best.”
Ilia glared at us both, before going back to her toast. “You bitches should have more sympathy. We were naked when we climbed out, because our clothes went AWOL and I had to steal these from a house nearby.”
“You know the shirt is on backwards, right?” I said with a burst of laughter, before I cut it off.
She looked down; eyes wide. “Well, fuck. I’m a hot mess.”
I shook my head. “Girl, you’re a total hot mess. But that’s okay. We’ve got your back.”
Larissa and I pushed the rest of our food away and all but hauled her up, dragging her back to her room. I got her into the shower, and Larissa dug out some clothes that were more the style of our usually very put-together, glamorous friend.
“Calen will probably be the death of her,” Larissa said, laying the clothes out on the bed.
I leaned back on the wall, waiting for Ilia to finish showering. “Probably, but I don’t think she’ll complain. I’ve never seen her this happy.”
I’d never seen either of them this happy. Fuck. We couldn’t lose this life. I wasn’t ready. I’d only just freaking found my place in the world.
