Princeps Jones looked sheepish all of a sudden. “Yes, so first thing … Louis is at the Atlantis site, but he did leave me with a message to deliver, and if he wasn’t so damn powerful I’d be kicking his ass about now.”
Annoyed anger wiped away some of my pain, and I latched on to it, feeding into the emotion because it was helping me focus on anything other than Asher.
“What message?” I bit out.
I’d never seen Princeps Jones look flustered. He was seriously the one supe who remained cool under all situations. But I could have sworn he was thrown by whatever message he was supposed to deliver.
“Turns out…” he started, clearing his throat, “turns out that Louis’s necklace was not magical at all.”
I blinked at him.Say what the fuck now?
“Excuse me?” I spluttered out. “Of course it was. It kept my power under control.”
Princeps Jones shook his head. “That’s the thing, it didn’t. Louis just gave you a normal tourist pendant that he picked up from somewhere. He spelled it so that there was a bit of tingling energy inside when it rested against your skin, but there was not a single thing about that pendant that would have helped you control your energy.”
“Son of a bitch,” I muttered, trying to wrap my head around what he was saying. “Then how did I get that shit under control? Because one minute I was blowing up lightbulbs and the next I was living a relatively normal life.”
Minus a few stray incidents like that whole “bring the ocean to the Academy” thing.
“The placebo effect,” Axl whispered.
I swung to him. “The what?”
He shook his head, brow furrowed. “It’s not exactly correct, because that more refers to medical situations in the human world, but for the most part, the necklace worked because you believed it was working, and in doing so, you controlled your own power. Something you were capable of all along.”
Oh.I sort of understood what he was saying. “So by Louis telling me that the necklace was controlling my powers, my brain somehow figured it was safe to relax, and by doing so actually began controlling my powers, all the while believing the necklace was doing it?”
Calen rubbed his head and groaned. “That’s fucking confusing. Let’s just all be grateful Maddi didn’t blow anyone up, and that she’s a badass who learned to control her power without any need of outside training.”
I wasn’t sure about the badass or the control thing, because my energy definitely still had its moments, but it was a relief to know I didn’t have to rely on a pendant to keep my shit contained. To keep my friends safe.
Princeps Jones nodded. “Yes. Moving on from that … it’s time for you all to head out to the Atlantis site. I cleared it with your teachers—they’re going to send coursework for your classes so that you don’t fall behind. This is not a holiday. It’s a part of your schooling as well. Learning about Atlantis.”
Everyone nodded. “I’m going too,” Ilia said, crossing her arms like she dared someone to argue with her.
Looking all warrior goddess with her red tank and skinny black jeans tucked into boots, I would not have argued.
“Yes, Ilia is relieved of all other duties until we know what we’re dealing with,” Princeps Jones, her boss, said.
I met his gaze. “What about Larissa?” I hated our best friend staying here while we were all gone. I was protective of the family I had left. Who knew what other threats were out there, waiting for us? We had the best chance by sticking together.
The princeps let out a long sigh. “She has informed me that she will be going whether I like it or not. And apparently none of my worries, including the very real threat of gods destroying everyone near or around the island, will sway her from that conviction.”
That sounded like my girl.
“We leave first thing tomorrow morning,” he said quickly, expression tense. “I’ll meet you at the front entrance.”
As we all nodded, he gave us all one last sad smile and then he left, the chill of his energy fading completely. The six of us remained where we were, silent, each thinking about what we were facing. I was still half stuck on the realization that maybe it was my energy that they’d been aiming to use to kickstart Atlantis again. That the sacrifice spoken about last year was supposed to be me. Instead Asher had taken the fall for me. Again.
FUCK!
The silent scream reverberated around my body and brain, shaking me with its intensity.
“I need to be alone,” I said abruptly.
Before they could protest or say anything, I took off into the house and changed into clothes—avoiding Asher’s room because the memories in there would actually drop me to my knees. I didn’t really think about where I was wandering, and when I found myself outside the water world, I choked on more painful memories.
As much as I wanted the healing water, I couldn’t go in there yet. It was too soon.
