Only … there was this slight twinge in the depths. A moment of memory between us.
He turned back to the blond on his right; she was running her fingertips across his biceps, and my vision was tinting red.I’m going to fucking kill them all.
I knew deep down Asher was doing this to hurt me, and I had no fucking idea why.
Storming closer, I was too angry to take the high road here. I’d been mourning him. I’d felt more pain than I thought was possible.How could he?
When I stopped beside the table, he didn’t bother to look up. With my gaze locked on the side of his face, I let my power spiral from me in one long stream of fury. The women were blasted away, back into the commons somewhere, and all eyes were on us. As the Clover’s screams faded away, I leaned down very close to Asher, who finally turned to acknowledge me.
The smug smile on his face had my hands clenching at my sides. “I don’t know who the fuck you think you are,” I hissed, moving even closer, our eyes locked, “but be very careful about how far you push me. You once belonged to me, Asher Locke, and even though I wouldn’t touch you with a ten foot pole right now, that doesn’t mean anyone else gets to touch you either.”
If he thought I’d just roll over and take this bullshit, he was sadly mistaken.
That unreadable expression was back on his face, along with the spark in his eyes that surged through me, sending tingles across my body. He still affected me.Fuck.
Swinging away, I broke eye contact, my breathing harsher than I wished it was. I sat at a nearby table, because I would not let him chase me away. This was a new game and I was determined to win.
“You’re taking this rather well,” Connor carelessly remarked as he took a seat. He’d been nearby during that little show.
Something exploded on the table behind him, showering us both in what smelled a lot like lemonade. Connor’s eyes went wide. “Or … maybe not.”
Not. Definitely not.
27
The moment my door smashed open, my eyes were open and I was up on the bed, half levitating as power swirled around me. Ilia and Larissa both ground to a halt, their eyes wide as they held their hands up to show they were unarmed.
“Mads,” Ilia cried, moving again.
I let the energy go as I sank to the bed and waited for her to slam into me. My arms went around her as I held my sobbing best friend. Larissa was two steps behind, also crying, and I managed to wrap them both up.
“You were gone,” Larissa gasped, her icy energy stronger than ever as she clung to me. “The guys said you exploded in a ball of light … just like Asher.”
Ilia wasn’t saying anything. She’d uttered my name and then … silence. Even her sobs had faded, her head buried in my neck, not moving. I started telling them everything that had happened. From the moment the gods stole us down to the gates of Atlantis, waking with Connor, and my new god powers and body. The entire time I talked, they remained on the bed with me, and neither of them said a single word.
“I’m so sorry,” I finally finished. “I tried to send a message to you all last night, but no one seemed to have their phones on them.”
Ilia sighed. “When you two disappeared, there was the explosion. All technology was destroyed, including phones, radios, and navigation systems. Right after that, Atlantis started to rise again.”
“Holy shit,” I gasped. “How did you know I was back here, then?”
“Louis,” she said simply. “He told us that we needed to get back to the school. He’s waiting to talk to you in Princep Jones’s office.”
I nodded, sucking in some deep breaths. “Yep, okay. I’ll get dressed.”
My feet hit the ground and I pulled my half naked self up and across to my wardrobe.
“Mads,” Ilia said, stopping me. “What aren’t you telling us?” she whispered. “There’s something more.”
I laughed, sounding defeated. “More than finding out my parents are gods and that I was born ten thousand years ago and somehow caused the end of an entire civilization? More than dying yesterday only to be reborn as some fucking demigod with a psychopath as a brother?”
My words ran out, as did my breath, and I had to wrap my arms around myself to keep it together. Ilia didn’t give me an inch though. “Yes. Because I know all of that is fucked-up, but you’re pretty resilient, and the fact that you’re a kickass demigod now is only good news. So what else is there?”
My throat wasn’t working, but I somehow swallowed, sucked in some air, and managed to tell them. “Asher is alive. The same way my body was reborn, so was his.”
The silence was long, extended, and filled with about a million questions I didn’t have answers to. “Why didn’t you tell us before?” Ilia reached out and grabbed my arms to shake me. “What the fuck, Maddison?”
I shook her off and her face fell. “He’s back but he’s not the same,” I said quickly. “You’ll see soon.”
