How did the gods know? Was this fate trying to stop Asher and me again?
Oh, screw that. Screw it hard.
Connor pushed back his hair, hair that was longer and more unruly than when I first met him. There was actually a decent wave in it, and in normal circumstances—if I didn’t hate him—I’d feel happy that he seemed to have relaxed and lost some of his psycho behavior. But there would never be a normal circumstance with my “brother” and me.
“The gods must be back,” he said softly. “Whatever happened at the council gathering … we’re about to find out. Our parents will be coming for us.”
“They are not our fucking parents,” I all but screamed. “Stop saying that.”
Connor just shook his head like he felt sorry for me, and my entire body shook as I fought against beating his ass down. I was a good fighter now and I’d be thrilled to take my shot with this cocky asshole.
“Ignoring reality does not make it disappear,” he said, looking sad and far too wise. “All that happens is that you’re woefully underprepared for the reality when it hits.” He touched my arm and I was too stunned to shake him off. “It always hits, Maddi. That’s the truth.”
He was right. I’d spent most of this year working hard. In classes. During fight training. Learning how to heal with herbs. Learning dozens of more words in the fey language. I’d spent a lot of time in the library with Mab and the Atlantean books. But I’d been running and hiding as well. I’d deliberately not sought answers about the gods who might be my parents. I’d pretended they weren’t a real threat, hoping that maybe … just maybe … if I ignored them hard enough, they’d disappear and never bother us again.
“It’s—” My voice broke. “It’s just been so long. I didn’t think they’d actually return.”
Connor’s fear was hidden now behind his normal bravado. “It’s been less than a year. For a god, that’s like five minutes.”
Panicked, I grabbed his arm. “We have to figure out how to contain them,” I whispered. “They can’t be allowed to go free. Please tell me there’s a way?”
He stared down at me, sympathy blooming, and I realized that somehow in the past year, Connor and I had learned to like each other. Just a little. For a second, I pictured a world where I had grown up with a brother and family. With people who cared about me.
It was a nice world, but it would never bemine.
“Connor,” I snapped. “You might have wanted Atlantis to rise, but surely you understand how fucked up everything is going to get if the gods start interfering in the supe world?”
He shrugged, but he didn’t look as confident as usual. “They’ve always been here, Maddison. It’s just that usually, they’re not interested in what supes or humans are up to. There’s something about Atlantis that has always intrigued them though.”
That struck a chord with me, and I had the strangest sense that whatever was hidden in Atlantis might be something that could change the world. Permanently.
“If you care about me at all, Connor … if you consider me to be your sister, your family, then you will help me fight the gods. If you don’t…”
He sucked in a deep breath. “We’ll all die?”
I nodded.
“Fine,” Connor said with a sigh. “I will help you contain them. Only contain.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said waving at him. “I know, you bloody love your gods.”
He shook his head. “No, it’s not that. There’s no known way to kill a full-powered god.”
Not good news to hear when we were about to take them on in battle. “But we can contain them?”
Connor screwed up his face before shrugging. “I think so. Not indefinitely, but for a short time. Enough time to see what Atlantis is hiding.”
Right. Then we could reassess.
“Alright, that’s a plan I can get behind. Where do we start?”
Connor paused. “Look, I don’t want to get your hopes up. I believe there is a book in the Atlantean library that will give us an idea of how to lock the gods down. But I don’t know for sure. I need access to the library.”
I snorted. “Yeah, sure, dude.” He blinked, and I laughed harder. “Never gonna happen. I don’t trust you. How about you tell me what information or book you need and I’ll get it.”
“I already know where it is, Maddison,” he said softly.
Fuck.
