Olympia didn’t ask anyone for anything unless she absolutely had to. It was killing her to be here right now, to seek my permission to do anything she wanted, but she was here. There could only be one reason why.
I looked back at the Third Ringer and examined him in a new light. He was handsome, I supposed, in that tall, lanky, ruggedly goofy way some girls went wild for. His emotions were written all across his face and there was laughter in his eyes as he lookedtoward Olympia and offered her a big grin. He had an ease about him my cousin had never possessed, a level of comfort with the world around him I could see had drawn her in. My cousin never made friends easily and her relationships had always fallen to ruin the moment there was a question as to her allegiance. But here she was, asking me for the impossible, because shewantedit and, I could see, because she was afraid of it.
“When did this happen?” I asked because I needed to know, needed to understand, before I put everything even more at risk by tipping the balance in this city even further.
“Well…” Harrison started to answer but, at the look Olympia shot him, changed course. “There’s something between us we’re both interested in exploring but she said the only way to do so legally would be through…you.”
Olympia’s eyes were closed and it looked like it was taking everything in her not to bolt out of the room at that exact moment. But she stayed, and that told me everything I needed to know.
“Are you in love?” I asked.
The room fell utterly still and silent.
Harrison’s eyes trailed to my cousin who tensed and did not open her eyes.
“Olympia,” I spoke into the quiet after a moment.
“No,” she answered.
Harrison blinked but that was the only indication he gave that he’d heard her at all. I looked between them once more before standing.
“You have my permission to see each other in private,” I announced, enunciating the last portion of my decree. “I can trust you both to use your discretion when it comes to your…intimacy. Ensure there are no witnesses to such moments between you. If, at some point, you decide youarein love, I askthat you come to me and we’ll consider the proper way to move forward together.”
“We can’t tell anyone we’re seeing each other?” Harrison asked, brows knitting together. “We have to sneak around?”
“For now,” I replied before turning my attention back to my cousin. “You know what a relationship like this could do to this city right now. You understand how Cosmo could use this against us.”
She met my gaze with a hardened stare and a nod.
“If it were up to me, I’d give you my blessing and wish you both well, but I’ve made significant moves that could be seen as too progressive lately,” I continued. “I fear too much, too fast could tip the fragile balance of this city. Explore what’s between you. If it fizzles out, no one ever needs to know. If it grows into something more, we will share that with the rest of the city when it’s time, together.”
Olympia nodded along as I spoke, in complete agreement, but I noticed Harrison’s hesitation. The boy was an open book. He wasn’t used to being asked to keep such a major part of his life a secret. He would struggle with that, I knew he would, but this was part of life in the First Ring and, if he wished to be with a First Ringer, he would have to gain some insight into that at some point or other.
“Should I reassign you?” I asked my cousin, raising a brow.
She understood what I meant immediately.
“Our involvement has no bearing on my ability to do my job, Milo,” Olympia responded, gruff and bitter as always. “I’m perfectly capable of keeping Harrison safe.”
Beside her, Harrison smirked.
I just nodded and watched them take their leave, keeping a solid distance apart for appearances sake.
As soon as they were gone, I collapsed back into my chair, staring at the door to my office and running a hand over my face.That hadn’t been on my list of expected issues for the morning, I had to admit. I was still in shock that Olympia had come to me for this at all when I set my hand down on my desk having forgotten all about the amulet resting in that corner.
The moment my skin made contact with the glowing metal, I heard the voice.
Mortal, mortal, do as I say.
And let this god come out to play.
I gasped, ripping my hand away from the necklace.
Swaying slightly, I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head. That hadn’t happened. There was no way that had happened. I’d been too engrossed in the journals of a madman, too lost in thoughts regarding ancient deities speaking into the minds of men, too absorbed in researching potentially divine mysteries lately. That was all it was. My brain was making connections that weren’t there, seeking experiences to validate what I’d read, trying to find some understanding of what wasn’t there, what didn’t exist.
Daring to open my eyes once more, I stared down at the amulet with caution. The blue seemed to pulse a little brighter, a little faster, than it had before as I watched it. It was impossible. There was no way I’d heard what I thought I’d heard. A voice in my head that wasn’t Isla’s. A voice who claimed to be a god.
My eyes snapped to the latest excerpt from the Harlowe journal which Paxon had brought me just this morning, the one in which Eximius had first heard the voice claiming to be a god. My eyes scanned across the acolyte’s writing as fast as they could and found the sentence I’d known was there but had been dreading to see again all the same. It was right there in black and white, the ink staining the paper where the acolyte’s hand had been.
