Atsunami of bodies drowned my view, robbing Grayson from my line of sight. Erik’s aura cut into my waist as the force of it dragged me back towards him. My heels dug into the dirt and I reached out in a desperate attempt to escape. When that failed I swiped at Erik—my feet and hands connecting with parts if his body in a wild display, but his hold remained strong.
“Let’s get her home, Erik,” Sloan said.
“I’m coming with you,” Larkin added.
Elva appeared over his shoulder. “So are we.”
“Erik!” My voice was hoarse. “I swear. Let me go. I need to see him!”
Pain ripped through my throat as I continued to scream. Minor Gods craned their necks to take in the spectacle. I didn’t care. While they celebrated the victory of justice, they refused to acknowledge that they didn’t know the full story. Hunter fed them a lie, and they accepted it without question. Or maybe they didn’t care for the truth at all. Maybe they were nothing morethan bloodthirsty beings who were desperate to satiate their boredom.
“None of you know the truth! None of you understand! He didn’t?—”
A red mist descended in front of me like a veil and the ground disappeared beneath my feet as Erik transported us back to his home. The rest of my sentence, my accusations, were lost.
“Elva, can you please make sure the children don’t come down here?” Sloan muttered as we landed in their living room.
A wave of guilt crashed against the shores of my rage. There were so many people involved in this mess, including children who would wonder where their favourite uncle was.
“Erik!” I hissed, unable to see sense.
All the rage, all the chaos, needed an outlet. I desperately longed to find Hunter. He was the only target that would settle my soul.
Tendrils of red spread from my waist and snaked its way around my arms and legs, binding them against my body. I struggled against his aura in another futile escape attempt. The cuffs hung heavy on my wrists, reminding me that Hunter had made me powerless. Weak.
“Scott, you need to calm down.” Erik spoke to me like I was one of his children. Patience bordering on patronisation laced his words and stoked more flames in the pit of my stomach. How could he remain so calm in a situation like this?
“Don’t you dare!” I spat. “Don’t you dare make me out to be some hysterical woman. You heard what he said. He said he was going to sacrifice Gray. He’s going to kill him, Erik!”
The facade cracked as he choked out, “I know.”
I saw my opening, and I ran with it. Erik was my best chance. “We have to do something.”
“What do you want us to do, Scott?” Ignacio asked, stepping forward and looking infuriatingly unfazed.
The question grated on me because how was it not obvious to them? The next steps were clear. “We need to work against Hunter. We need to find a way.”
“You’re asking us to start a war, Quentin,” Erik whispered, brows pinching together.
A war would be worth it if that was what it took to get Grayson back.
I stared at the surrounding faces, Gods who knew Gray better than I did. Gods who had spent years by his side. And yet not a single one of them seemed willing to entertain the idea of tearing the heavens apart. Not to save Gray. Not to show others the truth.
“Gray would tell you the same thing.” Ignacio cut through my thoughts with his steady logic. “When Elysia is unstable, everything suffers. That includes Earth and mortals.”
“He’s meant to be your best friend,” I snapped.
“We have a duty, Scott! We can’t ignore the danger it would put mortals in.”
I let out a frustrated scream, but it was cut short when Erik’s aura wrapped around my mouth, effectively silencing me.
“Let her go, Erik,” Larkin ordered, tone akin to ice.
His pale skin flushed pink, and he uncoiled his aura not only from my mouth but all my limbs, setting me down on the ground. The relief I assumed would fill me, the adrenaline that would carry me out the door, failed to appear. Larkin was beside me as I collapsed against her and finally let the tears fall. She wrapped me in her arms as I heaved sobs at the reality I faced.
Hunter had planned this with precision and, alone, I would be no match for him. The lack of support rang loudly around me. Duty came before friendships. Selfishness coursed through their veins as brazenly as divinity.
Larkin stroked my hair as she spoke to the others. “I think you should all leave.”
