At the mention of his old name, Seth hesitated. Meeting the young man’s eyes, he smiled. “Last time they rose up, they nearly succeeded. This time, we will.”
Grinning, the young man bowed before following Cerys.
“Wait,” I said, grabbing his arm. “I saw you in the markets. There was a man with you.”
Nehri tilted his head. “When I knifed the tax collector? What about him?”
My heart flipped. “What was his name?”
The boy breathed out. “We use code names. I doubt it’ll mean anything to you.”
“Tell me anyway.”
“Alright. It was Styx.”
The moment the name left his lips, the boy saw my disappointment.
“If I see him again,” he offered, “I’ll ask about you.”
Releasing his arm, I stepped back. “Thank you.”
Cerys peered at me curiously but said nothing. Bowing his head, Nehri followed her through the portal, and it closed behind them.
Shoving off the table, Seraphim cracked her wrists. “I should head out.” She made for the door.
The innkeeper called to her. “Be careful of your comings and goings. I hope this blunder of yours pays off.” She glanced at Seth, but I saw something spark beneath her disappointment.
Hope.
A smile tugged atEleos’ lips. He saw it, too.
Phaedrus eyed the innkeeper as she headed upstairs before approaching us. “Still working on that cure?” He asked.
“Yes.” Eleos twirled his quill.
“Any luck?”
He sighed. “These people don’t take ill the way we do. Only those afflicted from birth suffer from the disease. And they know of no cure.”
Phaedrus tilted his head, studying Eleos. “You don’t pick easy goals, do you? Healing the empty, curing the incurable.”
Eleos exhaled. “No, I suppose not.”
“It’s admirable, but . . .” Phaedrus folded his arms. “Foolish. The greater the height, the more pain you’ll suffer from the inevitable fall.”
“Unlikeyou,” Eleos retorted sharply, “Ihave not given up.”
Percy walked over, knitting his hands together. “It’s alright, El. I never expected you to find anything. Don’t kick yourself over it.”
“Why?” Eleos fidgeted with his book, pulling the covers apart. “Why is everyone being so defeatist? Or did we all embark on this mission expecting to fail?”
“Of course we expected to fail.” Percy blinked, surprised.
Taken aback, Eleos turned to me. I moved to reassure him, but he wasn’t seeking my spoken word.
He looked inside my head.
My reassurances would have been a lie. From the beginning, I’d thought this a pointless mission that would inevitably fail. Only recently had I begun to hope we might succeed. And even then, it was a faint hope.
