Malachi steps forward to take them.
Poseidon’s gaze falls to the sword, and he licks his lips. “May I touch it?”
I bristle.Oh no, you may not touch his anything.
Malachi freezes before withdrawing Excalibur.
Poseidon’s fingers glide over the blade, and he sighs. “My greatest object.”
Oh, fine, so long as it’s just the metal he covets.
“One diurnal, we shall be reunited,” he whispers.
Then, with a nod in my direction, he releases the vials to Malachi. “Do not fail me, Stone Sister. I am a fair Idol but a temperamental one.”
I curtsey again before Frank ushers us back to the portal. Everything went swimmingly. Pun intended.
I glance over my shoulder before I step through the shimmering oval. There’s a heavy feeling in my chest that I can’t shake. We’ve come too far to fail now. Going back to how it was is no longer an option.
Good thing I have no intention of failing.
Chapter Thirty Four
Daphne
“There was no problem?” Gwyneth asks as she studies the three vials of Poseidon’s blood.
“You say that like you don’t believe me,” I grumble. “I am capable of no-drama quests.”
She stares at me and blinks. “I’m your sister. I was there when you served up a toasted slipper instead of roasted meat.”
“The three little pigs were in attendance. It seemed a little insensitive to serve a hog roast. What if that hog was their long-lost Great-Aunt Eloise?”
“And the time you cleaned the town hall.”
“I warned them not to put me on rotation, and the glitter brightened up the place. I heard no complaints.”
“You were meant to dust the chairs. Instead, every person who sat down received a special delivery glitter explosion. You didn’t hear anything, because you were already safely back in our hut.”
“You lived in a hut?” Hart asks.
I roll my eyes. “We weren’t all born with silver spoons in our mouths.”
“Not the privilege you believe it to be,” he snaps.
Shame washes over me. I might not have lived in wealth, but I wasn’t subject to the cruel upbringing their father submitted them to.
“Sorry,” I whisper. “I didn’t think.”
Hart’s hard exterior softens, and he sighs as he runs a hand through his hair. “No, I’m sorry. We each have our burdens.”
Theo’s hand brushes over my shoulder in comfort. I smile at him over my shoulder as he continues to our shared chamber.
Hart drops down beside me on the sofa. Once again, a twin sandwich. This is starting to be an issue.
“So we have Genie, Eron, and now Poseidon’s blood. Just one more to go,” Gwyneth says with a twist of her lips.
“Did you explain the different generations of Idols yet?” Malachi asks. He had disappeared for a shower as soon as we got back, stating salt water and his hair didn’t mix well.
