This isHayes.
The boy who once glued my fingers together in art class and stayed on the phone with me all night playing Truth or Dare when we both had chicken pox in fifth grade. The one who held my hand through heartbreaks, karate competitions, and scary movie marathons.
Yeah, okay, so he’s always been a little… secretive.
No extended family. Vanishing every summer. But I always chalked that up to rich-people weirdness. Eccentricity.
And sure, there were weird moments I didn’t want to think too hard about. The accident in thetreehouse. The fight with Dylan. And okay, yes, I am currently sitting in a bed in a palace in another world.
There are things, obviously, I can’t explain. Butthis? Full-blown Greek god royalty? If this is true—if this is real—then Hayes has been lying to me our whole lives. Everything I thought I knew about him was all a cover. A double life.
My hands grab a pillow, clutching it tight as the betrayal slices clean through me.
“I wanted to tell you so many times,” Hayes says, regret etched into every line of his face. “But I wasn’t allowed. There are rules. My father and his brothers made a pact. They agreed to hide their true identities from the human world. To avoid panic. Chaos.”
“It was necessary to keep Hayes safe,” Amber adds in a smug, know-it-all way. “Their family has a lot of enemies.”
That flicker of jealousy returns, sharp and unwelcome. I hate how calm she sounds. Despite whatever rules Hayes had to follow, he clearly broke them for her first. She’s not just finding out today, like I am.
“How long has she known?” The words scrape at my throat like sandpaper as I glare at him. “How long have you both been lying to me?”
“It’s not like that,” he says. “You have to understand, after my dad died, everything changed. Everything… sped up. I needed her help.”
“But not mine?” The hurt spills out before I can stop it.
“Al, please?—”
“So what, you just pretend to behuman when it’s convenient?” I cut him off, struggling to keep my voice level. “Because I’ve seen you get hurt. Break bones. Bleed. You’ve grown up, Hayes. How is all that possible?”
“I’m not Edward Cullen, if that’s what you’re asking.” A flicker of dark humor tugs at the corner of his mouth. “I was born eighteen years ago—same as you. The difference is, I’m immortal. I get to stop aging when I choose.” He shoves his hands into his pockets, shifting his weight. “My mother was raised on Earth. She wanted me to have a normal childhood, like she did. She thought it would make me a better ruler. As long as I spent summers here, I could live the rest of the year above.”
“And your dad was here mostly,” I say, putting it together. “That’s why he was gone so much?”
“It was part of the deal,” he says, nodding. “Mom wanted me to understand both worlds. But Dad had duties that couldn’t wait.”
More pieces slide into place. All those arguments about the family business. Hayes’s future. The pressure.
This is why.
“Okay,” I say, sagging back against the headboard, pressing fingers to my temples. A migraine brews behind my eyes, sharp and steady. “So you’re the Greek god prince of… whatever this place is. That still doesn’t explain whatshe’sdoing here.” I jab a finger at my sister. “Or me. We’re nobodies.”
“Oh, let’s just tell her already,” Amber trills, practically bouncing on her toes.
“Amber, no. Not yet.” Hayes’s jaw tightens. “We already discussed?—”
“I’m going to be a princess, Ally!” she blurts, talking right over him, her eyes sparkling. “Like an actual fairy-tale princess. Isn’t it amazing?”
“I’m sorry—a what now?”
Hayes’s shoulders go stiff, and he looks away, like he’s suddenly very interested in the walls.
“See, there’s this prophecy…” he begins.
As soon as he says the word, a twisted thought slams into me. Maybe I’ve read one too many chosen-one fantasy novels, but if he tells me I’m his long-lost Olympian sister—if this turns into some sickStar Warstwist—I swear I will march myself straight back to that black river of death and jump in willingly.
But then I glance at Amber still draped all over him and feel a flicker of relief. No way she’d be acting like that if they were actually related.
“The prophecy is about me,” she cuts in again, beaming. “I’m going to marry Hayes and become Princess of the Underworld. Can you believe it, Ally?”
