You have one now.
Sort of. Ish.
Apollo was more of a mysterious shadow occasionally leaving puppies and presents than family. I didn’t really trust him, or his motives. And he was rarely around.
“Nice to meet you, Adrian.”
As the rest introduced themselves to the newcomers, Gideon and I quickly ran the details of our findings by Kleos and Lucian. Gideon offered her one of the crystals from the tea parlor.
Eyes closed, she frowned as she focused on it.
“There’s definitely something different. It doesn’t feel like me. At least, not just me.”
She passed it to Lucian, who cringed, sliding it across the table.
Introductions over, everyone wanted a turn with the crystal. Lucky was handing it to Adrian when Cas levitated it to him, shaking his head. “Better not let a kid touch that.”
Adrian frowned, not fond of being called a kid despite being the youngest by far here.
“Why?” I pressed. “Do you know what’s happened to it?”
As usual, Cas was a step ahead and not sharing with the class.
When he didn’t answer, I let out a frustrated grunt. “Would it kill you to stop being so bloody cryptic all the time?”
Cas rolled his eyes. “I was thinking before speaking. You should give it a try sometime.”
I swatted his arm, which had no effect whatsoever on him, but it made me feel better.
“Violent little thing. I’d say someone hijacked it.” At my confused expression, Cas added, “Changed its original nature. The rest of us might be shielded against magical influence, but a child, whose magic is still developing, could be more susceptible to it.”
“Hijacked,” Lucian pondered. “That was my thought exactly. You know,” he said slowly, “sometimes dealers cut their drugs with something else more harmful or addictive, in order to prey on, or earn more money from their clients. I’d say this is the magical equivalent.”
“Marvelous,” I grunted. “So we don’t only need to worry about crystals powerful enough to give anyone the power of a goddess for a day or two—but it’s been madeworse?”
“Not worse exactly. But it’s no longer just Kleos’s magic.”
“Whose, then?” I asked out loud, though one answer came to mind. “Zeus can’t access Highvale anymore, right?”
Kleos winced. “Both of his temples are closed up. But we’ve seen that there are plenty of people willing to do his bidding here for a bit of power.”
I couldn’t help it. My gaze flew to Cas, the one obvious potential enemy here.
I’m not here to hurt you or any of your friends. I’m not here to let Zeus in. I have my own business in town, and it’s quite simply nothing to do with you.
He swore on the Styx, which made it true; immortals were not capable of breaking oaths on the river of Hate. I didn’t know what happened if they tried, but the fact felt written in stone, undeniable.
He didn’t say anything about his potential involvement with the crystal theft, however.
Reading me like an open book, Cas snorted. “I was asleep when they were stolen, remember?”
Right.
Kleos chuckled. “Don’t take it personally. Silver never trusts strangers.”
“I don’t trust him because he’s dodgy as fuck,” I snapped, irritated that she’d made me sound like I was suspicious for no reason.
“You wound me, doll,” Cas said with a smirk that belied his words. “And here I thought we cleared the air.”
