Page 191 of The Mortal Trials

As the dances resume, I note the divine who wait in the wings and how their attention follows me as I walk past them.

I hope Ares knows it’s only a matter of time before one strikes a bargain with me.

9

Mind and body equally exhausted, I leave the temple and take the spilling steps to my beach house. My hand twists the handle at the same time someone curses. I push the door and watch as it silently swings into the room.

It’s dark, except for two flickering candles I didn’t light before I left.

My heart drops when I find my brother pacing the floor in front of the still-covered mosaic. Immediately, I fear that the nightly curfew will trap him on my tiny island, if it hasn’t already.

“Cillian? What are you doing here?”

He rushes over and crushes me in a hug, rocking me side to side. When he pulls back, his eyes glisten with unshed tears. “The trials are being shown on every telecaster in the realms. The reporters are talking about all of you, imagining what these contests might entail and whether you all volunteered for this to get coin. Did you do that? Did you volunteer?”

I’m about to roll my eyes when I realize what he’s really asking.

Did I do the very thing I accused him of? Did I leave him on purpose? Like our mother did.

My shoulders slump and I blow out an exhausted breath. “Of course not. Morrigan nominated me and Niall.”

He turns pleading eyes to me. “I don’t suppose you can respectfully decline her nomination and come home?” he asks, already knowing I can’t.

The likelihood that I’ll ever come home again…is not great. I watch the truth weigh heavily on his shoulders.

His strong voice breaks. “He’s going to take you, too.”

My throat tightens at the sight of his chin quivering. Unable to lie to him and tell him I’ll survive all Ares throws at me, I lay my head on my baby brother’s heart and memorize its steady rhythm. Minutes pass before I bring myself to speak, before I can peel my ear away and raise my head.

“Cillian, you can’t come back here. You need to protect Abuela now.” My voice breaks on her title. One so common, it doesn’t do her justice. She’s more than just our grandmother. She’s our matriarch. Our heart and backbone. The embodiment of love and wisdom. “Convince her to go to Morrigan’s realm until this is over.”

“You know she won’t.” He tries to laugh. “I’ll do all I can to take care of her, but what about you? Morrigan’s here, right? She’ll protect you.”

I don’t lie to him. “She’s done all she can.”

“What does that mean?” he asks, ticking his head back. “The trials haven’t even started yet!”

I disagree. I believe Ares conceived them long before any of us were nominated. Has he been planning them since Carina’s broadcast?

I should feel flattered to have inspired such a dramatic response from one of the divine, but with my brother standing here reminding me of all our tiny family still stands to lose, I can’t bring myself to feel anything but fear for his and our grandmother’s safety.

I explain the rules Hermes gave us, chiefly that I need to find another god or goddess to champion me, and that I plan to win our first trial tomorrow. He emphatically believes I can because he wants to, and because he hasn’t seen the other contenders.

Even though we don’t know what the trial will consist of, my baby brother thinks I can win. Maybe his faith will be enough.

I shake my head. “You need to go back to Olympus before you get stuck here. They put barriers around our homes overnight so we can’t leave. How did you manage to get to the island anyway?”

He shrugs one shoulder. “My friend has a boat. He brought me across.”

My brows flare. “In these waters? They’re teeming with monsters!”

His head ticks back in surprise. “Monsters? We didn’t have any trouble.”

“Maybe the gods gave their beasts orders to only devour the contenders who step off their pile of sand,” I muse.

“Walk me back?” My brother finally flicks an uneasy glance at the blanket-covered wall. That tells me he peeked beneath it. And that he’s afraid now.

Frankly, I’m glad he is. I don’t want to lie and tell him I’m fine here, because I’m not. He needs to understand the danger he and Abuela are in now.