Page 100

“Brother.”

A chill runs down my spine.

When I turn around, the Wizard is there, Blue standing in front of him like a shield, and in his hand is a weapon. An axe. Almost a replica of mine.

“Where did you get that?”

“I saw a girl about some metal,” he answers.

“Lacosta,” I guess. She’s no god of metal, but she’s the next best thing.

“Yes.”

The weapon isn’t pointed at Blue, but it’s clearly implied by my brother’s body language that he will not hesitate to swing.

Blue, for his part, looks unfazed, almost bored.

“Rook,” Dorothy starts. “What are you doing?”

“What needs to be done.”

“He’s a god,” Dorothy says.

“I know,” my brother answers. “Why do you think I’m here?”

“He’s my father.”

My brother, Rook, now, apparently, turns his gaze to Dorothy. “Also not entirely unexpected. Which makes you half witch, half god. Just like me.”

Blue snorts. Rook snaps his fingers and the god loses his footing, slamming to his knees on the faded wood floor.

I know Blue told us he separated himself from his power, but it’s still unsettling seeing my brother handle a god like he’s no more than a house pet.

Are we in over our heads? Of course we fucking are.

“Please.” Dorothy steps forward holding out her hands. “Don’t do this. I know there is kindness in you. I saw it.”

My brother sighs. “It seems we may be at war, Kansas. And there is no kindness in war.”

“We are not at war!”

“Aren’t we?”

I hear the note of excitement in his voice. And because I know my brother, I know it’s not the fighting, the blood, and the carnage he desires. It’s the challenge. He’s always wanted to be the most powerful person in Oz, but deep down, I know his secret: He’s terrified to find out he’s not. Above all, he wants to have earned the title. He wants to prove that he is the most powerful.

He wants to have survived because he is the best.

And it’s in this moment that I realize what Dorothy represents to him—a challenge.

But first, he needs to deal with the gods. Blue already confirmed one of them is dead. And if Blue is any indication of the state of the other two, my brother won’t find much resistance.

“What’s your plan, brother?” I ask. “Kill a god right here in this little log cabin?”

“You know me better than that.” He wraps his hand around Blue’s bicep. “There is no spectacle with no audience.”

And in a blink, they’re gone.

“No!” Dorothy charges at the empty space. “Where did they go? Where would he take Blue?”