Chapter Twenty-Four

“You can watch everything from here. But don't worry about us,” Declan said an hour later as he set me up at the desk, before a bank of computer monitors. “The Olympians lifting that law has changed the game for us.”

“Yeah. No more holding back,” Dominic said as he cracked his knuckles. “We'll finish this tonight. No problem.”

“Don't get cocky,” Darius said. “The Gods don't like that. Not even when you're on their side.” Then he grinned. “But it's all right to be confident, and I'm confident that we're going to wipe the hardwood with those motherfuckers.”

“They're still people,” I said sternly. “Don't be cruel.”

“We won't, angel.” Dom bent to kiss my head. “But there's no going back for them now. Not if that god has bound them to him.”

“It's a mercy to kill them,” Declan said.

“I don't know about that,” I muttered and stared at the screen in front of me.

It was divided into four portions with three of them currently dark. As soon as the hounds left, those sections would contain the feed from the body cams the guys were wearing. Just for me, I might add. With all three of them going, the body cams would have been pointless. But I said I wanted to go along, just to monitor things. They didn't want that. So Declan suggested this as a compromise.

The fourth portion of the screen showed their location on a map. Currently, the map was zeroed in to Hound Mansion and had three red dots right next to each other. I had argued that I couldn't help them if I was stuck at the house, but they refused to have me anywhere near Silas again, much less his Host of the undead.

“They're under a god's control,” Darius said. “It's akin to a possession. Trust me, their lives are not their own anymore and that's no way to live.”

“You're bound to a god,” I said. “Your lives are not your own.”

“It's not the same thing,” Declan said. “We still have free will.”

“Free will makes a big difference,” I agreed. “All right. Go on. I'll be fine.”

Dominic kissed me goodbye, then Declan. Darius hesitated.

I stood up and kissed him. It was just a quick goodbye kiss, the same as the others had given me, but it felt momentous. With the meeting of our lips, something changed. A tightness in my chest eased. A relationship between us felt possible. But it was also more than that. Fairy tales like to say that kisses can break curses. It's not true. But kisses can cast spells, and our kiss sparked magic that vibrated out, through us, and into Dominic and Declan.

I wasn't sure how many of the myths about the Greek Gods were true. But if the one about the Fates spinning lives like threads was real, I was betting that our four threads had just floated a little closer to each other. They weren't bonded yet, but that wasn't such a farfetched idea anymore.

“We'll be back soon,” Darius said, his voice different, deeper and more relaxed. More real.

I laid a hand over his chest, and my magic tingled in response. “I'll be there with you. At least, my magic will.”

Darius pressed his hand over mine and stared at me.

Several long seconds passed and then Dominic loudly whispered to Declan, “What's happening right now?”

Darius chuckled and dropped his hand, then leaned in and kissed my cheek. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For giving me a chance.”

Darius left the room. The other two grinned at me—Dominic's grin more of a smirk—and then they followed him out. I went back to my seat before the massive desk and stared at the screen. As I watched, the videos popped on, showing their progress through the house and into the garage that was tucked behind the right wing. They got into Dominic's truck and drove away. I heard the rumble of the engine through the video and the nearby window.

“Please, bring them back to me alive,” I prayed to whichever god was listening.