The Goddess Hunt (7 page)

But I could remember the victories, small as they might seem. Casey and Lux would have each other for a little while longer because of James and me, and that would have to be enough to get me through whatever losses I faced down the road. If Lux was right, they were inevitable.

We walked the rest of the way in silence, with Cupcake trudging behind us. Wherever we were going, Lux seemed to know exactly how to get there. Several miles out, thunder echoed in the cloudless sky, and he winced and increased his pace. I didn’t argue.

At last we reached the mouth of a cave, and while I didn’t see anything particularly special about it, Lux held his breath. Leaning into the darkness, he was careful not to step inside. “Casey?”

Nothing. I bit my lip. This couldn’t be a trap. Henry wouldn’t do that—to me, if not to Lux. And James definitely wouldn’t lie. Casey and Lux would be reunited, and it would all be okay.

But what if it wasn’t? What if I had Henry and the council pegged all wrong, and now I had to spend the rest of eternity knowing—

“Lux?” Casey’s voice was soft, but unmistakable. He stepped out of the darkness. “Took you long enough.”

Lux burst into the first real grin I’d seen from him. “Yeah, well, I stopped at a pub and had a few drinks. Figured you could wait.”

He didn’t step into the cave, but the moment Casey was within arm’s reach, he grabbed his brother and all but yanked him over the threshold. The pair of them tumbled to the sun-soaked ground, but neither brother complained.

“You’re in one piece? The rotten bastard didn’t hurt you?” said Lux, looking him up and down.

“I’m fine—worried about you is all.” Casey paused and eyed Cupcake, who was lurking in the shadows. “Er, Lux?”

“What? Oh—right.” Lux made a face. “My penance for socking her in the mouth. We have to keep an eye on her while she heals.” He stood and offered his hand to his twin. “What did Hades do with you anyway?”

Casey took it, and soon enough they were both on their feet. “Took me to the palace and stared, mostly. Looked like he was having a mental fit. I thought I was a goner for sure.”

They started back into the forest together, and I hesitated, not knowing if I should follow. But before I could decide, Lux stopped, and the pair of them turned around simultaneously. “Thank you, Kate Winters,” said Lux. “You’ll make a brilliant addition to the council.”

My cheeks warmed. “It was nothing.”

“Doing the right thing C rith="5%"is never nothing,” said Casey. “Nor is sympathizing with those less fortunate. Not everyone has that gift. And what you did, putting your own well-being on the line for us—”

“I think she gets it,” said Lux, nudging his brother in the ribs. Casey pretended to flinch, but Lux pulled his brother into a bear hug, and the pair of them continued into the forest with Cupcake rumbling behind them.

“Thanks,” I called. Apparently I wasn’t supposed to follow. “Sorry for the trouble, but it was good to meet you. Take care of yourselves, all right?”

“You too,” said Casey. “Don’t be a stranger.”

“Unless they’re on our arses again.” Lux smirked at me over his shoulder, and by the time I raised my hand in a wave goodbye, they were gone.

Henry

Henry stood in the cave, his form cloaked by darkness as Kate made herself comfortable at the base of a tree. Watching Casey walk away from him stung in a way he could not describe, but the way his heart swelled upon seeing Kate made it bearable.

He’d done the right thing. He could not always guarantee the twins their safety, and once his brother caught wind of his betrayal, things would be less than pleasant for a long while. But for now, it was worth it to see Kate happy once more.

The air beside him shifted, and a ghost of a smile tugged at his lips. Speak of the devil.

“Brother,” said Walter quietly. It did not matter though; Henry had already ensured their voices would not carry into the world above. “It seems I have misjudged your devotion toward upholding your laws.”

“Some things are more important than pride,” said Henry. “Perhaps one day you will understand.”

He felt the burn of his brother’s withering stare, but he did not look away from Kate. He would not give his brother the satisfaction. “Very well. I will allow the twins more time together, but someday they will be brought to justice.”

“And when that day comes, Kate and I will decide what to do as rulers of the Underworld.”

“You are forgetting that while Castor is your charge, Pollux is mine, and I will not let him off so easily.”

Henry sighed. “No, I imagine you will not.” The trees rustled, and James stepped out from between them. Kate stood, giving him a hug in greeting, and Henry’s chest tightened. Some things he did not want to witness. “Until then, I am confident we have done the right thing.”

“So you say.”

Walter disappeared, and though part of Henry expected him to go after the twins once more, he instead reappeared a few feet away from Kate and James. Henry saw her tense even from a distance, but at least his brother’s appearance served one purpose: she let go of James.

“You are walking a thin line,” said Walter. “I will not be so forgiving of your insubordination in the future.”

Despite her fear, she squared her shoulders and looked him straight in the eye. Henry cracked a smile. “I won’t apologize for any of it. You can’t ruin people’s lives like that just because you decide you’re bored and want to play games. It isn’t fair.”

“Life is not fair, and the sooner you realize it, the better.” Walter peered down his nose at her. “You can either be an asset to the council, or you can be a hindrance. It is up to you to decide which.”

“If being an asset means swallowing whatever bullshit you’re feeding me without thinking for myself, I’d rather be a hindrance, thank you,” she said, and Henry had to press his lips together to keep himself from chuckling.

For a moment his brother looked utterly perplexed, his brow furrowing in the face of her sass, but the expression was gone as soon as it had come. He wouldn’t soon forget what she’d said, Henry was sure of it. But while it could cause problems later on down the road, for now Henry was immensely pleased and proud of her.

Focusing on his brother, he pushed a thought toward him.
Let it go.

Walter’s frown deepened, but he glanced into the darkness of the cave and gave him the barest of nods. Without another word, he disappeared, and Kate looked around as if she expected Walter to pop out of the bushes.

“Do you think he went after the twins?” she said. James shook his head, slipping his arm into hers as he glanced back into the cave. Henry glowered at him.

“They’re fine, at least for now.”

Henry watched as they disappeared through the trees, and as soon as he could no longer see her dark hair, he closed his eyes. These six months were hers to do with as she willed; he had no say in it, and he had to respect that no matter how much seeing her walk off with James wounded him.

In less than half a year’s time, she would be his again, and he would make sure to remind her why she had married him in the first place. Until then, the thorn that James had shoved into his heart would only dig deeper, but as he’d done for the past several thousand years, he would withstand it.

For Kate. For their life together. And because he had no other choice.

Kate

By the time we reached the edge of the forest, it was nearly dark. The city of Athens glowed in the distance, and I yawned, struggling to stay awake as James led the way. My body craved sleep, and just the promise of a warm bed was enough to make my knees buckle.

“Where do you think they’re going now?” I said as we meandered toward the road that would lead us back to the city.

“If they’re smart, as far away from Greece as possible,” said James.

“Do you really think Walter and the others are going to hunt them down again?”

He shrugged. “Eventually. I think you bought them a few hundred more years though. Maybe a thousand, if they’re lucky.”

“We.” At James N rithugh. Ma217;s confused expression, I added, “
We
bought them a few hundred more years. Maybe a thousand, if they’re lucky. You did distract Ella, you know.”

He grinned and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “You have a point. We make a good team.”

I made a face and shrugged him off. Good team or not, there was one problem we hadn’t solved yet. “I’m still mad at you, you know. This whole thing was your fault. Ava would’ve never found the twins if you hadn’t led her straight to them.”

“Oh.” James turned pink. “I thought we’d have time to get away. I didn’t realize Walter would sic Ella and her dogs on us. I mean, the council’s come close to tracking them down before—they just usually don’t put so much effort into it.”

“That’s not an excuse for putting them in danger like that.”

He sighed. “No, it’s not, and I’m sorry about that. I really am. It worked out all right though, didn’t it?”

“Barely.” I hesitated. “Why did you do it anyway?”

He scratched his head sheepishly. “Because I knew you idolized the council, that you thought we were these—superheroes or something, and I wanted you to see that it wasn’t true. We’ve got our dark side, too, and you had to see that before you decided to spend eternity with Henry.”

For a long moment, I said nothing. I should’ve known the council was capable of something like this, and maybe deep down I did. I’d never realized Henry had it in him as well though.

“I’m not sure I can do this,” I said softly. “I thought—I thought when all of this started that the council members were the good guys, you know? The ones who protected mortals. The ones who made the right decisions. And now—”

“And now you realize we’re not all we’re cracked up to be,” said James, and I nodded. “That’s not a bad thing, you know, the fact that we make mistakes or let our pride get in the way. It keeps us from being infallible.”

“But at others’ expense.” That was the part I wasn’t crazy about.

“Sometimes. But Lux is one of us—he’s not a council member, but he is the son of Zeus. And he has just as many flaws as the rest of us.”

“Loving his brother enough to do anything to protect him isn’t one of them though.”

“No, it isn’t.” James shook his head. “I won’t lie to you and say every decision we make is the right one, because it isn’t. Usually the ones we all make together aren’t so bad, but the individual ones—those are sort of a crapshoot. Sometimes we’re right, sometimes we’re wrong, and sometimes it takes several thousand years before we fix them. And in the twins’ case, it’s especially bad, because the only thing keeping Walter from reversing his decision is his pride. But it’ll work itself out eventually, and in the meantime, look at it this way—now that you’re on board, you can show us the error of our ways.”

“If the only thing I do during council m Singyou caeeting is point out how wrong everyone is, no one’s going to listen to me.”

“True, but that doesn’t mean you can’t save those moments for the things you think are really important,” said James. “You’ll have my support. Henry’s, too. I can’t speak for the rest of them, but you won’t be alone. Most of the time, anyway.” He grinned. “Try to undo one of my rulings, however, and it might get a little tense.”

I managed a smile in return. “I’ll do my best. You seem to have pretty good judgment though.”

“I do, don’t I?” He bumped his hip against mine—which, given how tall he was, was sort of like he was nudging my liver instead. “You know, after everything I did, I think I deserve that kiss.”

I rolled my eyes. “Not in a million years.”

“What about a million and one?”

“I might be willing to give you a peck on the cheek, if you don’t screw up too badly between now and then.”

He pouted. “You’re terrible to me, you know.”

“You like it.” And no matter how romantic and beautiful Greece was, I wasn’t going to break my vows to Henry, even if they technically didn’t apply for the next six months. I loved him no matter which season it was. “Do you think Ava’s going to undo the curse?”

“Doubt it,” he said. “Walter’s angry enough as it is. Remind her in a few years, once he’s had the chance to calm down. You might have better luck then.”

“Right,” I said, frowning. “I’ll try to remember.”

He reached out and patted my shoulder, keeping the distance between us. At last he seemed to be getting the picture. “You’re a good person, Kate, and it isn’t by accident that we chose you to become one of us. We know you’re going to challenge things, and the majority of us will welcome it. Don’t sweat it so much.”

“Easy for you to say,” I grumbled. He ignored me.

“But right now you’re on vacation. A pretty great vacation, if I do say so myself, and it’s about time you start enjoying it. No more chasing after gods with bad tempers, all right? From here on out, all I want to see you doing is sipping fruity drinks and lying out on the beach. A topless one, if you’d like. They’ve got plenty of those around here.”

So much for him catching on. “Perv,” I said, cracking a smile.

He broke out into a boyish grin. “Hey, a guy can dream.”

By the time we’d found the road, my anxiety had melted away, replaced by the promise of six months of sun and relaxation and not having to worry about what was to come. Eventually my reprieve would be over, but no matter how nervous I was about facing the other gods, September also meant getting to see Henry again.

Besides, James and Lux were right. I was one person, but so was each and every member of the council. Despite what Lux seemed to think, they were good people, and they knew the difference between doing something because it was Scauuncil. the right thing to do and because their pride didn’t allow them any other choice. All they needed was someone to point it out to them. I could be that person—I
would
be that person, because people like Casey and Lux deserved it.

And if Walter wanted to smite me for it, then bring it on.

Don’t miss Kate’s return in
GODDESS INTERRUPTED