I want to be the one to fucking comfort her.
God, what did this girl do to me?
“I’ll do some research here and will contact you once I discover something,” Athena continues.
Once, not if. I have to admire the goddess’s confidence. Then again, she is the Goddess of Wisdom. I imagine there’s very little she won’t be able to solve if she sets her mind to it.
And she’s highly motivated.
I find my gaze wandering towards the framed photo once more on her nightstand. Once upon a time, she loved those five men fiercely and then lost them. She probably hoped or believed they were safe in Elysium, but to know that they’ve been trapped in Thea’s dagger this entire time? Slowly losing their minds? I can’t help but feel sympathy for the goddess.
Though she’ll probably smite me if she discovered the truth.
“Good luck, young reaper,” Athena says gravely. “I wish you well on your travels.”
Then she waves her hand in the air, and a white light engulfs us instantly. I squint, my eyes burning, and the cavern fades away, replaced by familiar furniture.
The safe house.
All of us release a collective breath, and Thea plops down on the couch, her head lolling back.
“We need to come up with a plan for tomorrow,” Zaid says, pacing.
He chews on his thumbnail, his dark gaze flicking between the four of us.
“Not right now.” Krystian moves towards the television—and the newest PlayStation underneath it. He grabs two controllers and returns to the couch, sitting beside Thea. “Right now, we’re going to play video games.”
Thea’s brows furrow adorably. “Video games?”
“You promised you’d play with me,” Krystian points out. “And there’s this new two-player action game I think you’ll really like.”
Thea seems uncertain, her gaze moving from the controller held out in front of her to our faces. When her eyes lock on mine, I try for a reassuring smile that probably makes me look like I’m seizing.
“I want to watch,” I say simply, moving to sit on her other side.
We’re so close that I can feel each graze of her thigh against my own, the heat her body emits almost palpable. It warms me from the inside out.
“I guess we can use a break,” Zaid says, attempting to smile for Thea’s sake.
But I can tell my brother is still stressed, still worried about tomorrow and what the future will hold.
Rafe simply positions himself against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes fixed on the screen. After a moment, Zaid claims the armchair.
An hour later, Thea and Krystian are attempting to take on a horde of zombies, their combined laughter filling the room. I’ve left for a short while to make some homemade pizzas, and the evidence of my hard work lies scattered on the coffee table, nothing but crust and crumbs.
“Push X,” Krystian instructs as he slices at the zombie with his sword.
“I am pushing X,” Thea insists.
On screen, her character crouches, rises, crouches, rises, and then crouches again.
“That’s O.”
“Oh…okay.” Thea begins pushing more buttons, and her character walks repeatedly into a wall.
A zombie sneaks up behind her, and Krystian stealthily kills it.
“What the fuck are you doing, love?” Krystian chuckles.
