I had all the perspective I needed. “If there’s nothing else, I have responsibilities that need tending to,” I said, getting to my feet.
Iapetus shook his head. He looked as though he had more to say, but he flashed away without so much as a goodbye. That was fine by me. If I never set eyes on him again it would be too soon.
But what he said about my connection to Never gnawed at me. Why would he allow me to feel what she was feeling only to leave her in the dark?
The answer was obvious: because it was all part of his torture, for both of us. She was alone in the Alius, with only her own thoughts and emotions to guide her. That meant I couldn’t help her, but it also meant she wouldn’t try to shield me from what she was going through.
I sank down onto the settee and rested my head in my hands.
A thousand years of raw, uncensored emotion from the woman I loved, while she was fighting for her family, for me, and for her own sanity. It might sound horrific to him, but I knew it was nothing compared to what she was going through.
As the weeks passed, Never’s powerful and erratic emotions slowly stripped my nerves bare, and I began to understand the true nature of my father’s torture.
How could one woman feel so much? She was always on. Every day. Every hour. Every minute it seemed. Always fighting fear and doubt. Always shoving down hope because it hurt her too much to let it in.
Not to mention the physical pain. Plenty of that made its way to me, too. I could only imagine the brutality of the battles she was fighting.
The woman was so much stronger than she gave herself credit for, but with every day that passed, I could feel her hardening inside. And I’d never felt more helpless or worthless in my life.
I confided the truth of my situation to Leo, and while he did his best to sympathize, he couldn’t do much to help. No one could.
When another month was marked out on my wall, my father returned with the same offer: return to Othrys with him, forget about Never, and I could return to my old life amongst the gods. He even offered to sever our connection to help ease the transition.
I refused.
Maybe he was telling the truth and Never couldn’t sense meat all, but it helped me to pretend that she could. So, instead of drowning my sorrows in enchanted rum until I blacked out, I took to walking the beaches and trails of Nusthena at night so I could pour my heart and soul into that one-way connection.
It was on one of those walks that I came across a familiar silver chain. The metal glittered in the moonlight, half-buried in the damp sand. It was Never’s chain. The one that once held my pendant.
Without thinking, I kneeled and reached for it.
“Careful, Atlas,” a familiar voice warned.
I pulled my hand back and looked up to see Rue stretched out on a nearby rock, her reptilian tail dragging lazily in the shallow water.
“I was starting to wonder if you would ever return to this realm,” I said.
She offered me a half-smile. “It’s good to see you too, Captain.” She nodded toward the chain. “Do you remember what happened the last time you touched that necklace?”
The memory of that moment came flooding back.How could I have forgotten?
The last time, I was hit with a gut-wrenching vision of Never and she was unlike I’d ever seen her before. Her skin glowed with an ethereal amber light, and she was in what I would have described as the fight of her life. Only the physical fray was nothing compared to the battle raging inside her.
“You knew what would happen to her,” I said, glaring at the demigorgon.
She sat up and swiveled to meet my gaze head on. “Why do you think I left?” Her eyes flicked to the chain at my feet. “That was all the warning I could offer. Once I had the vision and saw who was involved…” she let out a bitter laugh. “I couldn’t stay here. Your father would have locked me away to keep me from helping you.”
I balled my hands into fists, then opened them slowly, letting the stretch pull through every knuckle before asking, “Why would you risk coming back now?”
“Because the wheel is already in motion. There’s nothing either of us can do to interfere.”
A fact I was painfully aware of. “And why stage this meeting?” I asked sharply. It wasn’t that I meant to be rude, but I wasn’t in the mood for more games.
She cast me a look soft with empathy. “Because I can see you, Atlas.” She tapped her temple. “Even when I don’t want to. Your thoughts when you wander this island are deafening. And I see her as well.”
A jolt of excitement tore through me. “I thought your power was limited to the realm you were in.”
“It was, until the barriers between worlds began thinning. I’ve only caught a few glimpses of her, but one moment in particular stood out. I thought it might interest you.” She motioned to the chain. “Fair warning, Captain, it is not a pretty moment. It will hurt. But if you truly want to understand her struggle, it’s right there.”
