Page 41 of A Single Thread Of Hope

He laughed, but it was a sad sound. “As you say.” He looked past Cy to Wren. “It worked out as it should in the end, though.” He inclined his head at Wren. “Wren Mahone. It is a pleasure to finally meet you.”

She stepped forward, and I resisted the urge to snatch her back behind me. Holding out a hand, she shook his lightly. “It’s nice to meet Cy’s family. And thank you, I guess, for the Oracle in my drive-thru? She saved my butt.”

Delphos shook his head. “I can’t claim credit for the prophecies of my Oracles. They moved off my mountain a long time ago, venturing into the world as was their right. Any prophecies they hand out are their own.” He gave her a lopsided smile. “But I’m glad she was where she needed to be.”

“She had terrible taste in coffee.”

“Cassie always did.” Delphos turned to the other Mythic beside him. “Cydon doesn’t seem inclined to introduce our father, so allow me. Wren, this is Apollo, one of the twelveOlympian Gods, and the God of Prophecy, Music, Poetry, Medicine and, uh, the Sun? Did I forget any?”

“Dance, Healing, Light—you know, all the fun stuff,” Apollo added. “Much like my son, I am glad to meet you, Wren Mahone.”

She nodded. “Nice to meet you too. As Cy’s dad, not as the Greek God. No offense.” She shrugged, like she hadn’t just demoted him to a father-in-law, rather than one of the most powerful Gods in existence. “I’ve met a few of your children now, and they say nice things about you, so that must mean something.”

Apollo frowned, like he was wracking his brain for all his children—which, rumor had it, were quite a lot—before he nodded. “Ah, Asclepius. That really did send Father into a bit of a spin when he came out and saved the life of the Mother of Fate. The God he’d tried to banish from the wheel, saving the woman who was going to unseat his power? It does have the spice of one of the old tales, don’t you think?”

His father? That would be…

Demke hissed. “Zeus can suck my dick.”

Apollo threw back his head and laughed. “You’ve become delightfully modern, old friend.” He patted his stomach. “But indeed, Zeus can deal. Needless to say, I am in the bad books. My children just keep causing drama wherever they go. But who says the children should get all the fun?” He straightened his shoulders, then dropped to his knee.

“I’m here to vow my adherence to the new Fates and their weaving of the fabric of destiny.”

Well… I didn’t see that coming.

Chapter 23

WREN

“You’re pledging to the wrong person,” was all that came out of my mouth. Given the amount of gaping mouths in our small group, I didn’t think I was the only one who was surprised.

Apollo looked up at me, and I realized that he and Cy shared the same eyes. “I wanted you to know that I was serious.”

Demke looked incredulous. “A false show of good faith before stabbing someone in the back. That isn’t in the Greek playbook at all. Excuse me if I’m less swayed by you dropping to a knee and making a vow that means nothing.”

Cy was chewing his lip, though his expression was hard to read. He looked at Delphos, maybe for a hint at his father’s real motivations. But Delphos gave nothing away, not that I could discover anyway. Cy, though, must have seen something in his expression. “You’ve had a prophecy.”

Anxiety tightened in my chest. No one prophesied about living a long, mundane life. When Delphos shook his head, relief rushed through me.

Prematurely, it would seem. “No, brother. I had a premonition.”

Stiffening, Cy looked between his father and me. He gave a tight nod, apparently deciding that answered all his questions. Well, fuck that, because it didn’t answer any of mine.

“Prophecy, premonition—what’s the difference?”

It was Apollo who answered, standing back up to his full height. I can imagine he would have looked otherworldly once upon a time, but now he looked like a male Tom Ford model. Tall, but not mystically so. Gorgeous, though. “A prophecy is meant for the listener. It isn’t set in stone, but it’s meant to guide the person who hears it. A premonition is a vision of the future, and Delphos can say no more unless he wants to alter the outcome.”

I frowned, wondering if he was talking to me in circles. “But he can tellyou?Because I have no doubt that whatever his premonition was, it’s the reason you’re standing here, making grand oaths.”

Apollo’s smile was full of blindingly white teeth that seemed to glow in the Cretan sun. “Smart. I can see why the greater powers chose you to carry the new Fates. You’re wrong, but it was a solid guess.” His gaze bounced around our group. “Delphos wasn’t the only one who had the premonition. Oracles and seers all across the world had the same vision. It is why Mythics have been lining up at your door like this is the best little whorehouse on the prairie.”

No one spoke. That whole statement was a lot, and not just the prairie reference. Here I’d thought that all these bizarre Mythics had been showing up because they were tired of the status quo, but really, there was something bigger going on. A premonition of a future that was so abhorrent, they were flocking to our door.

Shaking my head, I looked at Delphos. “Your last prophecy was wrong.”

“Was it?” he asked lightly, but his eyes were full of forbidden knowledge.

“I didn’t die in childbirth, and the babies are all fine.” I waved my arms down my body, as if to show them I hadn’t kicked the bucket.

---