Page 43 of A Single Thread Of Hope

As if Delphos saw the look on my face, he shook his head imperceptibly. Could he read my mind, or was it just an obvious question we were all thinking about?

Cy trusted Delphos. It was why he’d spent all these years locked inside the invisible wards of the island waiting for me. His Oracle had saved my life, and those of my babies. I didn’t completely trust his motivations, but this was one of those leap-of-faith moments, and I just had to pray that this was the right choice.

Did parenthood ever get any easier?

Milo went through the ward first, then Tryp and Erus. Erus was holding Zale and Bran, while Tryp had Emeric bundled in his arms. Ihatedthis. I knew they weren’t really vulnerable. They were one stumble backwards away from safety. All of us were here, watching for threats, for one wrong move, but it still felt way too vulnerable.

Not wanting to be out of the wards longer than necessary, I waved a hand at Apollo. “This is the part where you drop to your knees again.”

He chuckled. “So impatient.” He lowered himself theatrically back to one knee. “I vow my adherence to the new Fates, known as the Kuningilin, born from the seeds of destiny. I will accept my fate.” He reached up and touched the foreheads of each of the babies while I held my breath, but then he got to his feet and stepped away.

Delphos quickly took his position. “I vow my adherence to the new Fates, known as the Kuningilin, born from the seeds of destiny and from the womb of the Maker’s chosen. I am a faithful servant of the Fates and will undertake their will. I will accept my fate.” He stood, stroking a finger down each of their heads, then stepped back. The babies eyed him in that baby way, like they were trying to figure out what he was.

The air around us felt tense, like the universe was holding its breath. Finally, it was like a pop, all the sound rushing back into the courtyard. Emeric gurgled and flailed his arms around, and Tryp shifted him to his shoulder.

Apollo shook his head. “So small. You know, once upon a time, they would have been put in clay urns on a hill and sacrificed in my name. Too small to live.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Once upon a time, you would have had a baby with your sister, so I’m not sure the old ways are the best ways.” Tension flooded the courtyard, and Erus and Tryp subtly stepped back into the wards.Whoops.

But Apollo just laughed, a sweet, loud sound that sounded like music. “That is very true, Wren Mahone. Modern medicine and a choice of fuckable women is definitely a boon of this new age.” He stretched, showing off golden abs. Man, he was beautiful, but he was definitely not for me. I could appreciate it, though, right? Like fine art. Literally fine art. There were dozens of statues of this man in museums all over the world.

“Well, speaking of fuckable women, we should be off. Until we meet again, Wren Mahone.” He dipped his chin at the infants, like they cared about genuflection at this point in their lives, and then surprised us all by hugging Cy. “Son. It’s good to see you again. I missed you.”

In that moment, I believed him. He was a manwhore—that much was obvious—but the fact that he’d gone against Zeus for both Cy and Asclepius, the fact that not one of them had anything bad to say about him, meant he was probably a decent father. I mean, when it came to the Greeks, the bar was on the floor, but still.

He slapped Delphos on the back. “Let’s go down to one of the bars in Heraklion and get you laid, son. I can’t even imagine how long it’s been.” He waggled his eyebrows at Nate. “I hear that the Morrigan herself is in town, and that she’s as beautiful as she is deadly.”

I watched Nate’s face for jealousy, for any hint that his feelings for Morrigan might still exist, but all I saw was mirth. “She will eat you alive, but try your best.”

Tipping an imaginary hat at us, Apollo winked, dragging Delphos away. “Oh, I will.”

We watched until they were no more than a speck in the distance. “What are the odds she stabs him?” I asked Nate, and he chuckled.

“I give it seven minutes before she tries to gut him. Badb can take care of herself, and Apollo is a big boy. Let them entertain themselves.” Kissing my temple, he led us all back into the compound.

I looked around at the group we made. “What did he call the babies? The Klingon?”

It was one of the Valkyries who answered. “The Kuningilin. It’s an old Germanic word for wrens. But it also means kinglet. Wrens were considered the king of the birds. The last three powerful brothers born into mythology ended up ruling the sea, the sky, and the Underworld.”

Well, great. That isn’t ominous at all.

“Child,wake up. There are spiders in your bed.” Mrs. Byrne poked me with the cane she sometimes used, and I grumbled, pushing my head under my pillow. “Wren Eloise Mahone,wake up. There are spiders in your bed, and if you don’t hurry up, they’ll pull you into the web.”

Is Mrs. Byrne having a stroke? Should I call 911?

“Mrs. B, there are no spiders. We just had the place sprayed for bugs, remember? You flirted with the fumigator guy.”

Mrs. B would normally laugh, but this time, she just shoved at me harder. “Get up, child. Your babiesneedyou.”

Consciousness hit me like a baseball bat to the face. I was awake and out of bed before I even realized that I wasn’t home in Boston, in my apartment. I was moving toward the nursery before I remembered that I was in Crete and the murkiness ofmy dream had fully dissipated. The silence of the house was peaceful, and my heart rate started to calm. It was just a night terror.

Still, I was up, so it wouldn’t hurt to just check on the boys. A night light cast the room in a gentle glow, shadows still lurking on the edges.

Except the one in front of the crib. That shadow had a knife in its hand, its golden blade flashing ethereally in the low light of the room.

I screamed even as I leapt toward the shadow.

I screamed even as another shadow detached from the darkness to join the one in front of the crib, another knife in its hand, though this one was an average silver.

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