Page 23 of Harbinger

His brothers touched his back, their faces reflecting the second prince’s sorrow. Galliad joined them, an equally worried Thalia at his side.

“Not yet.”

Victor straightened. His guarded gaze met that of the silver-haired Goddess as she approached. Her expression softened behind the metal framing her jaw and cheeks when she registered their suspicious stares.

“Look beneath you.”

They did as she told them.

Regina’s pupils flared. “Oh!”

“That’s right, Seer.” The Goddess’s face hardened as she studied the viridescent magic still protecting the realm. “Atlanteia’s power would have faded back into Ivory Peaks if Ivmir neared Death’s door.”

Victor’s heart raced, hope surging inside him. Her next words dashed it cold.

“He’s not out of the woods yet. Not by a league. And hewilldie if we do not act soon.” The Goddess removed her helmet and shook her silver hair before dragging her fingers through the tousled locks. A frustrated sigh fell from her lips. “Damn the Gods! I did not foresee this complication.”

Regina’s eyes bulged. “Atropos?!”

Shocked murmurs left the Dryads.

Victor stared.This is the eldest Moira?!

“You have done well, Seer,”Atropos told Regina curtly.“You can leave the rest in our hands.”

Tisiphone was staring at the sky, her expression troubled. “We must make haste, sister.”

Victor blinked, a vague memory resurfacing from what remained of Hypnos’s spell.She’s…a Fury. So are Alecto and Megaera.

He followed her gaze, stunned by what he’d just recalled, only to draw another shocked breath. Clouds were racing across the firmament, the formations spiraling in ominous shapes.

“What’s happening?” Hildur asked anxiously.

A muscle jumped in Atropos’s jawline. “The Awakener is angry.”

A sudden intuition blasted through Victor. His stomach clenched. Atropos met his stiff stare.

“Remember what he did when he thought he’d lost Ivmir and Rohengar?” the Moira said grimly.

Victor’s knuckles whitened.Shit! I was right!

Galliad’s wary gaze swung between them. “What is it?”

Victor swallowed heavily and gazed at the sky. “Cassius’s rage may very well be about to tear open the realms once more!”

11

“How soon will it get here?”Kazmi said grimly into her cell phone.

Cassius’s stomach churned as he glanced from the head of Argonaut to the live satellite feed on the digital display in Strickland’s office.

It had been fifteen minutes since Morgan and Victor had left for Ivory Peaks with Cedric and Galliad. Kazmi had just received a call from the Argonaut headquarters in New York warning her that a new source of the plague had been spotted three hundred miles from the Western seaboard.

The phenomenon was a tiny, dark spot on the screen. Cassius was not fooled by its size. The second wave was approaching San Francisco fast, its unnatural progress and the way it was expanding suggesting it was moving with intent.

Or someone controlling it is.

Cassius shared a guarded look with Theo and Eden. He could tell they could sense it too. Someone powerful was drawing close. Someone whose aura was drenched in death.

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