Page 65 of Crimson Skies

“I know.” Morgan wrapped an arm around him and kissed his temple. “I had Victor and Theo restrain the imp so he would leave us be. Not that his father will let him stray far from his side anyway.”

Warmth filled Cassius despite the dire circumstances they found themselves in. He was incredibly happy for Loki. Everyone had long thought he was the last Gargantua.

“For Pan to have discovered the rest of his race is truly a miracle.”

“Yeah, well, I still can’t believe he’s a prince,” Morgan muttered. “He’ll be walking with his nose in the air and demanding gourmet salmon right, left, and center now.”

Cassius chuckled. A companionable silence settled between them.

“What did Hyperion say to you before he left?” Morgan asked curiously.

It took all of Cassius’s willpower to keep his voice even when he replied. “He wished me good luck.”

Morgan arched an eyebrow. “That’s a surprise. I thought the bastard wanted us to lose the war.”

“He didn’t tell us not to do battle. Only that we must not stop Chaos’s return.”

Cassius kept his emotions tightly under control as they sat next to one another and watched the rise of a new day. He wondered if Morgan could guess that he’d lied to him in that moment. Because Hyperion had told him something else before he left Earth with the two Guardians of the Nether and his army.

Something that had filled him with the most blinding hope and the darkest despair in the same breath.

“Do you know what makes an Awakener special?” Hyperion had asked him quietly as they ascended into the sky above the city ahead of Nildar, Archon, and the Dominions.

Much to Atropos’s ire, the Titan had insisted Cassius be the only one to accompany him upon his departure. He would always wonder afterward if the Moira had suspected Hyperion wanted to say something meant for his ears only.

Cassius had frowned at the question. “He can rouse the latent abilities of Gods.” He’d glanced at the Titan. “He is an augmenter of Heaven and Hells’ powers and, by default, the strongest Guardian of the Nether.”

A sad smile had curved Hyperion’s mouth at his reply. “No, Icarus. The Awakener is much more than that.”

And then he’d told him a truth not even the Moirai had divined.

It was a secret so shocking Cassius knew without a doubt that the Gods of Old must have had many a sleepless night worrying about it. And it finally validated his dire scheme to save everyone he cared for and all the realms if the outcome of the war was one he could not accept.

It seems it was always meant to be.

His vision blurred with unshed tears. Sorrow choked his breath.

Morgan cursed, misunderstanding his distress. He pressed his lips to his brow and pulled him to his chest.

“It’s okay,” he whispered in Cassius’s hair. He squeezed him tightly. “It will be okay. I will be with you to the very end, whatever shape that may take.”

Cassius clung to him, remorse twisting his insides at the bitter untruth he had told the demigod.

I hope he forgives me, one day.

* * *

The first fracturelines appeared later that morning in Europe and on the Eastern Seaboard. Thanks to the preparations of the U.N. Security Council, the cities and towns where the crevasses opened were deserted and there were no casualties as a direct result of the phenomenon.

Hecate and Eden spent the two days before the war training the mages who would be using the summoning staffs. To no one’s surprise, Myrdin mastered his weapon within minutes of holding it and was soon assisting the Goddess of Magic and the Magus in their exercises far out over the ocean, where the damage from the powers of the Nine Hells could be limited.

And in the sky high above the city, Cassius and Kalliste taught Theo how to control the Book of Rain. Because the demigod would not only be shielding Earth in the coming war. He would protect all the realms, just as Nephele, the first wielder of the artifact, did when Chaos’s children fought the Primordial God.

By the morning of the second day, Satoru, Kazmi, Guiying, and Viken confirmed the final evacuation of Earth’s citizens to the designated sanctuaries that would be protected by the human armies. Many had refused to leave their homes, preferring to take a chance on Fate rather than abandon the place where they had set roots.

To Eden’s relief, Brianna was not one of them. Though the witch had wanted to fight by their side, Eden and Malik had convinced her she should look after her health and the baby growing inside her. Lilaia and Phebei had accompanied the Hexa director to the refuge where they would be taking shelter.

On the last evening before the war, they feasted and sang and danced late into the night, so much so the city fairly echoed with the wild chants of the otherworldly forces and the humans who would fight by their side. It was a celebration of life and love and eternal friendship, ahead of dark times that would probably see many of them perish.

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