Page 72 of Redemption

I grip her hand tighter, never wanting to let go, and my chest warms at the certainty in her voice. “You’re right, angel. We won’t let him win.”

“We won’t let him take our happiness or steal your sunshine away ever again,” Kyros agrees as the twinkle of the morning sun peeks over the horizon, adding to the golden luminescence surrounding the house.

“I’ll race you there,” Olivia says, her hands already dropping from mine and Kyros’ as she launches herself towards the house. I can’t help but watch her, intrinsically knowing we’ll be all right as the sun casts a golden shimmer on her hair, lighting her up like the god she is.

With Olivia by my side, we could be buried in the depths of the infernal realm and I would still be the luckiest god to ever live.

With her, for the first time in my life, I actually feel alive, and there’s nothing in the world that will take that from me.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Olivia

“Youdidallthis?”Titus asks, staring up at the ceiling in awe. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he was trying to find some sort of mistake in the construction.

I mean, I’m not an engineer, but I trust my powers to not remake the manor so it would cave in on us...I really hope it’s structurally sound. Is there like a demigod of engineering we can call or something?

“Don’t act so surprised,” I admonish, tsking him for doubting me. I wish my tone could be more scathing, but honestly, I can’t help but smile back at him. My excitement at him figuring out the answer to getting Maximus out seems to be overshadowing the usual annoyance I hold for him.

“Sorry.” He rolls his eyes, trying to be sarcastic, but I can still tell that he’s impressed.

“It was incredible to witness,” Kyros says, wrapping his arms around me as he pulls me down onto his lap. I let out a small oof as I collapse back onto him and he bounces on the plush sofa.

“She was a superstar,” Adrian agrees as he sits beside us, glaring playfully at Kyros for scooping me up first.

“She is my daughter after all,” my father chuckles as he sits on the couch opposite from us after just touring the new house.

I was amazed with just how many details I was able to remember, like this place has ingrained itself in my memory. Honestly, I think it was the house itself that did most of the work. I just had to breathe new life into it, feeding it all the love and joy that flooded into me from my guys, and it rebuilt itself, piece by piece. Everything back in its rightful place.

“Our daughter,” Octavia corrects him, giving me a wink as she takes a seat beside him. I can’t help but grin back at her, eternally grateful for her stepping up last night and watching after Max when I couldn’t.

My stomach twists with concern at the reminder that none of us are with Max, but he still has the protection of Orrin and Nyssa, who agreed to watch after him while we discuss what Titus found. Max wasn’t exactly thrilled with the two majors looking out for him, but if Titus really found the answer to getting him out of there, I’m willing to do whatever it takes.

“I just wish I’d been here to see it,” Mateo says, propping himself onto the arm of the couch on my other side, his thick fingers feathering a light touch through my hair as he pushes it back from my face.

“Romulus won’t be happy when he finds this out.” My father beams, like the thought of pissing the dark leader off gives him more joy than the house being rebuilt does. I shake my head, not even bothering to respond to the delight the thought brings him.

I was so close to giving up yesterday, so close to letting him win, until I realized that if he won, it would be my choice, and I’m not giving up without a fight.

“Are you going to let us know what sort of ingredients you need to break this spell?” Mateo asks, bringing us back to the reason that we’re here.

I was able to get maybe an hour or two of sleep as the sun came up, but before I knew it the day was already upon us and I wanted to visit Maximus again. My stomach twists at the memory that comes trickling back as he slept in the corner, his face just as pale, if not worse than it had been when I left last night.

Was it some sort of reaction to being in the infernal realm, or was it something more?

“Max didn’t look great this morning,” I admit, chewing on my bottom lip and wishing I could do more to help him right now.

Titus nods, as though it’s something he expected as he stands beside the couches, clearly preparing to announce his plan. “I have to get the ingredients for the spell today, but we’ll need to have a plan in place because what I need for it won’t go unnoticed by Romulus for very long.”

“What do you mean?” Kyros shifts beneath me, and I can already tell he’s alert and ready to learn more without even having to look at him.

“I have to get the dagger in order to complete the spell.”

Silence settles around the room and I look to all my mates, knowing what this will mean. It was the same reason we were keeping my bond with the weapon quiet. As soon as I call it back to me, Romulus will unleash an all out war upon us.

“I’ll have to track them down and sneak into their hideout before I can secure it,” Titus continues, completely oblivious to the palpable tension vibrating through the room as he turns towards the door, seemingly deep in thought. “But he won’t take losing it again lightly. We have to be ready for a full-scale attack as soon as I leave. We already know he’s willing to sacrifice his army just for the weapon.”

He turns back to us, his brows furrowed as we sit in silence, each of us debating if we should let him know.

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