Antigoddess

“You carry it.” Hermes recoiled. “You’re the one with two working legs.”

Aidan smiled. He tossed the head down into the sand. Cassandra kissed his cheek, shivering. He held her closer. “You need a blanket.”

“You need a doctor.”

“No. We have to go.” He looked up the hill, where Athena waited, smiling down at them and shaking her head. “We’ll take that POS until we find something better. Big sister can cover our tail.” He took a breath. “We might make it. Athena’s here and Poseidon’s dead. We will make it, Cassandra.”

She looked into his eyes. “I was so scared, when I couldn’t see you.”

He smiled. “I’m sorry.”

“Then why are you smiling?”

“Because of what it means. Because of the chance.”

Hermes huffed. “Make kissy faces later. Let’s just hobble up this damned hill.” He jump-limped ahead, bitching under his breath.

Cassandra hid her grin. “He’s a good brother.”

“So’s yours.” Aidan nodded toward the destroyed Mustang, where Henry and Andie waited, side by side. “Killed a few Nereids and never once yelled at me about the car. You’re shivering.” He pulled her closer. The warmth of his arms and the nearness of him made her heart jump. He’d saved her life, and they might make it. They might make it and get past everything.

“The lake was cold. Could you do that sun-god thing you do?” He smiled, and heat radiated into her, soaking into her skin, drying her clothes and hair.

“Apollo!” Athena screamed. Cassandra looked up toward her, confused. The confusion lasted only an instant before Aphrodite raced out from between the trees and plunged a cracked branch through Aidan’s chest.

20 ARISTEIA

Aphrodite wrenched the improvised spear out of his chest, her sneer like a spoiled child. Aidan dropped to his knees.

“No!” Athena raced down the slope, not caring as Aphrodite turned tail and ran, only pausing to scoop up Poseidon’s severed head before fleeing up through the trees toward the road, her stained dress mocking them like a flag, blue and green.

“Get him to the car. Hermes, help me.” She grabbed Aidan under his arms and dragged him back up the hill. Cassandra scrambled along with them, crying and pressing her hands down on the wound. Leaves crunched and rustled beneath them in a thick, shifting carpet. Hermes tried to take hold of Aidan’s legs, but his ankle was ruined, and he kept slipping against the soggy ground. There was so much blood. Aidan coughed and Athena saw it on his teeth.

He’s all right. He’s a god, he’s fine. It won’t kill him. He’s fine.

They got him up to the road and leaned him against the side of the Dodge.

“I need water and a towel, something to stop the bleeding,” Athena barked. Odysseus nudged Henry and they ran to get what they could from the Mustang. “It’s okay, brother. It hurts, but you’ll recover.”

“He’ll recover,” Cassandra repeated, and Athena nodded. The way Cassandra stared at her, eyes coated over with tears, jaw clenched down tight to keep from screaming, what else could she say? She needed to believe her. They both did.

“Cassandra.” Aidan held out his hand and Cassandra took it, wincing at the blood. She wiped tears quickly from her cheeks.

“I’m not crying. Your sister’s right; you’ll be fine.”

“I’m sorry I scared you. I’m sorry for lots of things.”

“Don’t try to talk.” His hair clung to his forehead, still wet. She pushed it back and rubbed blood off his chin with her thumb. “Athena’s going to stop the bleeding. It’ll be okay.” She looked at Athena. “Aren’t you? You’re going to stop it?”

Athena glanced at the wound, at all the red pulsing out of it. Cassandra’s eyes were desperate, but she kept her voice even and measured, like she didn’t want Aidan to be afraid.

“Here.” Odysseus handed Athena a rolled-up shirt and a bottle of water.

She knelt and gently moved Aidan and Cassandra’s hands away from the wound. The bleeding was bad, spurting slowly through their fingers. It should have slowed. It should be slowing.

“We’ll have to wash this out when we get back to Kincade.” She pressed the shirt against his chest as hard as she could. “And you’ll need to be stitched up. Don’t worry. Odysseus is pretty good at it.”

Aidan barked a short laugh and grimaced. “We can’t go back there. They’ll find Cassandra.”

“Don’t argue with me right now.” Blood soaked through to her fingers. His eyes were glassy. Cassandra held his hand to her chest.

“Don’t argue. And don’t worry about me.” She looked at the blood and again at Athena. “Why isn’t it stopping?”

Athena shook her head helplessly and pressed down harder. She didn’t know what to do. “Take a sip of water,” she said. Aidan tried, but coughed most of it back up.

“I was just yanked under a lake. I’ve had plenty of water today.” Sweat stood out on his forehead in fine dots. His skin is cold. He’s never cold. He’s god of the sun.

“But this isn’t enough,” Hermes whispered. “It shouldn’t be bad enough to—it shouldn’t be able to. I don’t understand.”

“Somebody do something,” Cassandra began to shake. She looked at Athena. “Do something!”

Athena held Aidan’s shoulder.

We all go in our own way. This is Apollo’s way. He’s dying a mortal’s death. Aphrodite killed him and she probably didn’t even know what she was doing.

“It’s not her fault, Cassandra.” Aidan put his hand over Athena’s, over the wound in his chest. “You can’t let anything happen to her, sister. Promise me.”

You’re her protector, not me. Stay. Stay, brother. Don’t go somewhere I can’t find you.

“I promise.” The blood beneath her fingers slowed to a crawl. There simply wasn’t any left to bleed. He looked at Cassandra with such love and such regret, it almost stopped Athena’s heart.

“I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t apologize to me.” Cassandra kissed his hand. “You’re not going anywhere. You’re immortal. I’ve got my whole life to—”

Athena’s shoulders slumped. She’d felt it pass through her as Cassandra spoke. He was gone. Her fingers clenched into his shirt, tight enough to wring it out.

“No,” Cassandra moaned. Andie took her by the shoulders, but Cassandra looked like she was choking. Like her screams would explode inside her chest.

He can’t be gone. All this life, leaked out onto the pavement.

He was a god. There had to be some way to put it back. Athena wanted to scream, to cry, to crack the earth. Odysseus slid his hand onto the back of her neck. Behind Andie, Henry stared, looking like he was about to be sick.

“Why did this happen, sister?” Hermes asked. But she didn’t know. There were no answers, and the leathery flap of Demeter didn’t come to whisper wisdom into her ear. Apollo was dead. Poseidon was dead. It all felt pointless.

“Poor, idiotic Apollo.” Hera’s voice rolled across the asphalt, deep and mocking. She had come up from behind them, as Athena had known she would. The weight of her strides made the earth tremble.

Hermes stood quickly, his posture like a prey animal. Athena twisted and watched Hera approach. She stopped thirty yards away, arms crossed over her chest.

“I’m not going to say that it didn’t have to end like this,” she said.