“We'll figure it out,” I said brightly. “We always do.”
“I'm sure we will, Lala,” Re agreed. “It's just unsettling. I wish I'd never found that damn mirror.”
“I think it was the other way around, and the Mirror found you. Regardless, there's no point in wasting wishes like that.” I kissed his cheek. “Better to wish for things you can have.”
“But all of my important wishes have already come true.” Re smiled tenderly at me.
The other men didn't so much as groan; there had been too much raw truth in Re's words. Re's raw truth; now, that was kinda funny. But no, even I couldn't tease him after that naked honesty.
“Mine too,” I said instead. “More than I wished for.”
And that was the truth as well. My fulfilled wishes stood before me and played with our daughter in a butterfly garden above me. These men were my happiness, and if I had to fight every day of my life to protect that happiness, I would, and I'd count myself lucky.
“I'm the one who let Narcissus out,” I said. “If he's been taking the Greeks, I need to set things right.”
“Let's hear what Athena has to say before we go vowing vengeance on Narcissus,” Trevor cautioned. “The guy rose my hackles, but we still don't know for certain that this is his doing.”
The other men grimaced at Trevor.
“You weren't in that mirror with us.” Trevor shook his head adamantly. “Everything was an illusion; nothing could be trusted. It makes you really think about how things are perceived. I want some solid proof of who's behind this. I want to be certain I kill the right god, and I'm not tricked again.”
“It was confusing in there,” I confirmed. “And you're right, Trevor, it messes with your mind. It reminds me of coming out of Iktomi's Internet after he tortured me. Reality becomes suspect. You feel as if you can't trust your own eyes.”
“Iktomi,” Odin hissed. “That's one son of a bitch I'm relieved to know is dead.”
“It took a lot to kill him,” Azrael added.
“At least we know Narcissus isn't that strong,” I said. “If it is him, he shouldn't be too hard to kill.”
The men groaned.
“Sorry.” I grimaced. “I didn't mean to jinx us.”
“Don't concern yourself with jinxes,” Re said confidently. “The Fates are on your side, remember?”
If only Re had known that those words were a jinx even worse than mine.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
“She was right behind me,” Athena said. “No more than two feet away.”
The Greek Gods shuffled behind the Lady of Olympus. There were more than Olympians with Athena today. Torrent was still there with Artie but there was also Morpheus, Dionysus, his wife Ariadne, Donnie's wife Amphitrite, their son Triton, and the Erotes (Greek Gods of Love). They all looked nervous. Their pantheon had just come under attack a few months ago; Triton and Athena were the most affected. Well, them, Zeus, and Hera. Zeus had been roasted over a campfire and eaten; you couldn't get more affected than that.
“Just tell us what happened, Athena,” Odin said gently.
“We were all taking shifts watching Apollo, Artemis, and Torrent,” Athena said. “Hestia was with me, but I was focused on Apollo. I didn't think to look for her until the end of our shift. Anteros and Himeros came to relieve us and that's when we noticed that she was gone.”
“We went to her home, but she wasn't there either,” Himeros said. “Hestia never leaves the mountain, but we've searched Olympus and she isn't here.”
“Show me where you—”
Before I could finish, a couple of Greek gods who I didn't recognize came in with Cephissus They weren't dragging him exactly, but he wasn't coming peacefully either. Cephissus finally managed to pull his arms free of their death-grips—though I think it was because they let him—and straightened his clothes indignantly. The two gods who were escorting Cephissus nodded at Athena and then took up positions near the door to the living room we were meeting in.
I'd been in this room before, back when Zeus owned the place. It had an entire wall that was open to a terrace with an incredible view of Oceanus. Salty air shifted the chiffon curtains lazily. They looked similar to the ones that had been there before but the rest of the room was very different. A baby grand piano immediately grabbed the eye, its glassy, ebony surface the darkest thing in the room. The rest of the furniture posed before the piano, upholstered in soft gray velvet, and a matching carpet covered the tile floor. To add a gleam to the gray, an abundance of mirrored surfaces invaded the room. Those surfaces were making me as nervous as the Greeks, but I refused to be cowed by reflections. The room would be good for me; aversion therapy.
Cephissus plopped down on the only available seat, the piano bench, and glared at Athena. “What do you want?”
“Your son,” Athena said. “The Council needs to question Narcissus but no one has been able to reach him.”
Cephissus smirked. “I'll tell you the same thing I told her.” He jerked his thumb at me. “I gave my son a part of my territory, and he made it impenetrable. You can't pass through; no one can.”
“How did he do that?” Athena stood to confront Cephissus, and the River God paled. “Tell me, Cephissus, or I shall hold you responsible for your son's actions.”
“You can't do that!” He shouted and stood. “I had nothing to do with his choices. All I did was provide for my child as any parent would.”
“You're harboring a fugitive,” Athena said coldly. “A murderer who may have killed
