“I hate that you’re so quick to throw yourself into danger,” I say. “But actually, that’s not what this is about. I know better than to think you might actually listen to me about that one.”
“It’s not?” she says, raising an eyebrow.
I shake my head.
“Sit down,” I say, leading her to the table and chairs at the end of the room.
We sit down facing each other, and I take one of her hands in mine. Now the moment is here, I don’t really know how to tell her. She’s starting to look concerned and I know I have to say something and fast.
“Sailor, earlier on, I told you I love you. And I do. Gods know I fucking really do,” I say.
She smiles and tears shine in her eyes.
“I feel the same way,” she says.
“Good,” I say. “But there’s something you should know. Something I should have told you a long time ago. You know how the gods have a habit of killing humans that fall for gods, right? Well, you were right about this scenario. They’re not going to kill the Paradox. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be consequences to us being together. Nexus told me if we defy them and come together, then they’ll…”
I stop, unable to say any more. Sailor’s eyes flash with panic and she squeezes my hand.
“They’ll what, Rye? Tell me,” she demands.
“They’ll kill your father,” I say. “But I swear I won’t let that happen.”
Sailor jumps to her feet and begins to pace the kitchen, staring at me angrily.
“How long have you know about this?”
I don’t reply.
“How long, Rye?”
“Too long,” I finally admit. “I did everything I could to make you hate me, but nothing worked. And as much as I tried to stay away from you, I couldn’t. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but I swear to you I will keep your father safe. The gods could kill me before I would let them harm him.”
“I can’t believe you kept this from me,” she shouts. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“I was thinking you had enough to deal with without another worry being put on you, and I thought I could be strong and stay away from you, but I can’t.”
The anger leaves Sailor in a rush and she sits back down and puts her head in her hands. Finally, she looks up at me.
“It’s not fair that my dad has to be the one to pay the price, Rye. I mean, I’m saving the whole fucking world here and the gods want to repay me by killing the only family I have. What sort of a sick deal is that?”
“One that I won’t allow to happen. I promise you, I will find a way. If you still want me to,” I add.
She looks at me silently for a long time and I’m beginning to think she’s going to tell me to leave, but instead, she nods her head once.
“Yes. I’m not ready to stop fighting for us, Rye. We’ll find a way to beat the gods. Together,” she says.
Her eyes lock on mine and she starts to move closer to me. My heart skips a beat. She’s going to kiss me. I can almost taste her lips before they reach mine, can almost feel her in my arms.
The front door opens and we jump apart. Sailor looks at me and giggles and I can’t help but join her. Adam comes into the kitchen with a tower of pizza boxes in his hands and a couple of bottles of soda tucked underneath his arm.
“What are you two doing in here?” he asks.
“We were just going to get the plates and stuff out,” I say quickly.
Adam raises his eyebrow and he shakes his head. He turns to Sailor.
“I really hope he’s lying to me about that, Sailor, because if you’re with someone who thinks you need plates for pizza? Well, I don’t think I can give you my approval for that one,” he says with a laugh.
Sailor blushes again but she laughs along.
“What if it was my idea?” she says.
“Then you’re disowned,” Adam says without missing a beat.
I think I see the tiniest flicker of pain on Sailor’s face, but it’s gone as soon as it came, and I may well have imagined it. She gets to her feet and takes the pile of boxes from Adam.
“Grab the soda, Rye,” she says.
I do as I’m told and Adam and I follow Sailor back into the living room, where she’s spreading the pizza boxes out on the ground and opening them up. She picks up a slice of pepperoni pizza and sits down. No one else is moving, and she laughs.
“Don’t be shy, everyone. Dig in,” Adam says.
His words have an instant effect and within minutes, we’re all digging into pizza and listening to Adam telling us about a customer in the diner who insisted that the staff was trying to kill her because there were mushrooms in her meal. She hadn’t mentioned a mushroom allergy and had chosen a mushroom risotto, so it was a little hard to take her complaint seriously, especially considering she ate almost the whole plate, and eventually, the owner had asked her to leave. Adam said she was moaning for half an hour by that point after claiming she’d be dead within five minutes.
We all laugh at his story, and for a moment, I let myself pretend this is it. That we’re just normal teenagers living normal lives and nothing else is going to happen to any of us. That the most stressful thing we’ll have to encounter is exams at school. It’s a nice dream and I cling to it, but I know it won’t last. It can’t last. The Horsemen and the Boundless won’t wait around while we play happy families for a few days.
We finish the pizzas and Adam stands up to clear the boxes away, but I beat him to it.
“Let me get them,” I say. “It’s the least I can
