But the guys don’t laugh with me. Instead, they share a look, and before I can flinch away, Dane grabs my hand and presses it to the trident, asking again, “What would you do with all of the relics, Serena?”
“I’d give them to Rostova.” I reply again, and this time, four sets of eyes narrow on me.
I draw in a sharp breath. Oh fuck.
Lore and Keaira turn to me, both with wide eyes. “Mistress, I think it’s time to—”
“Yep!” I shout. With my hand still under Dane’s on the trident, I wrap my fingers around it tightly and pull. It slips easily from his unsuspecting grasp.
I vault over the back of the sofa, ignoring the pulling sensation at my back, and leap toward the door. The guys call out, but I don’t stop as I rip it open and cross the threshold. Four sets of stomping feet follow me, but before they reach the door, I conjure a curse in my hand and throw it behind me as I jump down the front steps.
“No one inside this house may leave.”
I glance over my shoulder and skid to a stop to watch the guys pound angrily on the green barrier rising as a dome around the house, preventing them coming after me. But it’s the two black creatures trying to escape that pull my attention.
“We can’t leave, Mistress. Please go on without us,” Lore urges and I’m torn between breaking the curse and leaving them behind.
The trident burns in my hands, a reminder of what I have to do and to whom it needs to be given. Staring into each of the guy’s eyes, I grip the hilt so tightly that my palm aches and my fingers tremble.
“Those four boys of yours might get caught in the crossfire…”
I won’t let them get hurt or die because of Rostova. They’ll be safe here. I hope. Spinning around, I ignore their cries and pleas, and head toward the temple where I’d agreed to meet Nyx.
The cool night’s air brushes against my skin, helping to ease the panic burning in my chest as I enter the temple. My eyes immediately draw to the statue of Poseidon, and I clutch the trident tighter in my fist.
“I’m surprised you came, Serena,” Her voice echoes around the temple, and a tightness fills my chest as She steps from within the shadows falling across the marbled floor.
I shrug as I hold up the note, and a small smile forms on my lips the closer I get. “I kind of had to. Apparently, it’s a great honor to be summoned by a goddess.”
Nyx laughs; the sound tinkles through the air like music in the wind. “I have missed you, daughter, more than you can possibly know.”
I swallow the lump in my throat, and I nod, not willing to speak the words I know She wants to hear. Not yet.
“How have you been, my goddess?” I ask instead, and I’m proud of how steady my voice sounds.
Giving me a long look, She nods in understanding as She moves through the shadows until She is before me. Her eyes roam over my face. “I am well, thank you. And how is your back? I saw you were injured quite severely.”
I wave my hand. “I’m fine. The medics fixed me up. I’ve… endured worse.”
She sighs and reaches out to cup my cheek. “I am so sorry my child,” She whispers into my mind. She filters through everything that has happened to me, and I allow her to. I want her to know the pain She caused me. Now She is here, She can see, feel, and experience everything… and that makes me feel somewhat better and worse.
“What are you going to do with the trident, Serena?” She asks, and I open my eyes to stare into her emerald green ones.
After all, we’ve been through, the guys have been the best friends I’ve ever had. I can’t betray them like I’m going to. I would rather die than give Rostova the trident. But I know that if I don’t…
“I don’t know how to win this battle, Mother. It seems that at every turn, there is something I’m missing,” I say back. “If I don’t hand over the trident, Rostova promised to kill my men, but if I hand the trident over, they will never forgive me.”
Nyx stares into my eyes, and I can see the inky blackness raging inside them, sparking with black lightning. “Where are the boys now?”
My jaw clenches, and my gaze sinks to the floor. “I locked them inside our house. They would have tried to stop me, and I…” I shake my head, my mouth falling open as I mouth words but can’t see to find the right ones. “Lore and Keaira are with them.”
“Serena, I wish I could help, you know I do. But I cannot meddle in the affairs of mortals.”
When I look at Her again, She looks pained, Her eyes squinted and Her mouth turned down. “Are those boys worth throwing everything away for?” She asks. “Are they worth giving up your life and your secrets for?”
Are they worth betraying?
Each of their faces fills my thoughts, but after a moment, I nod. There’s no way I could live without them now. Absolutely none. It would be like giving up my heart. I may betray them when I leave this temple, but it is with the best possible intentions.
Nyx smiles as if hearing my thoughts. “Are you dating all of them? I don’t have to remind you of how the birds and bees work, do I?”
A blush stains my cheek, and I scrunch my nose. “No. You really do not have to do something that awful ever again.”
She throws her head back and wipes non-existent sweat from her head. “That’s a relief,
