12. Liora #2
Beside her, Maldenis squeezed her hand. The simple gesture made her glance at him.
It was strange. Not long ago, they had barely tolerated each other.
Now they were walking through minotaur territory together, hunting for demigods, and navigating prophecies and ancient grudges.
And somehow, he was the one comforting her. Things had changed very fast.
The path curved down into a wide clearing that had been turned into a park.
Liora slowed when she saw it.
Flat stone benches lined the edges of the space, and a large sandpit sat in the middle where several minotaur children were playing. Their laughter carried easily in the mountain air as they ran between carved wooden climbing structures shaped like little mazes.
For a moment, the scene felt almost peaceful.
Liora and Zara noticed immediately when Elian stopped walking. The siblings had spent their whole lives reading each other’s smallest cues, and she saw the slight tilt of his head, the way his eyes focused somewhere in the park.
“So…” Liora said quietly. “Should we?”
Elian nodded once.
They moved without needing to discuss it. Zara drifted toward the opposite side of the park while Hektor stood close to her. Liora stayed a few steps back, watching the space between them carefully as they settled into position.
Then they began.
It was subtle at first—a faint shimmer of energy as their powers aligned, each of them forming one point of the invisible triangle they used to locate divine bloodline.
Liora scanned the park.
Youngsters ran past them, laughing, kicking sand, and climbing over each other.
Then a symbol flickered into view above the sandpit.
It hovered faintly in the air, glowing just long enough for the triplets to see.
Above a small female minotaur child sitting near Elian.
She was quietly building a little sand mound with a wooden shovel, completely unaware of what had just appeared over her head.
Elian took a small step closer, but before he could say anything, a massive shadow fell over him.
“What are you doing?” The voice was deep and sharp, belonging to a large male minotaur, his horns curved wide over his head as he loomed over Elian. His eyes narrowed. “Magic is not allowed here.”
Before Elian could respond, the minotaur grabbed him roughly by the arm.
Zara reacted instantly. “Hey!” she snapped. She rushed forward, grabbing Elian’s other arm and yanking him free.
Liora was already moving. “Get your hands off him,” she said sharply, stepping between them.
The minotaur’s nostrils flared as he looked down at them. “You’re outsiders,” he growled. “And you’re doing magic in a place where younglings play.” His gaze swept over the group with open hostility. “You are not welcome here.”
He pointed back toward the path. “You should leave. Now.”
Before anyone could argue, he turned and grabbed the girl’s hand, pulling her quickly away from the sandpit. The child looked confused as she stumbled after him. Within seconds, they had disappeared down a side path.
“What the—” Liora stared after them.
Footsteps approached behind them as the rest of the group caught up.
“What happened?” Maldenis frowned.
Brontaios looked equally confused. “You found something?”
Zara let out an irritated breath. “Oh, we found something.”
Elian rubbed his arm where the minotaur had grabbed him. “Yeah,” he muttered. “And apparently we’re not supposed to use our powers here.”
“They went that way,” Liora pointed down the narrow stone path the minotaurs had taken.
They hurried after them, their footsteps quick against the worn stone as they moved deeper into the neighborhood. The houses here were closer together, smaller than the ones near the ridge center, with carved wooden doors and thick stone walls.
Ahead of them, Brontaios spoke under his breath. “This clan…” he said, sounding uneasy. “They have a history with magic.”
Liora glanced at him. “What kind of history?”
“They hate it.” Brontaios grimaced.
“We noticed,” Elian scoffed quietly.
“They left the Upperworld centuries ago,” Brontaios continued. “Their clan fought a sorcerer there. Lost badly. Since then, they’ve blamed magic for everything.”
Liora shot him a look. “Well, that would’ve been nice to know before we started triangulating in the middle of their playground.”
“Agreed,” Maldenis snorted. He glanced ahead, already scanning the buildings. “Let’s just see if we can get him to talk to us.”
The path curved and opened into a small cul-de-sac.
Several homes faced the round clearing, their doors painted in deep, earthy colors.
Liora immediately spotted the minotaur from the park entering one of the houses on the right, the little girl still holding his hand. The door shut firmly behind them.
“There,” Zara said.
They slowed slightly as they approached.
“Ready?” Hektor asked quietly.
Maldenis nodded. He, Hektor, and Brontaios stepped forward first, naturally forming the front of the group. The triplets moved right behind them.
Maldenis reached the door and knocked firmly. The sound echoed against the stone walls. For a moment, nothing happened, then the door opened with a sharp pull.
The minotaur stood there, filling the doorway with his broad frame. His dark eyes swept over the group, and his expression made it very clear he hadn’t cooled down since their last encounter.
“You’ll be in deep trouble,” he said bluntly, “if you do not leave our territory.”
Maldenis didn’t move; instead, he offered a polite nod. “My name is Maldenis of Solkaris,” he said evenly. “And we’re not here to cause problems. We’re looking for the children of Zeus.”
The minotaur’s expression hardened.
“There are forces searching for them,” Maldenis continued calmly. “Dangerous ones. Our job is to find them first and make sure they’re safe.”
The minotaur’s gaze flicked from Maldenis to the others, lingering briefly on the triplets. He looked deeply unconvinced, but after a moment, he glanced down the street behind them.
He exhaled sharply. “We should take this inside,” he muttered. “Before someone starts asking questions.”
He stepped aside.
The group exchanged quick glances before stepping into the house.
The living room was small but warm. A thick woven rug covered most of the floor, and low wooden shelves lined the walls.
Toys were scattered in one corner: carved animals, wooden blocks, and a half-finished sand sculpture sitting on a tray.
It was obvious that a child lived here.
The little girl from the park was nowhere in sight, but Liora heard faint movement somewhere deeper in the house.
Brontaios stepped forward first. “I’m helping them,” he said to the minotaur. “These outsiders came because monsters need to be warned.”
“You’re stirring trouble,” the minotaur crossed his arms, his massive shoulders tight with suspicion.
“We’re trying to prevent it,” Maldenis replied, briefly introducing them. “We’re operating under the authority of Lord Eros and assisting in locating and protecting Zeus’s children before anyone else finds them.”
The minotaur studied them again, his skepticism not entirely fading, but his posture shifting slightly. Finally, he sighed. “My name is Asterion.”
Liora noticed the way he said it, like he wasn’t entirely comfortable giving it.
“You’re asking questions about gods and magic in a place that does not welcome either,” Asterion continued. “You understand why that can cause problems.”
“We do,” Maldenis nodded.
“But you’re not answering anything,” Liora said bluntly.
Asterion’s gaze flicked to her. “I don’t know what you expect me to say.”
“That little girl in the park,” Elian said carefully.
Asterion’s posture stiffened. “You should leave,” he said immediately.
Maldenis lifted a hand slightly. “We’re not here to expose anyone,” he said. “We’re here to help.”
Asterion’s eyes narrowed again.
Liora lost her patience and stepped forward. “If the child is Zeus’s daughter,” she said plainly, “then she needs protection.”
Asterion’s jaw tightened. “I’m taking care of that,” he said sharply.
The room fell quiet for a moment. Brontaios shifted slightly beside them, his expression darkening. “I’ve heard of him,” he said slowly, nodding toward the minotaur. “He has…certain talents that are valuable to his clan.” There was something grim in the way he said it.
Zara’s eyes narrowed. “You’re hiding something,” she said flatly.
“You outsiders see conspiracies everywhere,” Asterion snorted and waved a dismissive hand.
But Zara didn’t back down. “If your clan is against magic,” she said, tilting her head slightly, “then that must be it. What are the girl’s powers?”
Asterion went still for a brief moment, his eyes sharpening. “My niece has no powers,” he snapped. “She’s just a youngling.”
Elian stepped forward slightly, his voice calm. “We can help you protect her.”
Asterion suddenly surged forward, his massive frame moving far faster than Liora expected for someone his size. “Out,” he growled.
He didn’t touch them directly, but there was a force behind his movement, an overwhelming pressure that drove them backward. Step by step, they were pushed toward the door before anyone could properly react.
“Hey—” Elian started.
Asterion forced them out onto the stone path and slammed the door shut behind them with a thunderous bang.
“What the—” Liora exclaimed.
They all stared at the door for a moment.
Zara blinked. “Well, that escalated.”
Elian rubbed the back of his neck, bewildered. Hektor frowned toward the house while Brontaios looked deeply uncomfortable.
“What are we going to do now?” Zara asked.
The group instinctively formed a loose huddle in the middle of the cul-de-sac, voices lowering as they began to talk over each other.
“He’s not going to open that door again,” Elian said.
“Not after that,” Hektor agreed.
Brontaios sighed heavily. “This clan will close ranks if they think outsiders are threatening one of their own.”
While the others spoke, Maldenis moved away from the group, and Liora followed him. They drifted a few paces down the path where the others couldn’t easily hear them. For a moment, they both looked back at the house.
A child lived in there. One who had no idea why strangers had just shown up asking questions about gods.
“She should stay with her clan,” she said quietly.
Maldenis looked at her.
“If nobody knows,” she continued, “then she’ll be safe.”
He raised a brow. “That’s not how this works.”
“It can be,” she insisted. “If she keeps living her life like normal.”
He shook his head slightly. “Liora—”
“When I was a kid,” she continued, her voice tightening, “I was told not to use my powers. Ever. Not around people. Not unless I absolutely had to.” She glanced back at the house. “And it worked. I stayed under the radar for years.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“It is the same. If no one knows she’s Zeus’s kid, then nobody comes looking for her.”
“We were able to figure out she’s Zeus’s kid.” He dragged a hand through his hair.
“But that was because of our power,” she shot back. “Because we went looking.”
“You don’t think the hunters aren’t magical?” Maldenis let out a humorless laugh. “Or backed by the divine?”
Her jaw tightened. “That doesn’t mean they’ll find her.”
“It means we can’t assume they won’t,” he countered. “We’re not the only ones with resources.”
“She has a whole clan protecting her,” she insisted.
“A clan that hates magic and doesn’t even understand what she is. That’s not protection, that’s a blind spot.”
“Or it’s exactly why she’s stayed hidden this long.”
“And how long do you think that lasts now that groups are actively searching?”
Her arms crossed tightly over her chest. “Long enough if we don’t go around announcing it.”
“So, your plan is to walk away and hope no one else figures it out?” His eyes flashed.
“My plan,” she snapped, “is not to be the reason her entire life gets torn apart.”
“She needs to know.” He ran a hand through his hair.
Liora crossed her arms more tightly over herself as if bracing against his words. Heat crept up her neck, the kind that came when she felt both angry and strangely hurt at the same time.
“Even if it means leaving her clan,” he continued. “Even if it turns her whole life upside down.”
“That’s exactly the problem!” she snapped. Her voice rose before she could stop it. “She has a home and a family who loves her.”
“And she also has enemies she doesn’t even know about,” he shot back.
“She’ll lose everything if we expose her.”
He shook his head again. “She’ll lose everything if someone finds her first.”
“You don’t know that.” She glared at him.
“And you don’t know she’ll be safe hiding forever.”
She threw up her hands. “You’re asking a child to leave her entire life behind!”
“I’m asking her to survive,” Maldenis said sharply.
Liora’s chest felt tight, and she hated that it felt like this—like they were standing on opposite sides of something neither of them could step back from.
For a moment, they just stared at each other.