Chapter Sixty-five
Nadia
The clocktower looked completely different inside.
Still smelled like motor oil and cigarettes, though.
Some things never changed. I stood in the middle of the top floor, turning slowly while morning light poured through the massive circular windows overlooking Stonebridge.
The old space was gone now, replaced with exposed brick walls, dark wood floors, industrial light fixtures, and an actual apartment.
A real one. Not just a mattress shoved beside clock parts. A kitchen stretched along the far wall, a couch sat beneath the windows. There was even a bookshelf. A fucking bookshelf.
“You built shelves?” I asked suspiciously. Behind me, Riven looked deeply offended.
“What’s wrong with shelves?”
“You don’t read.”
“I read sometimes.”
“Kendra’s conspiracy threads don’t count.” Riven ignored that.
I wandered slowly deeper into the apartment, fingertips brushing across fresh paint and unfinished wood. The space still looked rough around the edges, but it felt… warm. Safe. It felt like home. The realization scared me a little. Then I saw the bathroom. I froze dramatically in the doorway.
“Riven.”
“What?”
“There’s a clawfoot bathtub in here.”
“Yeah.” I turned toward him slowly.
“You stole a bathtub.” “I acquired a bathtub.” He corrected me.
“Oh, my God.” He grinned unapologetically.
“You like baths.”
I did. Especially after panic attacks, nightmares, and bad days. The fact he remembered made my chest ache. Riven moved behind me slowly before wrapping both arms around my waist.
“You hate it?” I leaned back against him immediately.
“No,” I admitted quietly.
“I love it.” His mouth brushed my temple softly.
“Good.”
For a little while, neither of us spoke.
The city stretched beyond the windows below us while traffic moved slowly through Stonebridge streets still healing from Olympus’ collapse.
Things felt strange lately. Lighter. Not fixed, never fixed.
But breathing didn’t hurt as much anymore.
Riven’s hands slid into the pockets of my jeans.
“You know Pop’s pretending he doesn’t cry every time he sees us together again.” I snorted softly.
“He absolutely cries.”
“Shane caught him looking at wedding venues online.” I blinked.
“What?” Riven looked way too amused suddenly.
“He’s planning something.” That immediately terrified me. Before I could respond, footsteps thundered loudly up the metal staircase below us.
“Kendra said you have coffee!” Abby burst through the door carrying approximately six bakery boxes while Shane followed behind her, looking exhausted already.
“Why are you yelling?” Riven complained.
“Because I climbed six flights of stairs.” Fair. Shane dropped onto the couch immediately.
“Deck hasn’t slept in thirty-six hours.”
“Why?”
“Isla’s contractions stopped, and now he thinks the baby’s waiting specifically to psychologically torture him.” That was probably true. Abby dumped the bakery boxes onto the counter before looking around the apartment.
“Oh damn.” That was high praise coming from Abby. She pointed toward the windows.
“You can literally see the whole city from up here.” I walked closer automatically.
Stonebridge stretched beneath us in every direction.
The west side streets, the east side homes.
Blackwater Falls cutting through the mountain beyond town.
The Styx was buried now. Collapsed beneath tons of rock and floodwater.
Olympus’ underworld turned into a grave.
Exactly what Anton deserved. A knock sounded downstairs.
“If someone doesn’t answer this door immediately, I’m leaving Rhys with you forever!” Kendra yelled. Riven immediately headed for the stairs.
“Absolutely not.”
I laughed soundlessly. It wasn’t that I didn’t want Rhys living with me now; it was that there was still work to do, Gods to find, and systems to tear down.
This safety was temporary; this was the calm after a storm as we waited for the next one.
I also didn’t think Kendra would let us take Rhys with us.
She was far too lonely after what happened in Briarwood all those years ago. After Rainer… well, you know.
A minute later, Kendra appeared carrying Rhys on one hip while balancing two laptops and an iced coffee in the other hand.
“How are you alive?” Shane asked her.
“Spite.” Rhys immediately reached for me the second he saw me. My entire body softened automatically while I took him from Kendra’s arms. He grabbed my necklace instantly.
“Still obsessed with shiny objects, huh?”
“He tried eating a screw yesterday,” Kendra informed me.
“Allegedly,” Shane muttered. Riven returned upstairs carrying more boxes behind them.
“What’s all this?” Kendra smiled slowly.
“Oh, you’ll love this.” That was ominous.
Very ominous. She opened one of the laptops on the counter before turning the screen toward us. Encrypted Olympus files filled the display. Maps, names, financial records, and symbols. The pillar and olive branch. A trident. A lightning bolt. Poseidon and Zeus. My stomach tightened instantly.
“Olympus survived,” I said quietly. Kendra nodded once.
“Hades’ sector collapsed after the Styx, but the others?” Her expression darkened.
“Still active.” Silence settled across the apartment. Riven stepped closer beside me automatically.
“Can we reach them?” Kendra hesitated slightly.
“Maybe.”
The room felt colder suddenly. Because despite everything-Anton’s death. Naoya’s death. The tunnels collapsing, Olympus still existed. I stared down at the files while Rhys babbled quietly in my arms, completely unaware that secret organizations and dead gods still haunted the edges of our lives.
Part of me wanted to go after them immediately. Burn the rest of Olympus to the ground before they could regroup. But another part, a quieter part, was tired. For the first time in years, I finally had something beyond survival. Family. Friends. A home. Riven touched my back gently.
“You don’t have to decide today.” I looked up at him slowly and realized he understood exactly what
I was thinking. Dangerous man. Before I could answer, my phone buzzed loudly in my pocket. Unknown Number. I rolled my eyes and hung up.
I’d had enough of mysterious phone calls and unknown numbers. Riven was right. I didn’t have to decide tonight. Olympus would have to wait another day.