Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Izzy
I look at my sister. I know she wants this to be some kind of epic showdown between us to prove that she’s the better sister, but I don’t give a fuck what she wants.
I just want to save my men. I have no idea how the box works, or Connor’s powers, but I can’t imagine anything good is happening to them inside the mansion right now.
And with Wilder and Aiden distracting them, and Viggo’s spell over the castle gone, this could be my chance to save them.
So, I smile right back and teleport away as her gaze changes to one of rage.
I appear inside the house by the stairs that lead to the basement.
Outside I can hear chaos, but I ignore it all.
Going down the stairs, I find Van still lying where he had been before.
Running to him, I kneel down beside him and check for a pulse.
The second I detect it, I feel an enormous wave of relief.
I take his wrinkled, cold hand in mine and teleport back to our castle.
I have to drag him onto my bed, but luckily he doesn’t wake.
I give him a quick kiss on the head, then teleport back to where I’d found Van, then continue on down the stairs.
The room is almost entirely filled up with water, but some kind of magic holds it back.
I take a deep breath, ready to dive in and search for the box, when a man lifts from the water.
“Barret,” I say his name like a curse.
He smiles, and I honestly can’t believe my sister, no matter how twisted she is, likes this man. He screams of cruelty. Something about him puts me on edge, like he’s a person who inflicts pain on people regularly, and enjoys it.
“So, you’re Izzy…Loki.” He smirks, and his gaze runs over my body in a way that makes me want to take a hot shower and scrub his gaze from my skin. “You’re far more beautiful than your sister.”
“We’re identical twins. And you’re both really unobservant and an asshole.”
His smirk never falters. “Oh, that confidence…that arrogance…it’s refreshing.
Thea is like…a broken doll. She was fun to play with at first, but now I wish I could just throw her away.
I planned all along to find someone else, but maybe I don’t have to.
Maybe when your men are all in the box, Thea can be the one to join them instead of you. Would you like that, sexy?”
“What I would like is to tear your throat out and feed your body to the fishes.”
He laughs. “I’m going to love breaking you, and you’re going to love it too. Come on, Loki, you don’t want those vanilla assholes. You want a real man, like me. Choose the winning side here, Izzy. And the winning side is the side I’m on.”
“Just give me the box,” I say.
He lifts his hand out of the water, clutching the golden box in his hand. “I’ll tell you what. If you can come get it, you can have it.”
I know the water is his domain. I know I’m putting myself at risk when I step forward, but I don’t care. Reid has saved my life more times than I can count.
So, I dive into the water. It comes to chest-level, and I wade forward, my power held tight. Ready to strike.
But he doesn’t move. He just holds the box out on his palm, waiting for me. I know it’s a trick, but I keep going. Reid would risk anything for me. And I’m the trickster god—in the end, I’ll find a way to win.
When I get close enough, I snag it, and then start to retreat.
He sinks into the water, and before I can turn around, his arms are around me from behind, his wet body pressed against mine.
“Silly Loki, fell for the easiest trick in the book. The old switcheroo. That’s not the real box, but now I have you, and you’re never going to get away.
You’re mine now.” His lips brush my throat.
I reach my hand back and let fire roar out of my fingertips. He screams, and I turn to see the skin of his face is on fire. He dives beneath the surface of the water, but the fire seems to keep burning.
Suddenly, I turn to see Thea. She’s standing, and the look of pain and heartbreak on her face is hard to miss. Did she hear all the things Barret said to me? She opens her hand, and the golden box is there. She drops it into the water, then turns and dives beneath the water.
I rush forward, ready for another attack, and grab the box. I swim in a rush back to the steps, but Thea never follows me. When I’m nearly clear, I hear Barret roar, a string of curses exploding from his lips, but I don’t hesitate, I teleport away.
Out on the lawn, Wilder and Aiden face Oliver.
Oliver looks at them like he wants to be anywhere else in the world.
“Where’s Connor?” I ask, frowning.
Wilder’s gaze snaps to me. “I think he’s inside.”
Something rolls down my spine. “I don’t think he is, but I got Reid,” I show the box, “and Van’s safe.”
“Let’s teleport back to the car,” Aiden says, and we all nod.
Before Oliver can say a word, we’re gone. We shimmer into existence by the car.
But Mr. Time and Brenda are gone. My heart lurches, and I walk around the side of the car. Mr. Time and Brenda are lying on the ground. Connor has a hand around each of their throats. When he sees us, he glares through a face that’s bleeding and swollen.
“Come any closer, and I’ll kill them! You guys might get your friends back, but I’ll age them until they die.”
“Don’t hurt them.” Aiden’s voice holds an unspoken threat.
“Barret! Thea! Oliver!” Connor’s voice circles around us.
For a minute nothing happens, and then we spot the other gods walking toward us. Half of Barret’s face is badly burned. Oliver looks scared as hell. And Thea…Thea’s face is unreadable.
We’re all tense, shifting around to keep them in view.
“Let him kill us,” Mr. Time says, his voice firm.
I watch as Connor starts to age him.
“No!” I shout.
Brenda is the one to speak now. “You have to let us go. You can’t save everyone.”
Yes, I can! There has to be a way.
“Give Thea the box,” Connor says slowly. “And we’ll let them live.”
“They’ll just trap you,” Mr. Time wheezes, his face wrinkled, his eyes sunken.
I look at Aiden and Wilder. They look unsure.
“Okay,” I finally say. We can teleport away in time. We can hope to. But I can’t just let my grandfather and Brenda die.
As Thea comes to take the box from me, her gaze won’t meet mine. She snakes it from my palm.
“Now we’ve got you at last,” Barret hisses.
“We gave you the box,” I say to Connor. “Now, let them go.”
Connor grins. “Or not.”
I look back at my sister, eyes wide.
She opens the box and suddenly, Reid comes pouring out.
“Thea, suck them in! Don’t let them out!”
“S-sorry!” Thea mutters.
Reid collapses onto his knees on the ground, and she turns the box to face me. I don’t know what to do. If I run now, Mr. Time and Brenda are dead.
Behind me, I hear Connor gasp. Van is there behind him, and his sword is through the other man’s belly. Connor’s mouth opens, and blood pours out.
Thea gasps, and I turn around, and as fast as I can, I snatch the box from her grip. I back up toward my men, holding it. If I use the box against them now, we can trap the gods and these people for eternity. The fight will be won.
But if I wait and attach the piece, they still have a chance at life.
Maybe I’m making a terrible mistake, but I shout behind me, “Teleport away! Take Mr. Time and Brenda with us!”
I sense them shimmer away behind me, but I glance to make certain, then take several steps back. Thea’s gaze is locked on mine, and I see something in her eyes, something that makes me wonder if she let me take the box.
“Kill her!” I hear someone shout.
Viggo is limping toward me, half his body burnt like something out of a horror movie.
Instead of hurting any of them, I teleport away.
My father might be a monster. My sister might have been turned into one by him. But I won’t become like them.