Page 56 of Crimson Skies

Pyri and Hecate exchanged a tense look.

“Their minds have not changed since the time they chose to support the God of Darkness,” Hecate replied, unable to mask her bitterness. “It is also why we left the Underworld before the War began. Those traitors would have betrayed us to Elios.”

Memories of the War in the Nether swarmed Cassius’s mind.So the Gods and spirits in Elios’s ranks were from the Underworld.

Pyri cast a jaundiced look at the assembled Goddesses and their allies before studying Cassius with a sharp expression. “I hope you’re ready to make up for your past mistakes, Awakener.”

Morgan lowered his brows at the deity’s accusing tone. “Not that we aren’t grateful for the help, but how about you stick to what you need to do and leave the rest to us?”

Pyri sneered. “Oh, please. You may be the bearer of the Sword of Wind, but you are no match for me,boy.”

Black currents detonated around Morgan. Thetis cursed and grabbed on to her slipping crown. Cassius laid a warning hand on his lover’s thigh.

“He’s just trying to piss you off,” Victor told Morgan.

“Well, he’s succeeded,” Morgan ground out.

Atropos rubbed her temples.

Pyri curled a lip. “I’m amazed you welcomed Coraos back into the fold, Atropos. Are you certain that snake will not betray you again?”

Dark flames ignited the air around Victor.

“This guy sure knows how to make friends, huh?” Menippe muttered while Theo attempted to appease his demigod lover.

But Pyri wasn’t quite done yet.

“Although I am pleased the Spear of Light has found a new owner, he looks far too inexperienced for the task ahead,”the fire deity continued scathingly. “And he’s a human to boot.”

Theo’s face tightened at this thinly veiled barb. Eden squinted, similarly unimpressed.

“That God is seriously looking for an ass-kicking,” Kalliste said between gritted teeth.

The queen of the Nymphs looked ready to bear arms.

“There is nothing to fear,” Atropos told Pyri firmly while the Dryads and the Hesperides soothed Kalliste’s ruffled feathers. “Theophile has more than proven himself in battle. As for Coraos, he recovered his memories in the Spirit Realm when he helped Boreas reclaim the Frost Crown. He is no longer under Hypnos’s spell.”

The fire deity still appeared skeptical at that. His mocking gaze found Loki next. “So,thisis where you’ve been hiding all this time, Keeper?”

Crimson flared in Loki’s pupils. He looked at Atropos. “Let me stab him.”

Atropos sighed. “You can’t.”

“It’ll be a tiny cut,” Loki promised, eyes bright with hope. “It’ll heal in no time.”

“I’ll lend you my scythe,” the Reaper God said testily.

The air sparked around Hecate.

“We have more important things to do than trade slurs,” the Goddess of Magic snapped. “To wit, we need to hear your strategy for this war.” Her star-speckled gaze focused on Atropos and Cassius. “Kes and Alecto already shared what happened in the Seventh Purgatory and the events that followed the Fall of the Awakener and his army to Earth while we were making our way here. Tell us what you intend to do.”

Myrdin observed them with an unreadable expression.

Cassius and Atropos explained what the Goddesses of Destiny had divined, their attempts to locate the demonic copies of the artifacts Elios had made from his sisters’ blood and divine power, and how they would allocate their forces when the war began. A stilted hush descended inside the tent as their words faded into silence.

Pyri studied them blankly.

“You saw Chaos come to this realm in your vision?” he asked Atropos.