Page 79 of Crimson Skies

Although Hypnos had technically been their enemy, he was not malicious. It was his overzealous obsession with his twin that had blinded him and led him down a dark path. One that had seen Elios betray him in the cruelest of ways.

“You feel so warm,” Hypnos whispered dazedly in her hair. “Am I really…your brother?”

Atropos swallowed a sob and nodded. For a moment, he’d sounded like his normal self again.

A sigh whispered through the Abyss.

The darkness spoke.

33

“I BELIEVETHAT IS ENOUGH OF INTRODUCTIONS.”

Cassius rose and looked around, his heart pounding. Loki huddled close to him.

Hypnos brightened. “Grandfather.”

He was staring at a point above them. Cassius’s scalp prickled when he followed his gaze. An endless sea of stars twinkled in the infinite void.

They hadn’t been there before.

It took a moment for him to realize what he was looking at. His stomach lurched.Are those…his eyes?!

The ground shifted.

Loki yelped and clutched Cassius’s arm. Dread carved fraught lines in Atropos’s face.

Cassius swallowed, chills snaking through him. “Hypnos, are we standing on your Grandfather right now?”

Hypnos nodded, pleased he’d figured it out. “Yes.”

“By the Gods,” Atropos mumbled numbly.

The sky was moving, the stars merging into endless galaxies.

A face took form above them. “HELLO, CHILDREN.”

Goosebumps broke out across Cassius’s flesh.

The God of Creation was studying them like a scientist would gaze at his lab rats.

“Grandfather, these people are looking for a way out of here,” Hypnos chirped. “Can you help them?”

Chaos reached out. Hypnos beamed as he gently stroked his head with a band of darkness.

“OF COURSE, CHILD. BUT WE SHOULD SPEND SOME TIME GETTING TO KNOW THEM FIRST, DON’T YOU THINK?AFTER ALL, THEY ARE THE FIRST VISITORS WE’VE HAD SINCE YOU CAME HERE.”

Surprise widened Hypnos’s eyes. He hesitated and shot a yearning glance at Atropos, Cassius, and Loki. “That…would be nice.”

“COME NOW, IT WILL BE GOOD FOR YOU TO ENJOY THE COMPANY OF PEOPLE YOUR OWN AGE,” Chaos chided. “YOU’LL WITHER IF YOU KEEP HANGING OUT WITH AN OLD GUY LIKE ME.”

Cassius blinked. He jumped as a deafening noise boomed across the void.

The Abyss trembled.

He braced, Heaven’s Light brightening the air around him and his sword as he readied himself for an attack. Atropos unleashed her twin blades, her jaw locking in hard lines. The Eternity Key throbbed in Loki’s grip where he’d manifested the weapon.

Hypnos stared at them, confused. “What’s the matter?”