Page 11 of Cursed (Court of Isles #1)

Chapter 11

Hot, sticky blood dripped down my forehead. I tasted metal, felt the warmth trickle over my lips.

“Millie.” My voice was strained. “Where is he?”

“Mr. Silas didn’t make it back with you.” Millie clutched her apron, glancing around me as if hoping Silas might pop out of the bushes like some prank. “Fates be damned.”

“What does this mean?” I asked. “Where could he be? He was by my side the whole time, transporting me home, until something went wrong.”

Millie unwrapped the apron from around her waist. I leaned against the stone wall because my legs were trembling too much to stay upright alone.

I was weak and queasy from the paranormal travel. My bones had been rattled by my catapult into the rock wall. Dust was still settling around me from where several stones had toppled to the ground .

With sadness in her eyes, Millie quietly wrapped her apron around her hand and raised it to my forehead. She put pressure on the gash there.

“What happened to him?” I asked. “It felt like someone yanked Silas away from me. The next thing I knew, I crashed into this wall.” I waved my hand as if to say, and here I am without him.

“Mr. Silas must have been intercepted.” Millie pressed tighter. “Pixie dust is very volatile at best. Things can happen.”

“Does it just happen, or was it malicious?”

“It wasn’t an accident.”

“Who would’ve done something like this?”

“There aren’t many people to choose from.” At my confused expression, Millie explained. “Pixie dust is hard enough to use as is. It takes a powerful person to use it correctly. It takes an even more powerful person to be able to intercept it—and keep all parties alive.”

My chest felt like it had seized. “Are you telling me Silas might not have survived the separation?”

“I think you’d know if he were no longer alive.” Millie dodged the question. “I’ve got a special tincture I can whip up that’ll help mend you and calm your mind.”

“I don’t need to get calm. I need to find him,” I insisted. “I don’t have time to—”

“You need to sit.” Millie balled the bloody apron and tucked it into the pocket of her dress. “We need to get you cleaned up, and we need help. If we are to find Silas, unfortunately you are going to need to contact—”

“ Me .”

I startled at the sound of an unfamiliar male voice. Millie, however, simply closed her eyes in resigned dismay. Like this man was the answer we were looking for; she just didn’t want to admit it.

I scrambled away from the rock wall to take in the sight of a man standing before me. He was stunning. I did a double take at the sheer beauty of him.

This was, technically, the most gorgeous human being—male or female—I had ever laid eyes on. He radiated a sort of sunny halo around his figure, so lightly translucent it was hard to say if my eyes were playing tricks on me.

This stranger was almost as large as Silas, though a few inches shorter in height. Where Silas was bulky and generally massive, this man was more streamlined—muscular and manicured. Silas was all rugged strength and darkness. The man before me was sunlight and beauty.

Sandy blond hair glinted in the sun’s rays like polished armor. Bright, blue-green eyes shone like crystal pools. He had a broad chest, gently tanned skin, and a radiant smile. I got the impression this man was too beautiful for earth .

“The name’s Atlas.” The stranger bowed his head toward me, acknowledging my presence but foregoing a handshake. “I’m Silas’s brother.”

“Silas has a brother?” I turned to Millie.

“Unfortunately,” she murmured.

“Good to see you too, Millicent.” Atlas didn’t even look toward Millie as he spoke.

“Millie,” she said through a clenched jaw. There was clearly tension between the two. “We might need you now, but don’t get any ideas about sticking around, Atlas.”

“And my brother wonders why I don’t swing by for afternoon tea. This is the reception I get. You must be...” Atlas looked me up and down, the curiosity growing as he drank me in with a long look. “Fates be damned,” he muttered, his radiant smile dropping from his lips.

Atlas’s gaze flicked to Millie. Her mouth twitched into a smile as she looked to her feet. The look on her face was almost triumphant.

“Fates be damned,” Atlas said again. “No wonder.”

“No wonder what?” I looked between them.

“You—” Atlas began, but Millie interrupted him.

“We must focus on finding Silas,” she said sharply. “And only on finding Silas.”

As much as I agreed with Millie’s instructions, I couldn’t help but wonder what Atlas had been about to say. I got the feeling Millie had known the exact thought crossing his mind and had wanted to keep it from me. Curious, curious .

“Let’s go inside,” Millie said. “For Fates’s sake, the girl is still bleeding.”

Atlas stepped toward me. He raised a hand, a frown turning down his lips. I flinched as he approached.

“I would never hurt you.” Atlas’s words were a river of liquid gold. Lyrical, soothing, lovely. “Let me help you.”

I believed him. Even though my guard was up, I waited as Silas’s brother extended a hand to my forehead. He muttered something in an ancient language, and seconds later, a golden energy flowed from him to me.

I could feel it, sense it, like someone had tied a string between us and emptied power through it. I couldn’t help but let my head fall forward at the rush of power. My body went limp.

Atlas caught me in his arms. He held me, looked into my eyes, and for a second I saw something there. Something hopeful and bright and wonderful. Then he blinked as I stirred, gathering himself quickly and placing me on my feet.

“There,” Atlas said softly. “All better.”

Like that, I realized I was healed everywhere. Not so much as a scratch from being thrown into Wisteria Cottage’s stone wall. No blood anywhere in sight. Not even an ache. I stretched my neck from one side to the other. I felt better than I had in days. Years. My whole life, maybe.

“What are you?” I asked him.

“I’m complicated.” Atlas winked. “Now, shall we find Silas?”

The three of us headed inside Wisteria Cottage. Millie went straight to the stove and, like it was a comforting routine, she put on a teapot and gathered some dried leaves from her garden stash.

“Tell me exactly what happened,” Atlas said. “Don’t leave anything out.”

“Well, Silas took me back to—”

Before I could explain, a knock sounded on the door. Millie’s brow furrowed, and she rushed to answer it. As she pulled it open, I could hear an audible breath of relief.

“Ranger X, it’s good to see you, sir. But how did you know—” Millie hesitated. “I was just preparing to send you an alert. How did you know Silas is gone?”

“He’s gone?” Ranger X’s voice was gruff as he strode into the room. “Damn. That must’ve been what set the signals off.”

Ranger X stopped abruptly as he reached the kitchen. He nodded to me with a single bow of his head, then stopped, his back straightening as he turned to face our guest.

“Atlas.” Ranger X was dressed in all black, cargo pants and a T-shirt that stretched across his chest. His face was no-nonsense. It was clear something had happened, and it wasn’t a good something. “When did you arrive?”

Atlas grinned, lounging back on his chair with the confidence of a cat sunning itself. “Just in time, apparently.”

“Did you have anything to do with the gates closing?” Ranger X’s voice was on the verge of a threat. “You were the last visitor to arrive before outside communication was terminated.”

A muscle in Atlas’s jaw ticced. “I did not close your precious portals.”

“What portals?” I asked. “What are you talking about?”

Ranger X turned to me. “Nine minutes ago, we lost all communication with the outside world. The Isle is now, essentially, completely on its own.”

“All communication?” I asked. “How?”

“That’s what we’re looking into. I came here hoping to find Silas. Instead I found...” Ranger X looked at Atlas and frowned. “You.”

“Most people would consider that a good trade.” Atlas studied his nails, unbothered by the tension.

There was obviously some history between Atlas and Silas. Of all people, I understood complex family dynamics, and I lived with mere humans. I could only imagine how hostile things could get when families had to co-exist for centuries .

“Do you think it’s something I did?” I ventured. “Nine minutes ago is probably when Silas and I were traveling back.”

“What happened?” X asked briskly.

I explained the short version of the story, leaving out the part about my parents trying to have me committed. When I got to the part about being torn from Silas’s side during travel, Ranger X winced.

I finished by sharing how I’d landed against the stone wall and found Atlas approaching moments later. Then the four of us sat in silence and ruminated.

“Do you know what could have happened?” I asked.

Ranger X ignored my question and turned to Atlas. “How did you know your brother was in trouble?”

“Those brotherly bonds,” Atlas said lazily. “I felt a little tug and figured I’d pop on over to see what’s up on Silas’s precious island.”

Ranger X took a step closer to Atlas. “That’s enough, Atlas. This isn’t about whatever’s gone on between you and your brother. Silas is trapped somewhere, and if we can’t get to him fast, he won’t ever come back. I know you two don’t see eye to eye, but unless you’re ready to never see Silas again, then shut the hell up and help us figure out where he’s gone.”

I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I’d never seen Ranger X so coarse or so serious or so confrontational. I’d always been able to tell the man was brimming with protection and power, but I’d also seen him be so soft and gentle with his wife, Lily, that I’d never doubted Ranger X’s genuine goodness.

But seeing X this way was new. Alarming. It confirmed Silas was in danger.

I looked at Atlas. “Please. You must help him. Help me .”

Atlas licked his lip, studied my face. Then he gave a single nod, his face wiping free of any emotion. “Fine.”

Ranger X looked surprised. He glanced my way, as if to see whether I’d worked some magic over Atlas. Then X gathered himself and moved on.

“Tell me what happened,” Ranger X said to Atlas. “Your version.”

“I was minding my business up on Olympus,” Atlas muttered, “when I felt it. When you’ve been brothers as long as we have, there’s a bond.”

Ranger X nodded, like he was unsurprised.

“Consider it a sort of involuntary cry for help,” Atlas said in my direction. “Silas and I have mostly learned to ignore each other over the last couple of centuries. He must have been in dire straits for me to be triggered.”

“Is he...” I winced. “Can you tell if he’s alive?”

“Sweetheart.” Atlas locked eyes on me. “You’ll know when he dies.”

I bit on my lip, wondering why people kept telling me that, like I had some sort of preternatural ability to sense Silas’s beating heart. I immediately hoped I’d never have to find out if this were true or not.

“I arrived here at once,” Atlas said. “Consider it a calling. Brotherly bond, and all that.”

“How’d you get here?” Ranger X asked. “Our wards barely pinged with your arrival. If I wasn’t actively watching, I’d never have noticed the blip on our radars. You were almost undetectable.”

“Perk of the gig,” Atlas said. “My abilities run in the family.”

“Wait a minute,” I said, just catching up with the conversation. “Did you say Olympus?”

Ranger X looked at me. “Silas and Atlas have different mothers, same father. Atlas has bloodlines going back to Hera and Zeus on his maternal side.”

“Okie dokie,” I said.

Atlas cracked a smile, then turned to X. “To answer your question, I was able to Phase in just before your gates slammed shut. I could feel the wind on my ass as the portals closed.”

“You Phased.” Ranger X studied him. “Phasing went out of fashion centuries ago. We don’t even have wards up to protect against it. I thought that method of travel was no longer possible.”

“Like I said.” Atlas sounded annoyed. “Perk of the family blood line.”

“Can Silas do it?” I asked. “This... Phasing? ”

“Ask him.” More annoyance from Atlas. Then he amended, “When we find him.”

“How do you suggest we do that?” I asked. “What does it mean if all the portals and gates are closed?”

“Like I said, we have no communication with the outside world.” Ranger X waved off Millie as she offered him a cup of tea. She poured him one anyway, along with the rest of us. “All communication went down at the same time. Lines to MAGIC Inc., The Sixth Borough, The Hollow. Europe. The skies and the seas. If someone isn’t within our protective wards, we cannot contact them.”

“Have you tried cell phones?” I asked.

Ranger X blinked at me. Atlas snorted.

“We don’t have cell phones here,” Ranger X explained gently. “We use Comm devices for inter-Isle communication. We have permanent magical channels open to communicate with the mainland and beyond, most of them based at Ranger HQ.”

“I see,” I said. “So if you can’t talk to anyone else, that means no one is coming to help us?”

Ranger X’s lips pinched together like I was finally getting the severity of it.

“Under normal circumstances, we keep select gates open to allow travel between communities,” Ranger X said. “But they’ve all gone down and are completely non-functional. We are—literally—an island unto ourselves now.”

I cursed under my breath. “How are we going to get Silas back then, even if we do find him?”

“We don’t know where he is,” Ranger X said. “It’s possible he could exist somewhere within our wards...on a different time or plane entirely.”

“My mind can’t keep up,” I said.

“Traveling by pixie dust is unstable,” Ranger X said. “It takes a powerful person to manipulate it.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“Someone with the power to intercept travel via pixie dust may have the power to manipulate time or dimension. It’s impossible to know where he is. We must find him, but we’re on our own.”

“How do we do that?” I repeated.

“Lily asked me to give you this.” Ranger X handed over a beefy, leatherbound book that sent up a wave of dust as it hit the table in front of me. “Gus pulled it out of storage, said you might be able to make sense of it.”

I studied the six-inch thick text. “Yeah. That’s gonna take me a while, even if I could understand it.”

“Then get to work,” Ranger X said. “I need to speak to Atlas. In private.”

Two hours later, and I had nothing.

Atlas and Ranger X had retired to the garden cottage to do some discussing of private business, and I’d lost track of how long they’d been out there because my attention had fallen to the manuscript before me.

Millie kept the teacup next to me brimming with a concoction that I swore was helping my concentration, but I didn’t stop to ask what was in it. Occasionally, she’d sit next to me, but she never lasted long—always leaping up to putter around the kitchen and fix some snacks or sandwiches that mostly went uneaten.

I sighed, turning yet another page of the book. Millie sat next to me, poured me more tea.

“I don’t know what they expect of me.” I glanced over my shoulder to where Atlas and X were still speaking in the courtyard, their heads together in an intense discussion. “I’ve been here just a few days and have barely had any time to breathe, let alone digest everything I’ve learned.”

Millie patted my hand sympathetically. “Have a sandwich. You must be starving. ”

I realized she wasn’t wrong, so I helped myself to a tiny sandwich and sipped my tea, slumping back against the chair. “Have you ever seen anything like this before?”

“Nobody has,” she said. “This is unprecedented.”

I polished off the sandwich and dunked a raw sugar cube into my tea, gave it a swirl with a little spoon and watched it disintegrate.

“May I offer you some advice?” Millie asked hesitantly.

“Please,” I nearly begged.

“Some magic can be learned and taught. It can be improved upon and finessed. But other magic, the really good stuff, is more inherent.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“You’re looking at this very clinically. Studious.” Millie nodded toward the book. “What if you listened to your instincts instead of trying to excavate an answer?”

“I’ve been excavating answers my whole life,” I said. “It’s what I do, pretty much. Medical school and all that.”

“Exactly. You’ve had to be perfect for everyone around you for your whole life. What if you let that all go and focused on your natural instincts?”

My expression felt very, very blank as I stared at Millie.

“Why did you want to become a doctor?” Millie prompted, when I clearly wasn’t getting it. “Your father’s some big doctor, isn’t he? Silas told me.”

I nodded .

“Is it fair to assume maybe you were trying to impress him or follow in his footsteps by choosing that career path?” Millie asked. “Earning good marks in school, following the right path, taking steps to be successful in his eyes.”

“Yeah,” I said. Then, “Mostly. He wanted me to be a surgeon, but I chose family medicine. It felt like a better fit.”

“Right. Great!” Millie nodded vigorously. “What if you let it go even more. You wanted to be a doctor to help people. I believe that part is true. What if you forgot about everything you’ve learned and reassess what helping people looks like?”

“You mean, helping break the curse on the island?”

“That’s a big way,” she said. “There are other ways. Maybe the way you’re meant to leave an impact on this world is to take control of your powers. Sure, there’s a curse and whatnot, but look at how many people you’ve helped already, practically on accident.”

“I see your point, but how’s that supposed to help me find Silas?”

“Silas is in a place where he can’t be seen or heard, otherwise he’d make himself known. Fates, that man can make himself known if he wants,” Millie said on an exhale. “If that’s the case, then you’re going to need to rely on something else to find him. A connection, your intuition, your powers. ”

“I don’t know how to do that.”

“I’m going to leave you alone for a few minutes,” Millie said. “Close your eyes and sit with yourself. With your thoughts. Your thoughts and nobody else’s. Not Atlas or Silas or Ranger X. Not me or your parents. If you want to come into your powers, you need to feel comfortable with them in your own skin first.”

Millie disappeared before I could ask for more clarification. Which really, would defeat the purpose of everything she’d just said.

With a huge sigh, I closed my eyes. A few seconds later, the voices in the garden dulled—either because Millie had told them to be quiet or because I tuned them out, I wasn’t sure.

At first, I mostly felt itchy and uncomfortable with the quiet. I wanted to stretch or fall asleep or pace. I tapped my leg, let my fingers trace circles against my knee. I hummed a little ditty to myself.

But I kept my eyes closed, and the longer I sat there, the more still I fell. My thoughts raced, but I didn’t censor them. I let them float in, examined them, and let them continue floating on by.

As I did, one particular thought was persistent.

Silas is in a place where he can’t be seen or heard.

I finally opened my eyes, knowing what I was looking for. I flipped the book open to page 473. Bingo.

“It’s sort of like going fishing.”

I stood at the table in the garden, surrounded by purple florals and buzzing bees and two very intense men looking at me like I was crazy.

“The person rooted in the proper reality—our reality—” I said, pointing at the dusty page of the huge book, “will cast a line out to Silas.”

More blank stares.

“Picture the fishing line as a link between two people. You said you have a brotherly bond,” I explained to Atlas. “Clearly it works because you heard Silas’s call for help, involuntary or not, and we can use that connection to pinpoint him so long as it’s linked to the proper spell.”

Atlas conceded my point with a nod. I couldn’t believe we were having this conversation, let alone the fact that I was speaking in spells, and they were looking at me like it made sense.

“With any luck, Silas will be able to latch on,” I said. “We’ll basically hook him with the spell and yank him back. If the power on our end is strong enough, it should be able to blast through whatever’s holding him captive. ”

“I don’t know,” Ranger X said. “It sounds dangerous. What if it goes wrong? What if we yank too hard, and things go belly up?”

“What other choice do y’all have?!” Millie blurted from the sidelines with a frustrated huff. Then she slapped a hand over her mouth and stalked back to her sandwiches in the kitchen.

Atlas sized me up. “You’re sure about this.”

I didn’t need to respond because he’d said it like a statement.

“How much do you trust her?” Atlas asked Ranger X.

“I trust her intentions are pure.” Ranger X shot me an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Alessia. My doubts are not about you. With all due respect, you’ve only been here a few days. As the head of the Ranger Program, it’s my job to test and double check and question and—”

“I totally understand,” I said quickly. “You’re right to be concerned. I’m concerned about it myself.”

“We’ll do it.” Atlas stood like he’d made the decision for everyone. “That’s all I needed to know.”

“But—” Ranger X looked between us. “Maybe we should gather some extra help. Alessia said it will take a lot of power.”

“No time.” Atlas tapped a finger on the book. “What materials do we need for the spell? ”

“Atlas, don’t be hasty,” Ranger X said. “I’m not saying ‘no’. I’m saying we should take a breath and assess the risks.”

“I’m saying we don’t have time.” Atlas’s face was pale, and he winced. I wondered if he was feeling more through those brotherly bonds that he wasn’t sharing with us. “Silas is fading.”

I could feel it too, the hope waning. The longer we waited, the harder it would be to retrieve him. The more stress it would put on all of us.

Not to mention that I was sure this was our only option. I was more certain of it than anything in my whole life. We needed to propel the spell forward before I began doubting my barely-scraped-together confidence.

“She cares about him.” Atlas lowered his voice and nodded toward me. Then he nodded at X. “You trust her intentions. I trust her not to hurt my brother. What more can you ask for?”

“The power,” X argued. “We need more power.”

“You’re right.” Atlas gave a firm nod of agreement, surprising everyone with his sudden change of heart. “I was too hasty. You’re right. Why don’t you head back to Ranger HQ and round up as much support as you can spare. I’ll stay here and help Alessia get everything ready.”

Ranger X looked relieved. “It won’t take me more than thirty minutes. ”

Then the serious Ranger was gone, and I felt a wisp of pain flare through me.

“What the hell?” I whirled on Atlas angrily. “We don’t have thirty minutes. You know that. I thought you were on my side.”

“I know.” Silas’s brother met my gaze grimly. “That’s why I sent him away. We must do this now—just the two of us.”

“But—” I gestured toward Ranger X’s retreating figure as he disappeared behind the stone wall of Wisteria Cottage. “You lied to the head of the Ranger Program?”

“You know as well as I do this is the only way to get Silas back.” Atlas’s words were tense. “You feel it. I can see it in your eyes. My brother is fading fast.”

“What should I do?”

“You tell me what to do,” Atlas said. “This is your plan.”

“What if it doesn’t work? We are going to need a lot of power.”

Atlas studied me carefully. “We both know that you have more than enough. Can this plan work?”

“Yes,” I whispered.

Atlas put his hand on the text. “Do it.”

Millie was watching from the cottage. When I glanced over at her, she busied herself in preparation. She bolted the gate to the stone wall, then she began wandering around the edges, muttering some charm I suspected would buy us more time in case Ranger X—or someone else—returned early. I could always count on my new friend to have my back, and that loyalty was both novel and lovely. I didn’t take it for granted.

We needed time. We needed space. We didn’t have enough of either, but neither did Silas.

“I’m going to use your bond,” I told Atlas. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know if it will hurt. I don’t know what to expect. It’s an old spell, judging by the notes, and I don’t know how often, if ever, it’s been tested.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” Atlas said dryly. “To sacrifice myself for my dear brother.”

I wanted to ask what had happened between them, but there was no time.

I only nodded and put my hand on Atlas’s. I was surprised by its warmth, by the humanity of it. I wasn’t sure what I’d expected, but not this. Nor the tenderness in his expression as he looked at me and nodded, those blue-green eyes telling me he understood that neither of us might make it back. And yet, we had to try.

I closed my eyes, muttered the ancient words.

Two souls, united as one

Forever bound ’til time is done

Retrieve this soul from time and space

And reunite them in this place.

What followed was a long, long silence. A lot of eye contact between me and Atlas. Hopeful, curious, impatient eye contact .

His hair was the first clue the spell was working. That perfect, golden hair ruffled under the breath of a gentle wind.

Then more, and more, until my hair was blowing wild, and Atlas and I were ensconced in a tornado of fire and light and wind. I closed my eyes, feeling as the fishing line was cast between the planes of this universe and those beyond, searching, searching, searching.

Two souls bound by blood, by brotherhood.

Come on, Atlas, I willed the Titan before me. Find him.

I felt the fishing line searching, hunting, radiating a signal like a lighthouse. Sending rays of bright into the darkness.

I urged Silas to find it from the other side, to latch on, to grab hold. I squeezed Atlas’s hand.

“Come on,” I whispered to Silas. “Show us where you are, and we’ll do the rest.”

The tug was gentle. A tiny latch, the bobber dipping below the surface ever so briefly.

A rush of relief, followed by a pull as Atlas and I began reeling him in. I felt the squeeze on my hand tighten. Atlas felt it too. He was hauling his brother back, slowly but surely. One inch at a time, bringing him home.

Then resistance. Terrible, horrible resistance from the other side. From Silas’s end came a jagged pull that sent a wave of ice water through my veins so sharp I felt like I was inhaling glacier water. My senses were overwhelmed.

Someone was fighting back. They were not letting Silas go.

“Alessia!” Atlas’s shout was strangled, manic. “I can’t—”

Mid-sentence, Atlas’s grip was dragged from my hand, the contact abruptly severed, and I was alone with the bond. The full weight of it crashed onto my shoulders, and I screamed, the horror and pain of the separation imminent. It twisted my gut and made my mind ache.

Then I felt it. An indescribable, gentle caress. Silas .

Tears flooded my eyes as I realized that this man, Silas, was prompting me to let him go. To save myself and to let him languish—alone. He believed only one of us could survive this, and he wanted the gift of life to be given to me.

My tears dried. Never.

I pulled back, feeling my power growing. I kept it steady, infusing the tenuous bond between us until the whole thing glowed as golden as the lasso with which I’d wrapped Hettie to the tree.

More and more, until it was thick and knotted, a rope that could not be severed by time or dimension or space. A stern, consistent reeling.

And then, without warning, Silas hurtled through the beyond and into my reality. Limbs, hair, hands, feet.

I felt Silas’s presence as the spell was broken. I lost my balance and fell backward, landing on a firm, hard body—arms circling me and bringing me back to safety.

“Silas,” I whispered, my head coming to rest on his chest.

Then, a soft, wry laugh. “Try again.”

I raised my head. I was sprawled all over Atlas. All over him.

Silas watched from a distance, and he was: Not. Happy.

“Dammit.” Atlas moved swiftly to a seated position, curling me against his body so that I moved as he did.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, scrambling away from him, but failing to regain my footing. My legs were wobbly from the effects of the spell and the ensuing chaos. “It worked.”

“Silas has that look in his eye.” Atlas picked me up, physically plopped me next to him as he rose to his full, impressive height. He cracked his knuckles, cocked his head to one side, studying his brother from a distance.

“What look?” I asked.

“The one where he wants to kill me,” Atlas said grimly. “What an idiot.”

I licked my lips, wanting to say that surely Atlas was exaggerating. Surely, murder was not on the agenda for this afternoon, especially not after Atlas had Phased all the way here, from wherever the hell Olympian descendants whiled away their free time, just to save his brother .

I didn’t care what had happened between the siblings in the past. Atlas had come here today to help Silas. That had to count for something, one would think.

Then I looked across the garden at Silas, and I understood Atlas wasn’t exaggerating. There was murder in Silas’s eyes. Straight up death.

“Yikes,” I whispered. “He really hates you.”

“You could say that,” Atlas said through gritted teeth. “And having you land in my lap didn’t help matters.”

“You saved his life.”

“No, sweetheart, you did that.” Atlas gave a sly, side-eye at me. “But I think what bothers him is that your hands were all over me.”

“My hands were not all over you!” I retorted. “I don’t even know what happened. I woke up, and we were...” I gestured toward the ground to say, entangled.

“I don’t think my brother sees things that way.” Atlas rolled up his sleeves.

Silas had done the same movement across the hypothetical ring, exposing forearms full of tattoos or markings of some sort. The complete opposite of Atlas’s pure bronze skin. Hercules against Hades. A very hot, very sweet Hades. Just, you know, also dark and deadly.

“Silas,” I called, but it was too late.

A flash, and fist crunched jaw. I was pretty sure Silas drew first blood, though whether Atlas had let it happen, or Silas was just that fast, it was hard to say .

Atlas shook his head and worked said crunched jaw as Silas materialized on the other side of the garden. The two grown men were using Wisteria Cottage as a battlefield, a beautiful boxing ring to air old grievances.

Blood ran down Atlas’s face, though he didn’t look bothered. In fact, he looked calm. Scary calm and still, like he was waiting for something. Waiting, listening, eyeing every movement from his brother with practiced patience.

Silas moved then, so fast I was convinced he’d Phased in and out. Another blow to Atlas. The man’s head snapped backward. Fresh blood spurted from his nose and sprayed the grounds around him. The leaves of lupines were dotted with specs of red.

“That’s enough, brother.” Atlas’s voice was a low rumble. Soft, lethal.

I could barely hear it, but apparently Silas’s senses were a lot more powerful than mine because he scoffed. A terribly furious sound. All I could think of was that these two were not out for blood—they were out for death.

Atlas and Silas began to move, slowly, circling one another.

“I see it now,” Atlas said. “I won’t touch her again.”

Silas licked his lips. No blood on his beautiful face. “Once is still too great a number when it comes to her.”

“But—” I gave a little cough. “Surely, you’re not talking about me? ”

Both heads whipped in my direction. Then they whipped back, like the two were in some sort of choreographed dance, and I wasn’t a part of it. I was just a mostly annoying spectator in the audience.

“I see the bond, brother,” Atlas hissed. “I apologize. But I won’t sit by and bleed any longer. I’ve taken my blows as punishment. You strike me again, and I’ll hit back.”

Silas nodded, and for a moment, I thought these two lovebirds were on the verge of reconciliation. I actually let out a relieved breath.

Then all hell broke loose.

I couldn’t tell who was moving, darting, striking. Blood ran freely, fists pounded like thunder rolling in from Zeus himself. They were moving so fast, appearing and disappearing in flashes, I didn’t know how they kept track of their own limbs. Phasing in and out, maybe? The speed of Greek gods? All I knew was that complete and utter annihilation was on my doorstep.

As much as I inexplicably cared for Silas, I didn’t want to see Atlas dead either. The two were family, regardless of what had come between them.

“Stop!” I called. “Stop this fighting!”

A soft sigh sounded next to me. “For Fate’s sake.”

Millie shook her head as I glanced down at her.

“They’re like two puppies wrestling around in the garden.” Millie frowned. “The last time they did this, it took my poor rose bushes three decades to recover. ”

“The last time?” I gaped at her.

“Brothers,” she said with a lazy shrug, like we were watching two toddlers fight over a popsicle instead of watching two godlike deities set off a series of natural disasters by screwing with the earth’s tectonic plates.

“Right,” I said finally.

“They get into it every couple of centuries or so, though I have to say, usually Atlas is the aggressor. I’ve never seen Silas so...” Millie’s gaze flicked up to me, almost sheepish. “So passionate .”

“Why’s he so worked up?” I asked, afraid of the answer.

“I think you know.” Millie patted my shoulder. “I’m going to put on a pot of tea for when they finish. If they get near the greenhouse, sound the alarm. I am not having my propagation station wiped out. Again.”

I swallowed hard as Millie left my side, like my precious safety blanket had been taken from me. I wanted to call after her not to leave me alone with these two feral beings.

A pause in movement—Silas was perched with a knee to Atlas’s chest, blood dripping from his lip, still as a stone statue.

Then a movement from Atlas, and the two were off again.

Another pause—then a glimpse of Atlas slicing Silas’s feet out from under him. As the men fell to the ground, the earth shook, like a Mack truck had run into a nearby building and sent tremors radiating out .

Flash, flash, flash.

One brother on top, the other bleeding below.

Until finally, the two came to a pause that lasted longer than anything else.

That was when I saw the glint of a blade.

Silas held a blade to his brother’s throat. Atlas’s eyes didn’t hold a beat of concern, rather only awe and amazement.

“You’d do it for her,” Atlas murmured. “You’d do anything for her, including kill your own flesh and blood.”

“Silas,” I whispered. “Drop the knife. He is your brother .”

Silas glanced at me, like I’d shaken him from a daydream. Like he’d been sleepwalking through this whole thing, not truly aware of his actions. He seemed shaken to find a knife in his hand. He dropped the dagger, stepped away from Atlas.

I moved toward the two men. Atlas groaned as he pulled himself to his feet. I extended a hand to help him up. I could feel Silas’s eyes on me every step of the way, his disapproval hanging over me like a growl.

I frowned. I let go of Atlas when I was good and ready.

I turned toward Silas. “I will not be told what to do.”

Silas’s face was bloodied, but he nodded. “I didn’t say anything.”

“I can feel your disapproval. ”

Atlas burst into laughter. A rollicking, gleeful belly laugh. “She’s got your number, brother.”

“And you—” I whirled to Atlas. “That’s enough from you.”

The Titan shut up like he’d been chastised by the school principal.

“Shake hands and act your age,” I said. “You’re brothers.”

Silas grunted. Atlas glanced toward Silas’s feet. It wasn’t a handshake, but I got the feeling it was as close to a truce as we were going to get.

I extended a hand to Silas. “Take me away. Somewhere safe for you.”

Silas looked to Atlas, then back to me. He took my hand, and he nodded. A second later, we were gone.