Page 44 of Evermore (The Never Sky #3)

Thorne

“ S o where do we go from here?” Archer asked, pacing the length of my office as Tuck poured himself another drink and Minerva and Thea sat together, whispering amongst themselves.

“We don’t rush into any more foolish ideas,” I said, eyes flickering to Thea.

She threw back a glare. “Don’t sit there and talk about me like I’m not in the room. I had a solid plan. How was I supposed to know Paesha would fall so far, so fast? We could have been out of there before you even showed up, had she been lucid enough to agree to come.”

“How exactly?” Tuck asked, letting that natural curiosity show beyond the burly facade.

“I’m not sure I should keep showing my hands to gods,” she answered. “After all, Aeris was the reason I went down there. Though I’m sure she had no idea what I’d be walking into either.”

Minerva and I had a full conversation without speaking a word.

I could have jumped into her mind standing this close, but the golden, glowing eyes would have given us away.

And it was unnecessary. Our thoughts were aligned.

Aeris was a wild card. An unknown that danced the edge of every line.

Every battle. Every major disruption across the realms. She was far from innocent, but she’d been a mystery for so long, even my memories skimmed over her most significant maneuvers.

Aeris was currently the least of my problems. If I didn’t figure this out quickly enough, there would be no god left standing beside me. Not even Tuck. And I couldn’t blame him for protecting himself when I was only trying to protect her.

Some people loved blindly. Loyally. And some were far too smart for that kind of devotion.

Tuck was anything but a fool. I needed to ease him and Minerva into the idea of visiting the Fates.

But there was really no time for that either.

Everything on the mortal plane happened in the flash of a second, but there were wars fought, won, and lost in centuries in Etherium.

A battle amongst gods was never about death and defeat.

It was simply power. Always power. Who could rule the realms. And right now, the being with the most power, gods and Fates aside, was my Ever.

Tuck reached for another glass from the sideboard as he continued his conversation with Thea.

“Alastor is the God of Lost Things. That doesn’t just mean trinkets and baubles.

No one intends to lose their mind, but play with Alastor long enough and the walls start melting.

If Aeris didn’t warn you before she sent you into the lion’s den, that says far more about her motives than your naivety. ”

She lifted a petite shoulder, tilting her head to the side.

“In her defense, after she slipped up about where he was keeping her, she tried to keep me from going, but when I insisted, she caved and told me all she could, then promised to stay at the house with Elowen, Quill and Boo until we returned.”

I expected Tuck to hand me the fresh glass of whiskey he’d poured. Instead, he crossed the room and gave it to the red- haired woman. She shook her head. “I haven’t eaten a thing today. If I drink that, I’ll be on the floor in an hour.”

Minnie patted Thea’s arm, swiping the drink. “Let’s not give him any ideas, dear.”

Archer stopped his pacing and started opening the cabinet doors along the walls. “Is there food here? I could eat. I can’t remember the last time I did, actually,” he said, rubbing his head. “You’re the Keeper of Memories. Can you remember?”

He wasn’t fucking sly. He was fishing for knowledge.

He’d been in those cupboards plenty of times to know better.

We’d given everything to the orphans months ago.

I’d even had Tuck smuggle things in from the northern countries when supplies were low and Farris was at his worst. No one knew, of course.

Everything that came was disguised as stolen goods.

Archer knew we’d done just enough to keep everyone fed.

“That’s not how it works. I don’t just know things from your past. If I choose to use my power, I could dive in. See something in there. But my status as Keeper of Realms, Arbiter of Beginnings and Endings has to do with far more than when you had your last fucking sandwich, Archie.”

He swung the cabinet shut and finally came to sit before me.

“Since we’re sharing now and not, you know, hiding all the realm’s secrets, where does power even come from?

In general, all power. Because I’ve been thinking, if it’s off balance, that has to mean there’s a source, right?

Is it… leaning one way or something? Is it in a cup?

A really big cup, I mean. Like a bucket.

Can we maybe… wedge it until it evens back out? ”

I sat back in my chair, preferring this conversation to the one I was going to have to have later. “I’m not going to bother questioning how your brain conceived that. If it were that simple, it would have been done.”

“On a very basic level, you’re not actually wrong,” Tuck said, taking the seat beside Archer.

I sighed. “You have to understand what threw it off in the first place and how that works. When Ezra and I started to disagree, something we’d never done before, the balance began to sway.

Basically, as the God of Beginnings and Endings, my power has to do with creation and completion.

Ezra’s is the middle stuff. The probability of bad shit happening sits with him and he makes moves to change the course of certain things.

But he doesn’t always get it right, and that’s where we’re at an impasse.

“There was a prophecy delivered by the Fates that said the Huntress will break the balance of power. He’s seen more destruction than what we’re experiencing now.

But Ezra saw that future too. And he told me a long time ago there could be peace.

Each time he’s killed her, each time I’ve failed to protect her, each war between us has made it worse, instead.

I chase, he kills. That’s been our dance for centuries.

Except the prophecy doesn’t mean she broke the balance of power.

Her soul was the cause, but Ezra and I are responsible, no matter what his fucking magic says. ”

“Okay. I get all that, but the power itself?” Archer pressed, brushing past my explanation. “Where does it actually come from?”

“The Noctus Gate,” Tuck answered, earning a sharp look from me that he ignored. “It’s a portal to basically our vessel of power. It’s so vast it would destroy any being who tried to enter. And that’s why Thorne doesn’t want to answer your questions. You’re reckless on a good day, Arch.”

He nodded, swinging his feet up on my damn desk as if he owned the place. A bit of Paesha in that move, for sure. “So the power’s in a bucket behind a door in god town and we need to go there and plug the hole in the bucket or whatever. I can work with that.”

I glared. “You’re not listening. The power isn’t sitting in a bucket. It comes from its own realm. Its only access point is through the gate in Etherium. And the only key to the gate is sitting with the Fates. And there’s no way in fuck you’re getting to Etherium, so stop it now.”

“Fates?” Thea asked. “As in fate is not just an idea, but a being?”

“Correct,” Minnie said, taking a long pull from her drink. “But we don’t talk about them and we don’t tempt them. They are not part of this equation.”

“Forget the Fates. Take me back to the balance thing. There has to be a solution there,” Archer said, swinging the conversation right back to his reckless ideas.

“Again. No. The gate requires Ezra and I to function. That’s part of the equation.

Fate creates the threads of possibility, my power creates every beginning, every potential path.

Ezra sees which of those paths lead to devastation and unmakes them before they can manifest. Together, we regulate the flow of raw power through the careful balance of creation and destruction.

But don’t get any ideas, Archie. It’s not anything we’re physically controlling.

We have no conscious decision over it nor sway.

It’s like trying to control what happens to the breath you exhale. ”

“The point, and the only thing that matters right now, beyond the Huntress’s freedom, is the fact that she is also hunted. She has power she wasn’t born with. Power most gods are desperate to get their hands on,” Tuck answered, his voice grim. “But they don’t understand?—”

“If she dies by a god’s hand now, there won’t be another life,” I finished. “Her soul is too fragile. She’ll simply cease to exist. She’s died too many times at Ezra’s hands and her soul can’t survive another.”

Archer stopped pacing. “So what do we do?”

“The Fates are the only ones who can help now,” I said quietly.

“The Fates haven’t spoken to the gods since Ezra convinced everyone to bind them to their loom,” Tuck added, lowering his chin to look at me through the top of his eyes. “They’re dangerous. Even for you. And unpredictable.”

“But necessary,” I said.

Archer’s jaw clenched. “Then I’m coming with you.”

“No. You’re staying here.”

“Like hell I am.”

“Someone needs to watch the Parlor,” Tuck said smoothly. “Make sure our… interests are protected.”

“I’m not a child who needs a babysitter and I’m not falling for that shit again.”

“There’s nothing to fall for. Much to all of our chagrin, you couldn’t get into Etherium if you tried because you are mortal. Only gods may enter.”

“And demigods,” Tuck corrected.

“Not the fucking point, Tuck.”

Archer opened his mouth to argue but Thea rose, moving to stand beside Archer. “After what happened with Alastor we need to be smart about this.” She flexed her fingers as if reaching for the power she’d used to cage a god. “Having you here with us sounds like the safest thing for Quill.”

He sank back. “You too?”