would be right to shudder at the mere rumor of her.
“It’s her,” Ash wheezed, lifting her hand to her mouth. “Tor—it’s her. Isn’t it? She’s back. Madoc—” Ash looked at him, sagging. “She’s his god. The goddess of souls.”
“Wait.” Ilena spun, her posture hard. “Ignitus mentioned her in a message? Does he know about Madoc?” Her face paled, but her eyes blazed. “What exactly do you want from us?”
“We thought a god planted Madoc in this war to rig it against Ignitus,” Ash said. “It seemed too convenient that Geoxus selected Madoc—a gladiator without geoeia—to become a champion without someone having an ulterior motive, as Tor said. And we’ve been tracking a person Ignitus fears—maybe . . . maybe he fears Anathrasa? But that’s impossible. She’s been dead for centuries.”
Ash’s euphoria fizzled out, a storm leaving behind a hot, muggy dawn.
If the Mother Goddess truly was back, and she was at the center of all of this—she had captured Stavos, murdered him; she had planted Madoc in this war—then the gods hadn’t killed her hundreds of years ago, like they’d said. And there was no proof that gods could be killed.
“You think the Mother Goddess is alive? And what—she intentionally put me in this war?” Madoc gawked. “If she survived, why would she wait until now to show herself? Not even show herself—just interfere with a war between Geoxus and Ignitus? I don’t think so.”
It was a stretch—and Ash breathed a little easier in it. “That’s true, I guess. If Anathrasa had survived, she would have brought down a reckoning on the other gods for turning on her. They killed her because she almost destroyed the world—it doesn’t make sense that she would have survived for hundreds of years without making herself known. Maybe she truly is dead and only a line of her descendants survived?”
Tor nodded, grim. “But if she or her line did survive, the world would not have endured this long. That kind of energeia control brought such chaos that it united all six gods, and we know how volatile they are.”
Ash chewed her lip. But who was the she Stavos had mentioned, then? Could it be as simple as an unknown assassin hired to kill him? Maybe Stavos wasn’t tied to this at all.
And if Anathrasa was truly dead, then it meant it was still possible to kill a god.
Tor bobbed his head in thought. “We can look into it. Maybe press Ignitus for—”
“I’m not descended from a soul goddess.” Madoc whirled on Tor. “Why do you even care what I am? Why not turn me in and reap the reward?”
Ash stepped closer. She had laid Madoc’s secret bare; it was only fair she reveal hers too.
Her fingers trembled. She had never told anyone this before, outside her little group. It was such a nourishing sensation, the truth of her motives waiting on her tongue, ready to spill free.
“We want to kill Ignitus,” she said before Tor could stop her. “We want to stop him from hurting Kula any more.”
She felt giddy. She felt light. She even managed to ignore the look of confused horror on Madoc’s face, too high on saying these things out loud.
This is who I am. This is what I want.
She had never been more raw.
“We think Ignitus fears a gladiator for some reason—that he fears you,” Ash said. “And it makes sense, if you can control souls.”
Ilena and Seneca stared at Ash, and she felt Tor’s disapproving glare.
“You bring dangerous ideas here.” Seneca’s glassy blue eyes were narrow.
“I’m not part of any plot,” Madoc croaked. “I can’t help you. I can’t control souls.”
“Are you sure?”
A new voice came from the door. Someone had opened it. Ash spun around to see Elias stagger past Taro and Spark.
Elias ignored Ilena’s cry of relief. His dark hair barely covered a bruise on his temple and another, fresher one on his cheekbone.
Madoc surged toward him.
“You can control souls?” Elias pressed.
Madoc ignored the question. “Are you all right? Where were you?”
“I’m fine.” Elias yanked out of his mother’s grasping hands. The abruptness of it sank into Ash’s heart, making her aware of how he wasn’t fine. “Stop—I said I’m fine. Petros’s guards grabbed me. They wanted to make sure I was occupied during your fight.” He gave Madoc a heavy look. Ash remembered—Elias had geoeia. Was he the reason Deimos thought Madoc was Earth Divine? Was he using his power to assist in Madoc’s fights? “It seems like Petros thinks you can control souls too. He