“This isn’t over,” their leader promised. “I, too, am a Kattalakis Lykos and I demand the satisfaction of seeing the one who cursed our race pay for his crimes. I’ll be back!”
And with that, they were gone.
Max noticed that Sera was paler than she’d been. “Seramia?”
“I don’t feel right, either.” She pressed her hand to her forehead. “It’s so strange.” Her legs buckled.
Max swept her up in his arms and teleported her from the bar, back to Peltier House and into the infirmary. “Carson!”
The Gerakian appeared instantly. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. She’s sick or something.”
Max stepped back so that Carson could examine her. Time dragged as he worried his lip and waited anxiously for the doctor to tell them both that she was fine. That it was just exhaustion from the unbelievably long day they’d had.
That was what he expected.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t what Carson did.
“This is weird. It’s like the spell that Kessar unlocked is reversing itself.”
Max’s breath caught in his throat as fear went through him. No… Carson was wrong. He had to be. “What?”
“She’s slowly turning back into stone.”
In that moment, he felt as if all the wind had been violently knocked out of his body. “Bullshit! Don’t fuck with me, Carson.”
He pulled the stethoscope from his neck. “I’m not.” Patting Sera gently on the shoulder, he offered her a sad, sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry. I have no idea how to reverse this.”
Her eyes glistened as she met Max’s gaze, but she managed to blink her tears back. “I should have known the gods wouldn’t allow us to go free. We were meant to be punished for riding against them. Let’s face it, they’re not exactly known for their mercy.”
Max sank down on his knees in front of her as a thousand emotions ransacked him at once. But the one that hit him the hardest was fear and anguish. The love that didn’t want to lose her again.
“I can’t let you go. Not again.”
She brushed her hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. I should never have followed Nala in her war against the gods. She was so sure the Sumerians would take over Greece.” Laughing bitterly, she winced. “Stupid bitch never backed a winning side in any conflict.”
“Why did you ride against them?”
“I don’t know. I was angry at the gods for what they’d done to us. What they’d done to our children. I wanted the blood of Apollo and Artemis for creating our races. The heads of the Fates for condemning us. It was a suicide run. Yet it made me feel powerful, as if I had some control over my destiny. How stupid is that?”
“It wasn’t stupid. Little arrogant and a lot short-sighted. But not stupid.” He laid his head in her lap and held her tight. “I can’t go back.” He pierced her with a furious glower. “I won’t.”
“There’s nothing we can do.”
“Yes, there is.”
Seraphina went cold at the tone he used. Foreboding sent chills over her entire body. “What are you thinking?”
Biting his lower lip, he swallowed hard. “Stay here with Carson. I’ll be right back.”
“Maxis!”
He didn’t listen.
As he vanished, she tried to stop him. She jumped off the bed and grabbed for his arm.
It was too late. He was gone without a single trace. Only a slight stir in the air gave any hint that he’d been there at all. Terrified, she met Carson’s gaze that mirrored her own concerns. “What is he doing?”