back.”
“Isn’t that always the story,” I growled. Taking Cyrus’s hand, I hefted my sword. “We’re going back to the battlefront. We’re needed there—and wanted.” Looking directly at my mother, whom Zeus had by the arm now and was leading away, I said, “Don’t let her out of your sight.”
My grandfather shook his head. “I won’t.”
“You do, and I will come back. And maybe next time I’ll bring my dad.”
My mother beamed. “Please do!”
I shot her a glare. “I’ll make good on my promise, Mom. Next time I see you . . .”
She looked unintimidated. “I’ll be waiting.”
Zeus fixed me with his eyes. “He can never know the truth, your father. There’s a chance that even hearing about this could undo your mother’s magic. If that happens . . .”
“Terrible things. I know,” I said.
“If he seems to be unraveling,” Zeus warned, “if he starts to gain more power, or if he starts remembering things he shouldn’t . . . please come to me, Granddaughter. My brothers and sisters and I may be the only ones who stand a chance of stopping him before he destroys everything.”
“So, you want me to bring him back to the ones who essentially murdered him?” I growled. “You, who haven’t exactly been kind or generous to me in these past thousands of years, though you’ve known who I am? Yeah, no thanks. Whatever happens, I’ll take care of it. I’ll take care of him.”
Zeus frowned. “You don’t know what you’re dealing with.”
“No, you don’t know what you’re dealing with,” I countered. “Look, I don’t know what happened between all of you, but I do know this: he’s my father. I also know how he’s acted every day I’ve been alive. He may not have remembered me personally, but he’s never shown anything but compassion and goodness—an overdeveloped protectiveness, if you ask me—for the people of this world. He’s not the kind of man who gains power and suddenly goes off the deep end. He knew his brothers were evil, which is why he joined with you in the first place. He’s one of the world’s protectors, not its destroyer, and I stand with him.”
“And maybe you don’t know him at all,” Zeus said as I turned to leave, Cyrus in tow. “Maybe that’s just the facade with which we cursed him. Maybe that’s all he thinks he is. You never really know another person; you only know what they show you. Let’s pray you’re not wrong.” And with that, he turned and walked off, leading my mother. She followed behind, never once looking back. I hadn’t expected her to.
Cyrus faced me. “If I ever questioned why you have so many issues, that’s all cleared up. But if it helps, I’m here for you.”
I squared my shoulders, letting all the family drama fall away and getting back into the proper mindset for battle. “It helps tremendously. Now, let’s go kick some ass.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
The old saying “You can’t win them all” is very accurate. Sure, I managed to stop Dylan. I managed to send my mother into a long-lasting time-out with a little help from my grandfather; and the Elite Hands of Justice, along with a little help from Kate and some of her brothers and sisters, sent the Cult of the Dragon packing before Cyrus and I even arrived. Enough of them were now either dead or in jail that it was going to take a long while for them to become a factor again. But the Dragon himself was still on the loose.
He’d managed to evade the Elite Hands of Justice when the battle didn’t go as planned; or, more specifically, he evaded Wesley and the combined power of the gods. He must have picked up a few new tricks during his time in the DarkLands, because he suddenly was able to cloak himself better than ever. No one could track him after he disappeared. He’d clearly vowed to live to fight another day, and was still lurking in the background, a fuse to the powder keg that was Emily and the prophecy of her possibly setting free the Ancient Ones, which had all sorts of new meaning for me now.
When I finally saw him coming off the battlefield, Wesley looked ready to collapse. It was so strange seeing him now, after all I’d learned; it was like I was looking at a different person yet again.
“Thank God you’re all right,” he said, surprising the hell out of me with a hug. I was momentarily