Ever since Power Day, Emily had been tossed around, with new revelations, and near . . . perhaps not death, but certainly near-something-awful experiences. Not to mention suddenly finding herself in the position of what was essentially a single mom.

She took a deep breath and let it all out in one long exhale.

“Boss, you okay?” Teddy asked.

Emily nodded. “I’m fine, Teddy,” she lied. “It’s just . . . All of this has been a lot, you know?”

“That’s okay,” Teddy said. “You’ve got me to help. And Athena, too, I guess.”

“There’s nothing to worry about, sis,” Athena added. “If anything bugs you, I’ll handle it. And maybe Teddy can, like . . . stand by and try to look smart while I do that.”

Teddy’s head snapped around and she glared at Athena, who stared right back, smug as an owl that’d caught a mouse.

“Thanks, girls,” Emily said.

She really did have to refocus. If Alea Iacta was in trouble, what would happen?

Her parents had taken her to a few psychiatrists over the years, mostly to help her through her anxiety. She’d never stuck with any one of them for very long. The meetings always made her too nervous. It was only later she could appreciate the irony in that.

Still, some had given Emily a few tricks that she still used.

One was to break things down into their worst possible scenarios. What would happen if Alea Iacta, if Jacob, was captured?

He’d probably squeal and tell the Heroes she was a Villain. That was bad.

If he died, then . . . that would also be bad. She’d be safe, but down an ally. Also, he’d be dead, which wasn’t optimal. She didn’t like him much, but she didn’t want him dead.

What else? She couldn’t imagine a scenario worse than the Heroes, and the Cabal, learning about her and her sisters.

So that was what she had to prevent.

If she arrived and an entire team of Heroes was there, what could she do? Other than maybe stalling them, Emily couldn’t think of anything. Even that was asking for a lot.

If everything was in the worst possible situation, then there was nothing Emily could do. That was . . . not actually comforting at all. Maybe ditching that shrink had been a good idea.

She swallowed and kept moving. The closer they got to campus, the more people were out on the streets, and the more people stopped to look their way. Some seemed to want to gravitate toward them, but she suspected Athena was doing something if the way they looked spooked meant anything.

Emily bit her lip. She couldn’t do anything to stop the Heroes.

Maybe she didn’t need to stop them outright.

If there was one thing she could say with certainty about Alea Iacta, it’s that he was slippery. Slippery and lucky.

“I have a plan,” she said.