“The price is a soul close to me.” That likely meant someone he cared about, but it could maybe simply mean a person in the room.

Her breath shuddered out. Piers would give anything to comfort her. He even thought there might be a small chance at a way for them to stay together, but he refused to get her hopes up. And maybe his own.

He glanced at her phone. He’d have to make a call before he started chanting. He’d have to time it well.

“Why would this happen? Any of it?” Sophie abruptly sat on the edge of the bed. Her fingers curled into the blanket. “If the gods are all-powerful and everywhere, why not just pluck the shard from Novalight’s people in the Mediterranean? Or from Aaron? Athena could’ve just knocked on my door in Pinebury and asked for her shard back. What was the point of letting any of this happen? Of letting us…” She motioned back and forth between them, choking back a sob.

Piers sat beside her. He took her hand. “Kardoula mou.” He brushed his lips over her knuckles. “The gods don’t work that way. There’s nothing straightforward about their machinations. They arrange, nudge, influence, sometimes shove. But it’s all with a potential outcome in mind. After, it’s up to us, their players and pawns, to make our choices and move our pieces around the board. If it all comes together the way the gods desire, then it’s done, and they move on to something else. If it doesn’t, they begin again with a new set of players who make their own moves, just as we did.”

Tears shimmered in her eyes as she looked at him. “I never thought of there being a balance between fate and free will. I never even believed in destiny, but now…”

Piers gently kissed her. “I don’t know if there’s a balance, but it’s not all or nothing. It’s both.”

She nodded. It was unsteady and forced. “So this is it? I should call my parents. Say goodbye. Just in case.” Her voice broke, and Piers’s heart crumbled to dust.

“No, my love. You get in your car and go home.” He glanced at Sophie’s phone again. “You said it takes about three hours? That’s how long I’ll wait. Then I’ll summon Athena and give her the shard.”

Sophie sniffled, straightening. “But I have to check us out of the hotel. No.” She shook her head. “No, Piers. None of this works.”

“I have at least thirty gold coins. Surely, the hotel can find a way to exchange them for little green papers and settle this debt. I’ll leave the money in the bathroom.” He grimaced, regretting his fit of temper. He could’ve left that gold with Sophie instead.