Luke collapsed against me, bones and muscles struck useless by the poison. He would recover. In a few hours.

I pulled him into the cell and gently laid him on the cot, stretching him out. His eyes, full of fury, met mine. His silent, paralyzed glare promised retribution before his eyes drifted shut, giving way to the toxin. I had a feeling he wouldn’t be getting the chance.

Still holding the blade, I closed the door behind me and realized that I was in another room, one that was hidden. Hell, they’d dropped me in a panic room in the basement. I almost laughed as I climbed the steps. The house was quiet. I imagined everyone thought I’d be out longer than I was. Not smart. It would be so easy to sneak up on them, especially Deacon. He wouldn’t know what had hit him. Alex and Aiden, being demigods, would be harder, but no match now. I could easily—

I shut my eyes, jaw working. My head was a mess, as if there were a hundred voices speaking at once. I needed to get out of there. I headed for the front of the house, but stopped in the middle of the hall. Inhaling deeply, I lifted my gaze to the ceiling. I could sense restlessness in one of the bedrooms upstairs, but my attention was drawn to the room in the front—the library. She was in there, and the sick thing was, I only knew her exact location because of her aether.

It fucking called to me.

It reached inside, wrapped its thready fingers around every muscle fiber and taunted me, lured me. My mouth watered.

Footsteps approached from the kitchen and my head swung sharply in the direction of the opening. Gable stepped out, blond hair disheveled and pants wrinkled.

Bad time for a midnight snack.

Sleep clung to his eyes. “Hey, aren’t you—?”

I shot forward, clamped my hand over his mouth. I started to swipe him with the blade, but I didn’t know if it would kill him. So I shifted my hand until his nose and mouth were covered, and I held on until his legs gave out. I caught him and then tossed him over my shoulder. I figured Poseidon wouldn’t be happy with how I dumped his kid on the couch, but oh well. Could’ve been worse.

I could’ve done a lot worse.

Back out in the hall, I forced myself to keep going toward the front door, but before I even knew what I was doing, I was in front of the library and was opening the door, stepping into the dark room, closing the door behind me.

My heart rate picked up, responding to her proximity, and as I stepped forward, I had no idea if it was because of what coursed through her veins or just because it was her.

It was both.

But it was her.