The Goddess Hunt (Goddess Test #1.5)(8)
Author: Aimee Carter

Kate

That night was one of the longest of my life. For hours I followed Lux through the forest, attempting to retrace our steps and find his brother, and I was exhausted by the time the sun rose. Even waiting through one of my mother’s marathon surgeries to help give her cancer-riddled body a few more months hadn’t been that mentally draining.

“Lux, we’ve passed this spot five times already,” I said, dragging myself over a fallen tree. “He’s not here.”

“He has to be somewhere.” Lux shoved aside a low-hanging branch so hard that it snapped in two and fell to the ground.

“Somewhere else then.” And if we didn’t find him soon, I was afraid Lux would be the one to snap. He’d managed to regain some semblance of control after we’d lost Casey and James, but his eyes were wild, his muscles rigid, and he snarled everything he said to me. When he decided to speak at all.

“Maybe we should stay in one place,” I said. “James and Casey will find us.”

Lux shook his head and ducked down to check behind a boulder that couldn’t possibly hide both of them. “He knows I’m looking for him. He knows to stay put, even if they’d have an easier time of finding us.”

“Why’s that?” I said, tucking a loose n rhlock of hair behind my ear. I would’ve given nearly anything for a ponytail holder, not to mention a hot shower and a soft bed.

He gave me a strange look that made me feel three inches tall, and without bothering to answer me, he turned back to his search. I huffed. Fine. Another secret. Not that the gods didn’t have enough of them already.

“Maybe we should go back to the cabin,” I said. “They’re probably waiting for us—”

“No they’re not,” said a singsongy voice behind me, and I jumped. Lux flew around, focusing on something—or someone—over my shoulder.

I turned, and as soon as I saw the blonde leaning against a tree, I let out a sigh of relief. Finally, someone who might know what was going on. “Ava? What are you doing here?”

She wore a hiking outfit of khakis and a tank top that showed off her curves, and her blond hair was swept over one shoulder in a fashionable braid. She’d even tucked a flower into the end. Stupid of me to expect anything less. “Helping you, of course.”

Lux bared his teeth. Apparently he and Casey had been away from civilization for way too long. “Like I would ever accept your help.”

“Like I was talking to you,” Ava scoffed. “Kate, let’s get out of here. Daddy said Henry’s worried about you.”

I blinked. Henry was worried? “Why?”

“Because if there’s one twin to get stuck with, Lux isn’t it. I’m supposed to bring you back to Athens.”

“Is Henry waiting?” I said, my heart pounding. I’d been certain I wouldn’t see him until September, when I was supposed to return to Eden to take up my duties as his queen. But the thought of spending the summer with Henry, or at least seeing him before then, made my chest ache in the best way possible. After all of the uncertainty between us, the thought of him waiting for me made a delicate bubble of hope inside of me expand. He wanted to be with me, his stupid six months away rule be damned.

Ava hesitated. “Er, no.”

And there went that bubble.

“I mean, I’m sure he’ll come see you,” she said quickly. “Just—you know. He’s not there now is all.”

“Then where is he?” said Lux. “Where’s my brother?”

Ava shrugged. “Don’t know, don’t care.”

“Ava don’t be like that,” I said.

“What? It’s not like he wants my help anyway.”

I twisted around to face Lux, but before I could ask, he scowled. “I would rather be forced to eat my own liver every day for the rest of eternity.”

“See?” said Ava cheerfully. “It’s settled. Let’s go.”

She reached for my hand, but I yanked it back. She may not have wanted to help Lux, but I was already neck deep in this. I wasn’t about to abandon him when he had no one else. “e ulse. How did you know where we were?”

“Ella told me, of course.”

“And how did Ella know where we were?”

Silence. Ava’s eyes widened innocently, and Lux swore so loudly that a flock of birds exploded from the branches above us. “You told them,” he roared.

“Me? How could I have possibly known?” she said, but there was something about her voice that triggered a red flag in my mind. I’d heard her tell enough lies, both big and small, to recognize her attempts at hiding the truth when I heard it.

“Ava,” I said in a warning tone, “if you want me to go with you, then you need to spit it out. Now.”

She sighed dramatically. “Oh, fine. Not like it matters anyway. I was going to join you and James. I mean, it’s sort of rotten you invited him to Greece, but not me, you know? So I was following you, waiting for the right moment, and then—”

“And then James hunted us down and led her right to us,” said Lux. “Bastard.”

I glared at Ava. “I’m sure he didn’t do it on purpose. Unlike you.”

“Oh, no, he knew I was there,” said Ava in that same singsongy voice. “He always knows.”

I gritted my teeth. The last thing I needed was for them to shatter my trust in another person. Especially James.. “It doesn’t matter. Let’s just find Casey.”

Ava’s face fell. “I thought you were coming with me.”

“Yeah, well, I changed my mind.” I started down the path, but neither of them followed. “Lux, are you coming or what?”

“Not with her walking behind me.”

Terrific. Now I was babysitting two children. “It’s not like she can kill you.”

“No, but she can do—and has done—much worse,” he muttered, and I stopped. Out of all the people on the council, I would’ve expected Ava to have the most compassion for others, especially Casey and Lux.

“Ava?” I said. “What did you do to them?”

“Nothing serious,” she said, and I narrowed my eyes.

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

Lux started to pace between two trees, careful never to turn his back on Ava. “Casey and I were involved in helping our father pick a husband for our sister, Helen. She—” he glared at Ava “—appeared in our chambers one night and tried to seduce us in exchange for our vote for her favorite candidate.”