The Goddess Hunt (Goddess Test #1.5)(9)
Author: Aimee Carter

“It wasn’t just that,” said Ava, a note of hurt in her voice. “I also offered you both any girls you wanted, you know.”

Lux ignored her. “We turned her down. The safety of our sister was more important to us, and she took offense and cursed us.”

My mouth dropped open. “Ava!”

She sighed. “It wasn’t like it was a big curse or anything.”

“Any girl Casey falls in love with, I fall in love with as well,” said Lux. “Which doesn’t sound too bad until it’s put into practice.”

“Oh.” I frowned. It really didn’t sound that bad at all. But after spending the past six months watching what unrequited love and jealousy could do to a person, I could only imagine. “I’m sorry. Ava can fix it though, can’t she?”

“Sure,” she said. “As soon as Casey’s safely back in the Underworld and Daddy’s dealt with Pollux.”

Lux snarled, and I launched myself between the pair of them. “Hey. Hey. Lux, stop it. Ava, just do it, would you? It’s been thousands of years. They’ve been through enough already.”

She shrugged. “Would if I could, but I can’t. Daddy would have an apocalyptic fit.”

Walter. My frown deepened. Henry in a bad mood was dangerous enough, but throwing in the King of the Gods—right. “Fine. Then we’ll figure it out, and once this is over, you’re going to talk to Walter and tell him you’re lifting the curse. I don’t care what you have to do or how much you piss him off. It’s happening, or I’m never talking to you again.”

Her eyes widened, but this time the expression of hurt on her face was real. “You’d do that to me just because of them?”

“Yes, just because of them. I mean it.”

Her brow furrowed, and after several long seconds, she sighed again. “Fine. But you have to come with me now and leave the tracking up to James, else the deal’s off.”

“You promise you’ll undo it if I go with you?” I said, and she reluctantly nodded.

“Cross my heart and hope to—”

A twig snapped, and as Ava fell silent, Lux went rigid all over again. He prowled toward the source of the sound, somehow moving noiselessly despite the underbrush, reminding me of a panther. A pissed-off panther that hadn’t bothered to put on a shirt yet.

Before Lux could pounce, however, James stepped out from behind a tree. I shrieked and ran toward him, tackling him with a hug.

“James! You found us!” I gave Lux an I told you so look. “It’s about damn time. We’ve been looking for you since—”

“Where’s Casey?”

Lux’s voice shattered my relief, and I let go of James and glanced around. He was alone. My stomach dropped. “James?”

He pressed his lips together. “I’m sorry. Henry tracked us down and—”

“Henry? You mean Hades?” Lux paled, and for a moment he looked so utterly shocked that despite his immortality, I was afraid his heart would stop. That he would will his life to end.

But James couldn’t possibly be right. Henry would never do that—no mattly 8212;noer what stories they told, he was different now. He was wiser, more compassionate, and he knew how much the two brothers loved each other. He had to understand.

“Did he say where he was taking him?” I said to James, touching Lux’s elbow. He shuddered, but at least he didn’t jerk away.

“He took him to the Underworld,” said James. “Lux, I’m sorry, I—”

“Don’t.” The very forest seemed to tremble at the danger in his voice. If Lux could’ve killed us all, I was absolutely sure he would. “This is your bloody fault. After everything you did—”

“Actually, my dear son, this is your fault.”

If Lux had been angry before, it was nothing compared to the fury that twisted his expression now, making him nearly unrecognizable. Walter stepped out from between the trees, Ella trailing after him. She slung her bow over her shoulder and smirked, looking so self-satisfied that the urge to wipe that look off her face overwhelmed me. Apparently Lux was rubbing off on me.

Walter, however, looked anything but satisfied. His mouth was set in a thin line, and his forehead furrowed so deeply that his bushy brows nearly obscured his eyes. “You should have never taken your brother from the Underworld to begin with.”

“You didn’t give me any choice.” Lux choked up, and he balled his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white. “You took him from me—you knew what you were doing to us, and you took him anyway.”

“Perhaps, in time, we could have found a compromise,” said Walter. “As it stands now, I cannot reward insubordination. We will find your brother, and when we do, the terms of our deal will be abolished. You will no longer share your immortality with him, and you will remain where I can watch over you until you are ready to assume the duties you abandoned.”

Heavy silence settled over us, and Lux stiffened. I may not have had a twin brother, but I knew what it was like to lose the only person in the world I loved, and the thought of Lux going through that made me sick to my stomach.

I opened my mouth to say something, but before I could, the temperature dropped twenty degrees, and the wind grew still. One moment Lux was facing Walter, and the next he was sprinting through the space between them, his fist raised and aimed directly for his father’s face.

Walter’s fingers twitched, and before he could reach him, Lux flew sideways and smashed against a tree. The impact splintered the trunk and sent it crashing into the forest, but Lux pulled himself to his feet, his chest heaving.

“You know better than that,” said Walter. “Do not make this any more difficult than it has to be, son.”

“I am not your son,” snarled Lux.

Walter sighed. “Sometimes I wish that were true. It would be easier on us all.”

Thick ropes appeared out of nowhere, and they wrapped around Lux, forcing him against another tree. He struggled as they coiled around the trunk and his body several times, but they glowed with golden light that not even Lux could break. He growled, clawing at the bark with his bare hands, but neither the ropes nor the ty ses nor ree budged.

Walter admired his handiwork. “Much better. Ella, you and the pack will keep Pollux and the others subdued while I find Castor. Do not let him escape.”

“Of course, Father,” said Ella, and she settled across from Lux, her bow in hand and ready to use. “One wrong move, and I’ll put as many arrows through you as it takes.”