Strength (Curse of the Gods #4)(65)

“I haven’t allowed anyone else in there,” Cyrus finally admitted, though he seemed to be talking to Emmy.

Emmy didn’t reply. I walked back to her side, peering at her face. She swallowed, her eyes on Cyrus, and for the first time since I had known her, she actually appeared vulnerable.

“I don’t want to break up the unspoken moment,” I announced uneasily, glancing between them. “But can this maybe wait until later?”

I wasn’t even sure that they heard me—they were too busy staring at each other, Emmy looking all vulnerable and Cyrus looking all vulnerable and my mother looking all comatose.

“Will it help if I solve this little conundrum right now?” I asked, still receiving no response. I sighed, moving to stand directly between them. “Okay, here’s the situation. Cyrus, big scary Neutral God, thinks that Emmanuelle, lowly dirt-dweller, has a really nice butt.”

Emmy blinked, switching her gaze to me for the barest moment.

“And Emmanuelle kind of wants Cyrus to be touching all her stuff even though she complains about it, which means she kind of likes him—”

“I don’t,” Emmy interrupted, colour rising in a sudden flush through her cheeks. “Like him, I mean,” she added hastily. “I don’t like him.”

“She does,” I argued, rolling my eyes at Cyrus, who seemed to be coming out of his trance and was now just staring at me in confusion. “And you like her,” I told him.

“No, I don’t,” he argued. “She’s annoying.”

“How annoying?” I goaded.

“So annoying.”

“So annoying that you want to kiss her?”

He frowned, pressing his lips together, refusing to reply.

“So annoying that you want to maybe see her naked?” I continued, enjoying the way his eyes flared for an instant. “Yeah, I thought so. Can we consider this moment dealt with now? Can I see the secret library?”

He scowled, flicking his hand. “You may borrow the book, but you may not enter the library.”

“How is she going to get the book, then?” Emmy asked, folding her arms over her chest.

“I never said that you couldn’t go into the library,” Cyrus grumbled, pushing past us and leaving the room. We stood there in shocked silence.

“He likes your butt,” I told my sister, when it seemed like she wasn’t going to stop staring after him.

She shook her head, striding for the doorway in a strikingly similar manner to Cyrus’s recent exit. “I’ll get you the book and meet you back in your rooms.”

“Thank you,” I told her, before catching her arm and drawing her into a hug before she could storm off. “Thank you for everything.”

She relaxed for a moment, wrapping her arms around me, and then she sniffed and drew back, her eyes flicking to my mother.

“You need to find a way,” she told me. “Your mum might know something about what you are. She might be the missing piece in all of this.”

The missing piece.

I stared after Emmy as she walked away, her words echoing in my head. I had thought that I already knew who the missing piece was, but Emmy was right. If anyone knew what made me different, it would be the woman who gave birth to me.

After a few clicks alone in the room, with my mother unresponsive on the bed and the view of the ocean lulling me into a false sense of calm, I finally roused myself into action, leaving the healing ward and heading in the direction of the god-residences. I waited in the rooms for Emmy to bring the book—a tome as big as my head—and then I hurried back to the training alcoves, where I found each of the Abcurses huddled together in one of the small rooms, their sols gathered in another. I waited in the entry for an extended click, wondering what was happening. The sols seemed to be arguing, the Strength student gesturing wildly toward the Abcurses, the Seduction student speaking back in a low tone, her eyes narrowed dangerously.

I approached the circle of Abcurses, squeezing between Yael and Siret, until I was in the centre of them.

“What’s going on?” I whispered, as a quietness settled over our huddle, each of their eyes flicking down to me.

“Something isn’t right,” Aros murmured, the gold in his gaze swirling lightly. “Staviti’s energy is all over this place. It happened suddenly, while you were gone.”

“What?” I backed up a little, but only managed to bump into Coen, whose hands landed on my shoulders, spinning me around.

“We were debating whether we should get you out of here or not.”

“I can’t leave, not until I’ve found a way to heal my—”

“You won’t be any use to Donald if you’re the reason Staviti has come down to the Peak,” Yael interrupted. “He hasn’t shown himself, hasn’t announced anything to the sols or gods. He’s hiding his presence.”

“Where are the ...” I trailed off, repeating the question inside my head, directing it to the five of them. Where are the chains?

Coen swore, pulling me forwards—though he turned at the last moment, propelling me ahead of him, his hand switching to the back of my neck, directing me to the doorway.

“We need to make sure he didn’t come for them,” he announced, the others following closely behind us.

“YOU CAN’T JUST LEAVE,” one of the girls screeched, forcing our group to halt and our heads to turn.