Wonder Woman: Warbringer (DC Icons #1)(40)

“Gods?” said Jason. “Plural?”

“No one is looking for me,” insisted Alia. “They think I’m dead.”

Jason released a growl. “Will someone tell me what the hell is going on?”

Alia bounced nervously on her heels. “Can we all just…sit down for a minute?”

Jason glanced at the nearest bed, his lip curling slightly. With a disdainful flick, he shoved a pile of sweets away and sat down at the edge of the bed. He glanced around. “Do you have anything to drink?”

“Warm soda?” Alia said, offering him a bottle of cola.

“I was hoping for something stronger.”

Alia raised a brow. “Seriously?”

“I’m twenty-one—”

“Barely.”

“And I just got pounced by this…person.”

“My name is Diana.”

Jason took the soda bottle from Alia. “Diana what?”

She answered without thinking. “Diana, Princess of—”

“Diana Prince,” Alia said hurriedly. “Her name is Diana Prince.”

“Yes,” said Diana, grateful for the rescue, even if she was still angry at Alia. “Diana Prince.”

Alia sat down on the other bed and gestured for Diana to join her. Reluctantly, Diana settled on the farthest corner.

Jason took a gulp of soda. “Start talking, Alia.”

“There was an accident.”

Diana held Alia’s gaze. They couldn’t afford this pretense. “It wasn’t an accident.”

Alia took a deep breath. “Okay, there was an explosion aboard the Thetis. Someone…” She hesitated, and Diana realized this was the first time Alia had spoken the words out loud. She’d let Diana make the claim, agreed with her as far as she was able, but she’d never acknowledged the fact of what had happened herself. “I think someone tried to kill me.”

Jason set down the bottle with a loud clunk. “I told you not to go. You know what kind of threats the Foundation gets. I told you how dangerous it was for you to be without security.”

Alia dropped her eyes. “I didn’t think—”

“No, you didn’t. You could have been killed.”

“I would have been. But Diana saved me.”

“How?”

“I saw the explosion from shore.”

“And you brought her all the way back to New York?”

“It seemed the safest thing.”

Jason’s expression was sour. “Well, at least someone was thinking.”

“That isn’t fair,” Alia said quietly.

“Fair?” Jason leaned forward. “You almost died. I almost lost you. After what happened to Mom and Dad—”

“I—”

“If you wanted to go so badly, you should have talked to me. We could have arranged an expedition.”

Alia sprang to her feet. “I didn’t want a Keralis expedition,” she said, pacing back and forth in the tiny room. “I wanted to be a student. Like a normal kid. Like everyone else.”

“We aren’t like everyone else, Alia. Our family doesn’t have that luxury.”

Diana hadn’t meant to speak. This wasn’t her battle. But she still found herself saying, “She was right to try.”

“Excuse me?” said Jason.

“It’s not just to ask someone to live half a life,” Diana said. “You can’t live in fear. You make things happen or they happen to you.”

Jason turned his cold, angry gaze on her. “People died. Alia could have been killed.”

“And if she’d remained in New York, she might have been targeted here.”

Now Jason was on his feet. “I don’t know who you think you are, but I’ve had about enough of being scolded by a teenage girl.”

Diana rose and met his eye. “I could be a man of fifty and you’d still be just as wrong.”

Jason snatched up the red backpack and started toward the door. “We’re leaving, Alia.”

Diana stepped into his path. “No.”

A muscle ticked in Jason’s jaw. “Get out of my way.”

“You said yourself that she’s in danger. If people are watching you—”

“I can keep my own sister safe. We have an extensive security team of trained professionals.”

“And you trust these people?”

“More than I trust a stranger in sweatpants who slammed me against a wall and speaks Bulgarian.”

“Tell me,” said Diana. “When Alia called you from Istanbul, did you relay her location and the details of her situation to your security team?”

“Of course. I—” Jason stopped and his face turned ashen. He rubbed a hand over his mouth, then paced slowly back to the bed. He sat down heavily, his gaze stunned.

“Jason?” said Alia.

“It’s my fault. There must be someone on staff…But I don’t get it. Why would they go after Alia? I’m closer to the company. Why didn’t they come after me?”

Diana almost felt sorry for him. “You’re fighting the wrong battle,” she said gently. “I know you think this is about your family’s business, but Alia is the real target.”