Page 72 of Edge of Stars

“Kara.” His voice is a ragged growl. “She took our mothers.”

“Which makes me madder and sadder than you probably think it does.”

Desperately, I hope he doesn’t think I premeditated the falter in my rasp. It’s reassuring when I reach for him again, only to meet his own extended grasp when I’m halfway there.

No. Not reassuring.

It’s regeneration.

Cells of my soul built up again when they’ve been hanging on by threads. My heart refilled, the instant before it felt as drained as a Coachella stage battery on the last encore of the night.

“I didn’t mean to imply that you weren’t,” he murmurs. “But this isn’t a high-level stealth mission that we can script out and rehearse for months. Hecate’s done being patient.”

“And I know that.”

“Then you know we’ve got to figure out a plan for how to respond to this, and fast.”

“I know that too. And I agree.”

Though—damn it—I prove the point by yanking away my hand again. I can’t help myself. Necessity has me desperately splaying my fingers against my abdomen. Subduing the life inside it, who already seems to be begging to help in our mission.

Soon, I silently ensure her. You’ve got to get a little bigger and stronger first, my sweet Nikoleta.

“Hey.” Maximus closes the distance between us. Presses his hand over mine. “Beautiful? You okay?”

“Yep. Fine.” I rush into a nod, hoping it relaxes his grip. “We both are. She just adores her daddy already.”

I long to give him a fast kiss for emphasis, but Zeus has given up the nearby hovering. He’s back now, and he’s close.

“Then let’s make sure she has a pair of wonderful yia yias to adore, as well.”

Poseidon, hitching a hip against a couch, snorts briefly. “Yia yias? Well, everyone mark the moment. My brother’s getting sentimental about the grandparenting game. One of the few that the whole room probably agrees with you.”

Maximus exposes a mild bristle. “As long as he treats it as more than a game, we’re cool.”

“Not now.” Despite the fervency of the declaration, Zeus slips back into a cosmopolitan stance. “Games are a luxury of time. And time is a luxury we do not have right now.”

Poseidon pushes all the way to his feet. “I live for the times when you’re wrong, but this one has my extra vote.”

“This one…what?” Maximus issues the same demand that’s burning foremost for me.

Z regards us with half a glance before sliding out his noncommittal murmur. “A plan,” he says. “Maybe.”

Kell sidles up, her nose twitching with meaning. “Pine, sulfur, and rubbing alcohol. Ohhh, this is all more than maybe.”

“I said what I said,” Zeus snaps. “And I meant it.”

Kell ignores him, already swinging a knowing look toward the old gods. “Holy shit. You guys were really considering it, weren’t you? A full-on run at Iremia?”

“What?”

Same word, opposing meanings. My snap is edged with new fear. Maximus’s is pure anger.

“Were considering?” he bites at his father and uncle. “But you’ve cooked up a better plan now? Let’s have it, then.”

Z and Poseidon trade a look. It’s harsher than I want to see and darker than I want to feel.

“They don’t have one,” I go ahead and state. “But they agree with me now. Charging in on Hecate on her home turf isn’t going to gain you anything. Or anyone.”