Chapter 38

“Am I allowed to ask why we’re not welcome at the temple?” I raise my chin as I glare at Faiza.

Slowly Faiza smiles and then shakes her head.

“But,” I hesitate, glancing over at Anton, who stares at Faiza quite seriously. “How will we –“

Faiza sighs and holds out her hand, palm flat to the ceiling. A very small bag appears there. “Life said that if you were to push on the subject I should give you this.” She tosses the bag to the bed in front of me. “Everything in there is what you need to do the divinations yourself. Just…don’t go to the Temple, okay?”

I stare at the bag and then up at Faiza, confused. Because…it’s clearly not that she doesn’t want me to not know where Blythe is. She just really, really doesn’t want me at the Temple. But what the hell is at this Temple that the Goddess of Life is trying so hard to keep me away from?

“Faiza,” Anton asks, slow and measured, all of the flirtation gone from his voice. “If you’re here, and you work for Life, does this mean that you’re…not on Moon Valley’s side in his war? Were you betraying Ariel this whole time?”

Faiza’s face softens. “No, sugar,” she says, shaking her head. “It’s not like that. The Goddess of Life isn’t taking sides in this war, unlike the Moon Goddess and Darkness himself. She lets me live my mortal life largely unimpeded, as long as I complete her tasks.” She holds his gaze and I watch her, something in me just…believing her, even though I know it could all be a lie. “I am on Moon Valley’s side. I believe in Ariel. And I am sorry you’re dead. You were a good egg.”

Anton nods slowly, giving her a gentle smile.

“All right!” Faiza says with a sigh, getting to her feet. “That’s my job done! Gotta head back now –“

“Wait!” I gasp, reaching out for her. “But you said things were crazy at home –“

“They are,” Faiza says, turning to me. “I mean, you don’t even know that –“ But she stills suddenly, her head snapping upward as she looks at the ceiling, as if she’s listening to a voice that we can’t hear.

Anton and I glance at each other, worried.

But then she scowls and looks back down at us. “Sorry,” she says with a shrug. “I’ve been instructed not to say a damn thing about what’s going on at home. Which is a bummer because…” she shrugs. “It is pretty insane.”

“Are they all alive?” I whisper, suddenly horrified and desperate to know.

She shakes her head. “I honestly don’t know, Princess.”

Terror sweeps through me and I just gape at her.

“Look,” she sighs, leaning forward towards me with her hands on her hips. “Just…concentrate on you, all right? You aren’t just here because you made some stupid deal. This is all bigger than you think it is.”

She lowers her voice and glances up again, biting her lip like she’s not sure what she’s allowed to say.

“And try to figure out your Underworld mate drama as fast as you can – your magic -“

She suddenly stops, jumping up straight with a little yelp, almost as if she’s been struck by something.

“Wait, what?” I gasp, a little frantic. “My mate – is he – is he here!? In the Underworld!?”

But Faiza just laughs and shakes her head. “Oh, come on, June,” she says with a sigh, rolling her eyes as she crosses her arms over her chest. “You’re a clever girl. Figure it out.”

And then she winks once at both of us and just…vanishes. As simple as that, as simple as Nic does every single night.

Gaping a bit, I slowly turn towards Anton, who is already looking at me, his eyes gentle and worried.

“Well,” he says, heaving a heavy sigh. “You’ve had a whole day full of surprises and new information, haven’t you, June?”

I just groan, covering my face with my hands and allowing myself to fall back amongst my pillows, desperate for answers and knowing I’m not going to get a single one.

The next morning I wake up before Anton, but that’s not a surprise anymore. “Lazy wolf,” I murmur, lifting a hand to flick at his nose. He wrinkles the feature and just frowns, turning his face away from me, still asleep and making me smile.

I grin at him and then sigh, glad that we’re back on good terms. We stayed up late, turning over all of Faiza’s words and everything that happened yesterday. But honestly, we didn’t get far with any answers.

It’s just…insane to think that so much is happening at home, and that my family might be in danger. And that my mate is here.

But like…who?

Orion already told me that mating bonds don’t snap together down here so…how the hell will I know who he is?

Anton groans, rolling away from me. “I can hear you thinking. It’s too loud. Shhh.”

I laugh and swat at his shoulder, my eyes drifting over the broad expanse of his back for a moment before I turn my head to look up at the ceiling. “I’m glad you’re up. I was getting lonely.”

“You’ve probably been up and alone for like eight seconds,” he mutters, bitter.

“I’m the youngest of four with doting parents!” I say, laughing. “I always have company, even when I don’t want it!”

“Yeah well, I’m an orphan who enjoys his solitude,” he murmurs, moody. “Leave me be.”

I snap my head to the side, staring at him. “Is that true?”

He just inhales deeply and slowly lets it out. “Yes, but I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Why not?” I breathe, suddenly afraid for him. “Was it…was it very horrible, Anton?”

“No, it was fine, the nuns were very nice to me, I’m just sleepy.” He moans dramatically and turns his face into the pillow. “Be quiet. Go away or be quiet.”

“Fine, but you’re telling me about this later,” I say with a happy sigh, getting up and heading into the bathroom for a quick shower.

When I come back about thirty minutes later with damp hair and dressed for the day, Anton is seated on the bed, his head hanging, still looking half asleep.

“Want me to conjure you some ghost coffee?” I ask, deliberately perky.

He just raises his head to glare at me. “You think you are so cute,” he mutters, glaring playfully. “When really, you’re just annoying.”

“You’re just grumpy in the mornings,” I say happily conjuring a coffee into my hand and sitting next to him on the bed. “Hey, want to go see Laila?”

Anton’s face brightens. “Yeah, sure. Do you think she wants to see us?”

“Of course she does,” I say with a grin. “We are delightful –“

“I am delightful,” he counters, pressing a hand to his chest. “As we have already established, you are over-awake and perky –“

“And,” I say, deliberately interrupting and grinning at him, “I’m sure she wants to decompress about her date.”

“By which you mean…you want all the details about whether or not Orion likes her more than he likes you.” Anton smirks, knowing he’s correct.

“Excuse you, Anton,” I say, feigning offence. “I am a girl’s girl – I am only in this to ensure that Laila had a nice time.”

“Cool, well, I’m a girl’s girl too then,” he murmurs. “Call up Nic, let’s go.”

I grin and nod, calling out Nic’s name to the open air.

To my surprise, nothing happens. So I do it again.

There’s a long pause but he appears this time, sighing. “Look, I’m not even supposed to be here,” he mutters, holding out a hand towards us.

“What?” I say, blinking at him, shocked.

“Yeah,” he says, glancing over his shoulder like there might be someone watching. “So I’m going to make this quick. The God of Death has placed you, Miss Sinclair, under House Arrest for bad behavior. So, no matter how many times you call me to take you somewhere? I can’t show up unless it’s a formal Game event.”

My mouth falls open in shock.

Because…what the hell did I do that was bad!?