Ciro’s lance clashed with his brother’s trident as he forced Aerios to rise higher and higher above the ground. Sparks from their weapons flew through the air for moments then died in the rain. He disarmed Aerios by crashing into his body and jerking the trident from his hand. It fell to the earth, spinning wildly. Sparing it a quick glance, he reached for the back of Aerios’ neck and tugged. It seemed Aerios had expected that, for he easily slipped from the grip.
Ciro growled.
The wind around them picked up speed, knocking him off balance. Ciro stuck his arms out to steady himself and looked at the trees below him, hoping the storm would spare the country. The farmers depended on their crops for survival, and with a storm this early in the year, everything could be destroyed. Ciro’s distraction allowed his brother to catch him off guard and Aerios’ recovered trident sliced Ciro’s arm. The pain caused him to shout his discomfort to the heavens, lose his concentration and fall through the clouds. He descended faster, out of control as he stared upward to see Aerios coming at him in a death dive.
Spreading his legs, Ciro managed to stop his fall and braced for impact. Aerios slammed into him and tangled together, their bodies sailed down toward the earth.
Pain shot through Ciro’s back as he slammed into Pico Real del Turquino. The mountain seemed to crumble beneath the force of their weight. Aerios rose instantly, but Ciro, squirmed, his back arched in pain. His weapon disappeared, for he couldn’t seem to focus to keep it in existence. The wind picked up speed, sending pieces of wet rock flying at his face, slicing through his flesh, tearing a hiss from his lips. But he couldn’t remain where he was, wallowing in his discomfort, for Aerios was attacking again.
Ciro was too weak from both hits to react. He remembered his promise to Carter—he needed to keep his word, but his body was just not willing. Closing his eyes, he gritted his teeth and pushed for his lance to come back.
A howl of pain sounded above him and Ciro opened his eyes to see Aerios flying through the air. Hovering above him was Osaki, the Japanese Samurai warrior admitted into Olympus after his death for saving Ares’ life.
“Carter said you could use some assistance, my friend,” Osaki said, lowering beside Ciro. He helped Ciro up.
“I thought you went back to recharge.”
“You should know it does not take long. Now let us finish this fight and get you home.”
“Wait…his brother…”
“Is fine. Kofi agreed to stay at your place, though I hear it took some convincing. Focus now. My hit only stunned Aerios. We both know it will not remain that way for long.”
Ciro nodded, gritted his teeth and lifted his hand. The weapon returned and shimmered slightly, for his mind was still a bit hazy.
“Pull it together, man,” Osaki demanded. “Kangaeru! Think!”
Aerios was back. He moved toward Ciro, whose weapon still hadn’t completely materialized. His head throbbed. He took another hit to the chest and fell across the land, taking out a few trees. He sat up, only to have Osaki land on top of him.
“Are you all right?” Ciro tried lifting Osaki’s head. His friend merely groaned, twitched then passed out. Ciro laid him gently on the wet ground.
“Did you think he could protect you, Ciro?” Aerios hovered in the air above them with a smirk. “He is no god. He does not belong on Olympus. Now…be a good little Shiver and die so I may dispatch with your lover.”
Flipping his head to clear his wet hair from his face, Ciro rolled out of the way of an attack to protect himself and Osaki. He pushed himself in the air. “The pathetic thing about your life, dear brother, is that you do not know what it feels like to be loved. Whether Osaki could protect me or not was not the point—the point is, he loves me enough to try.”
“Love?” Aerios mocked. His laughter echoing off what mountains remained from their fight. “Love is a human emotion, for it makes you weak, Ciro. Shivers don’t have that luxury. Love is a pathetic emotion humans use to ruin each other’s lives.”
“And yet, I once loved you,” Ciro confessed.
Ciro didn’t give Aerios time to collect himself—he attacked. The two tussled in the sky until Ciro’s anger won out and he slammed an elbow into his brother’s chest. Aerios landed atop some trees, flattening them. Everything moved fast. Lightning streaked across the heavens as their weapons clashed against each other, sending sparks sailing through the skies with rain and thunder. At one point, Ciro landed in a field of pumpkin, killing about three lines with the force his body hit them and slid across the space, but Ciro couldn’t stop. His back collided with the base of a tree that split down the middle.
The lance he swung was stronger now, ready to taste blood. There was another round of fighting, and though Ciro should feel weak, the anger pulsing through him sustained him enough to hit Aerios long enough to slam him into the ground. Ciro surged from where he was and landed atop Aerios. The earth shook with the force of it. Though he wanted nothing more than to take Aerios’ head back to Carter as proof he would now be safe, Ciro pressed his weapon hard against Aerios’ neck.
“Do it. Kill me,” Aerios demanded.
“I am not going to kill you,” Ciro replied. “There are other ways to make you suffer without having to draw your soul from your body.”
“I should have known—coward. You do not have it in you.”
“Believe me, nothing would please me more than to kill you and give Hades a little more fun in his eternity. But I will spare your life for Carter. For some reason, he does not wish you death—mercy, another pesky little thing I adore about humans. But I assure you, brother, you will suffer like no other Shiver has ever suffered.”
“What are you going to do?” Aerios struggled against the hold Ciro had on him.
Ciro clamped down harder, meeting his brother’s eyes, and saw fear boiling within them. “Aerios, son of Zeus and Goddess of the Storm Winds, I now pronounce sentence over you.”
Aerios fought harder. Ciro pressed his palm to Aerios’ chest, causing a blue light to engulf his hand.
“No!” Aerios protested, struggling to get away. “You cannot mean…no. This is not fair.”
“Fairness has nothing to do with it, Aerios. You crossed the line going after Carter. That comes with no forgiveness.”
“But you cannot mean to do this.”
“The same people you detest so dearly are now your sentence.” Ciro said, lifting his hand higher until the light turned into a slow, spinning blue ball that hovered over Aerios’ chest. “You have betrayed everything the Shivers stand for. You have threatened everything Mother fought to protect—the people she loves so desperately… For that, I make you what they are.”
He pushed from Aerios’ body, and the shimmering blue light rose slowly between his palms. Aerios screamed his displeasure but Ciro didn’t care. The sky darkened. The rain and wind stopped and everything went silent. He pushed the light upward. With a growl of force, the ball shot into the air, cutting through the darkness with a low, rumbling sound. It finally hit the heavens and disappeared. A few seconds passed before the sky seemed to part and the light reappeared. Except this time, it was white. Ciro turned his head toward his fallen friend, Osaki, and the ball slid through the air and stopped above Osaki’s body.
“Do not do this to me, Ciro!” Aerios pleaded. “You cannot give him my soul.”
“I take no pleasure in your sentence,” Ciro explained. “You are, after all, my brother, and I love you. But you have caused too much damage—too much sorrow. You have taken too much from me that I do not wish to part with. I cannot trust you to behave. I cannot trust you to leave my love alone. I have to teach you what mother should have when you were a child. Every action has a consequence, Aerios. You must be prepared, always, to deal with those consequences. And for now, this is your lesson. I will not lose my friend.”
With that said, he used his powers to lower the bright, white light into Osaki’s chest. Osaki coughed and stirred, while Aerios cried his displeasur
e, Ciro walked to Osaki’s side and hunched down. “You have done well, my friend,” Ciro said to Osaki. “And for that, I have given you new life.”
“What have you done? I feel…I feel…different.”
“You are now my brother, Osaki. You have inherited the spirit of the Shivers.”
“You mean now I can…” Osaki lifted his hand above his head then dragged the hand to the right. A gust of wind left Osaki’s body and the sky cleared. “I am now a Shiver.”
“Yes.”
“What’s wrong with Aerios?”
“Aerios has been sentenced.”
“To what?” Osaki arched an eyebrow.
“Humanity.”
Chapter Sixteen
Carter sat on the balcony of Ciro’s large house and hung his head as he waited for Kofi to speak. The silence was driving him crazy—not knowing what Kofi was thinking. But he didn’t deserve to take this time for contemplation from Kofi. Having Ciro and the rest in his life had to be a lot for his brother to take in, and Carter would give him time. He knew his brother might be confused. First, it had been the news he was gay. Now, he had to explain that his lover was a form of god at war with his brother and that the Greek God of War and his fear-mongering daughter were sitting in the living room playing chess.
“It’s too much. I know,” Carter whispered. “I’m sorry to be doing this to you again.”
Kofi chuckled then walked over and flopped into the seat beside Carter. “If I hadn’t seen Ciro just appear out of nothing, I’d have thought I needed to get you some help.”
Carter laughed. “Sorry about that.”
“What exactly is Sisqo?”
Carter shrugged. “A demigod. He’s Poseidon’s son.”
“Like Percy Jackson!”
Carter chuckled. “That’s what I said. I’m sorry this hasn’t been easy for you Kofi. I really am. I just… Please believe me that I’m trying.”
“This whole thing has brought out some rather strange feelings in me—I’m not going to lie. They make me worry and just… I spend a lot of time at nights, lying in the dark wondering. Like Osaki, where did he come from? Aside from Japan but what exactly is he?”
“Well, he is what they call an Olympian Immortal.”
“What does that even mean?”
Carter chuckled. “Not sure. I think it means he was given special entry into Olympus.” Ciro took a breath and dragged a hand over his head. “But what I’m sure of is that Ciro loves me enough so I don’t have to worry about any of this too hard.”
“How do you know he loves you?”
Carter remembered the conversation they’d had before Ciro left and wondered how the fight with his brother was going. “This fight he went to—he said if he had to die to keep me safe he would.”
Kofi’s eyes widened. “He said that? But you just met.”
“I get it, but there is something he said that just broke my heart.”
“Well, don’t keep me guessing—tell me.”
“He said he had been looking for me for about three hundred years.”
“Huh? How old is he?”
“Eight hundred and seventy-five.”
Kofi whistled. “Damn. That gives new meaning to the term May-December relationship.”
“You’re a fruit. I feel something strong for him, and if he survives this, I want to try making it work with him. But…”
“Well…I just got used to you being gay. I’m pretty sure I can get used to you doing it with a man who can make our world implode.”
Carter chuckled. “He won’t make our world implode—just mine.”
He glanced at Kofi, who stared back with a confused expression on his face. Carter wiggled his brows suggestively and Kofi burst out laughing.
“Oh wow,” Kofi gasped through his mirth. “You’re wrong for that.”
Carter grinned. “Besides, he’s one of the good guys.”
“I just worry.”
“I know…”
“Carter.” Kofi took a breath. “I think I might be—”
“Carter! Kofi! Come quick!” Ares hollered from inside.
Carter jerked from his seat. All thoughts that Kofi wanted to say something else gone from his mind as he charged into the house with Kofi close behind. They hurried down the stairs and skidded to a stop in the living room. Ciro stood next to Osaki. A body floated in the air beside them. The moment Ciro saw Carter, he took one step forward and crumbled toward the floor. The floating man hit the floor, hard, but Carter didn’t care. He rushed forward, caught Ciro in his arms and helped him into the sofa. Carter caressed the wet hair from Ciro’s face and kissed his forehead.
“Come on, baby. Open your eyes,” Carter whispered. “Please. You have to be okay.”
“He fought a hard battle,” Osaki said. “He is drained.”
“Has Aerios been sentenced?” Adrestia questioned.
“Yes,” Osaki replied. “He has been sentenced to being human.”
“Who is the man on the floor?” Kofi questioned. “Does he need CPR? We should probably call an ambulance.”
“Aerios,” Ciro panted.
“You spared his life,” Ares said with a frown. “Why?”
“Carter—” Ciro panted. “You asked me not to kill him…”
Carter looked at Kofi, who looked completely impressed then stood and turned his attention to Osaki.
“What’s wrong with Ciro? How can I help?” Carter asked. “And don’t tell me there’s nothing I can do. There has to be something!”
“Like I said, he is simply drained,” Osaki spoke up. “He was fighting and using his powers to contain the storm, as well as catching falling debris to limit casualties, all at the same time. From what I can tell, no other Shiver has ever done that. Add that to the fact Aerios was third born so his powers are almost as strong as Ciro’s and it was a hard battle. We must return him to Mount Olympus. Hygeia can help him regain his strength.”
“She can come here.” Carter nodded. “I want to be here when she does whatever it is she does.”
“He cannot be healed on this plain. No human medicine can help him,” Ares replied. “It must be on Mount Olympus.”
“Why does it…?” Carter stopped himself and pressed a palm to his forehead. He wanted to scream in frustration but the longer he took to make a decision, the worse Ciro could be getting. He glanced down at Ciro. He didn’t look well at all. “Fine. But I’m coming with you,” Carter said.
“I am sorry, Carter.” Adrestia stepped forward and rested a hand on his shoulder. “It does not work that way. You cannot enter Mount Olympus—well, you could but Ciro would never forgive us.”
What?” Kofi questioned. “What do you mean?”
“The only way a human can get into Mount Olympus,” Osaki spoke up, “is through death. And once you enter, there is no coming back. We have to go alone.”
“No. You can’t just take him away,” Carter snapped. “I need to be there when he wakes up and if he doesn’t… He can’t be alone. Please.”
Adrestia rested a hand on Carter’s shoulder. “I know you love him, Carter, and you wish to be by his side in his time of need. But he loves you too, so if you died trying to be by his side, he’d never forgive us. Please understand…”
“Carter, stay here,” Kofi pleaded. “They have to take him or he will die. He is coming back—right, Ares?”
Ares did not look too sure and Carter didn’t like that. He shook his head and fell to his knees beside Ciro, who was attempting to speak.
“What do you want me to do?” Carter asked him. “I’ll do what you ask.”
“I have to go,” Ciro managed. “But…I shall return. Trust me.”
Those words broke Carter’s heart, and he hunched over pressing kisses to Ciro’s lips.
“I promise,” Ciro added. “I promise.”
“I will take Aerios to a place where he will do no harm,” Ares suggested.
Carter swallowed the lump in his throat and kissed Ciro agai
n and again before backing away and standing. He nodded and watched as the gods formed a circle around the sofa. They looked down at Ciro then toward the ceiling. Though Carter was tempted to push between them and kiss Ciro again, he refrained. White lights shone above each Olympian’s head then they shot upward to the sky. Then just like that, they were gone, along with Aerios and Ciro.
“Come on,” Kofi said, taking Carter’s hand. “I’m bringing you home.”
“I don’t think I should leave here,” Carter replied. “I shouldn’t. I mean, I…”
“He’s not coming back right now. And I’m sure he won’t mind if you leave and come home with me so I can keep an eye on you. Besides, you need to eat something and get some rest.”
Carter lifted tired eyes to his brother and gave a small smile. “All right…all right.”
Chapter Seventeen
It was more than a week later, and Carter did not know what to do with himself. Work was work, and though he finished some sketches for a couple of firms, helped breaking ground on a few new buildings and had two grand openings, he just couldn’t bring himself to sit through meetings. Each day he had to go into the office, he canceled all his meetings and settled for doing things through emails and over the phone.
At home, he searched each room twice, ensuring Ciro wasn’t there. Every day his heart would break a little more. A couple of nights he’d gone to Firewall, hoping Ciro would be there but still nothing.
Entering the kitchen, Carter grabbed a bottle of wine and frowned. He returned it to the shelf and reached into the fridge for a beer. Wringing the cap off, he turned it to his head and drank until he tasted nothing but fizz. When the bottle was empty, he walked into the living room, fell into the sofa and pulled a blanket over his body. Sleep would be as it had been since Ciro had been taken—non-existent. Every time he closed his eyes, he had nightmares about what could be happening to Ciro.
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