Oh. Daryl had been looking for him. That probably wasn’t a good sign. Owen wondered if Daryl wanted a rematch, another fistfight. Owen really hoped not. There were things that Owen was good at, but hand fighting wasn’t exactly one of them.
Great. Just great.
First, he opened up to Nora and told her how much he cared about her. Then he got beaten to a bloody pulp the next morning.
Talk about looking weak.
Any respect that Nora would have for him, she would’ve lost after all that.
Owen got his toast out of the toaster. He began slathering it with peanut butter. “Is there something I can do for you?”
Daryl grabbed a stool from one of the counters. He sat down on it, resting an elbow on the counter. “So you and Nora, huh?”
Owen turned around and looked at him. “That’s old news.”
Daryl sneered. “Saw the two of you dancing. Saw the way you were looking at her. Of course, I thought that was all because of a spell.”
Owen sighed. “It was a spell. At least it started out that way. I guess sometimes it doesn’t matter how feelings begin. They linger, even afterward.” What was wrong with him? Now he was revealing he cared about Nora to Daryl? Owen was beginning to wonder if something had happened to him. Maybe it wasn’t Nora who was different. Maybe they had cast some sort of ridiculous spell on him.
No. He would know if magic had been performed on him. This was all on him. His weakness was coming forward.
Daryl laughed. “You do actually care about her,” he said. “I thought so.”
Owen shrugged. “I don’t. She’s a means to an end.” He wasn’t sure why he said that either. It was one thing not to reveal weakness, it was quite another to tell Daryl that he was using Nora. Daryl was the enemy. Owen felt flustered. He picked up a piece of wax paper and began wrapping up his sandwich. “I’m just on my way out. Good to see you.”
“Not so fast,” Daryl said. “There something you might be interested in knowing.”
Owen ignored him. There was nothing that Daryl could tell him that he wanted to know. Right now, all he wanted was to get away from Daryl. Without bothering to say goodbye, he started out of the kitchens.
“She’s playing you,” Daryl called after him.
Owen stopped. He turned around. “What are you talking about?”
Daryl was grinning. “The girl you care about so much is playing you.”
Owen shook his head, trying to make sense of what it was that Daryl had just said.
“The only reason you’re back in Helicon is because they wanted to know what you’re up to,” Daryl said. “I told them they were wasting their time. I said if they wanted to know anything about what your goals were, I would be happy to fill them in. But now that they know that your undying desire is to take over Helicon and be its ruler, well, you can imagine how much they’re not on board with that.”
Owen swallowed. Was he really that much of an idiot? Of all the things he’d considered, the idea that Nora was lying to him, that she was putting on an elaborate act, had never occurred to him.
All those times she’d asked him those questions. The fact she was always getting him drunk. She was trying to loosen his tongue.
It wasn’t about ruling Helicon. Owen knew that. That wasn’t what she was always harping on. She was harping on whether or not he had power.
Well, he hadn’t told her about that. He hadn’t told her how he had managed to siphon off all the power of the gods. He hadn’t told her that he’d managed to take it out of the Influence. It had been brilliant. He was brilliant. And that secret was still his.
Daryl was still grinning. “Yeah. That look on your face? That’s about how I looked when you locked me in that underworld.”
Owen looked up at him. Daryl was still there? Did Daryl matter?
No. Daryl wasn’t important anymore. Daryl had given him information, why he’d done it Owen didn’t know.
He looked back at Daryl. Daryl looked smug and satisfied.
Oh.
Oh, Owen didn’t like this at all. Daryl had used information to hurt him. He had manipulated Owen, found a weakness, and exploited it.
Nora was his weakness.
Maybe Owen had always known that, but now it was made very clear to him.
Daryl would pay for this. Perhaps not right now. Owen didn’t have time to deal with Daryl right now. But there would be retribution. Owen would see to that.
He didn’t say anything else to Daryl. He turned and stalked out of the kitchens.
There was only one place he needed to go.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
When Nora woke up, Owen wasn’t there anymore.
She wasn’t sure where he’d gone, but she was glad of the solitude. She needed time to think.
Today was the day that she needed to go talk to Phoebe. And Nora wasn’t exactly sure what to say to her. She was practicing in her head. She knew that she needed to talk about the fact that Owen had given up having the meetings with his loyals. True, he had done it because he was worried that there was a spy. And if he could figure out how to make sure that he wasn’t being spied on, Nora was fairly sure he would resume the meetings.
But the fact remained, Owen had, of his own free will, chosen not to have scheming meetings against the council.
Then there was the fact that he had told her that he loved her the night before. And not just that he said it, but that he said it in a very genuine and somewhat tender way. That he’d been really and truly honest with her, not hiding his faults.
Of course, the fact that he’d said it that way made it all the more suspicious. There was no way to be sure with Owen. Maybe he was calculating the whole thing. Maybe all that was being done for her benefit. Maybe Owen knew exactly what was going on, and he was playing her like a violin.
And Nora was tired. Nora was so tired. All she wanted was some way to end this relationship between them. She thought that if she had to be intimate one more time with Owen, she might scream.
It wasn’t fair. This was her body, and she shouldn’t have to—
“Nora.”
She looked up.
Owen was standing in the opening of the tent.
She sat up on the hammock, pulling the covers up around her shoulders. “Good morning.”
Owen laughed, but it had a wild, hysterical edge to it. “I know everything.”
What was that supposed to mean? Wary, Nora hopped out of the hammock and began pulling on her clothing. “What are you talking about?” She tried to keep her tone light.
Owen took two steps into the tent, and it seemed like the air got heavier. “It was all an act. You don’t care about me. You don’t want to give me a second chance. You were on the offensive this entire time. Trying to find out all my secrets.”
Nora stood up straight. “Don’t be silly. Why are you saying this paranoid stuff?” She laughed. But even to her own ears, her laugh sounded a little too high-pitched.
Owen folded his arms over his chest. “I have to hand it to you. I never would’ve expected this of you. You’ve really grown since we parted. You’re really willing to go… all the way.” He shook his head, chuckling to himself.
Nora dragged a hand over her face. “Owen, calm down. Why are you saying this stuff to me?” Could she salvage this? How did he know?
“Stop trying to deny it. Daryl told me everything.”
“Daryl? How does Daryl even know about this?” And then she cringed. Because she’d just admitted it.
He noticed too. He advanced on her, his face a dark cloud.
She held up both of her hands to stop him. “Wait. Owen. Maybe the romantic stuff has been an act. But about trying to give you a second chance, that’s real. We really do want you to be here. We can’t let you take over Helicon, of course. But if you could understand that the only way you can stay in Helicon is if you give up this desire to dominate, then something could be worked out.”
Owen laughed. “Worked out? You thin
k I make deals with the likes of you?”
“Well, it wouldn’t really be with me, now would it? Because I don’t speak for Helicon.”
Owen laughed again. “Oh, so Phoebe Rain, then? I don’t make deals with her either. Helicon is mine. I know it the minute I stepped foot inside, years ago. This is my home, and you can’t take it from me.”
“No one is trying to take it from you. All we’re trying to do is to convince you not to do anything crazy.”
Owen shook his head.
“Your concerns about safety and security have some merit,” Nora said. “But maybe you could work with the council instead of trying to tear it down—”
Owen reached one hand above his head, and suddenly it was filled with a ball of purple, fiery light.
Nora squinted. It was suddenly so bright that she could barely see.
Owen hurled the ball at her.
And it was instinctive, before she knew what she’d done, she reached out both of her palms and red light emanated from them, creating a transparent red dome around her. A shield. She’d used Nimue’s power to protect herself.
Owen was obviously using his power. The power of the gods.
The fiery ball bounced off of Nora’s shield and ricocheted up to the top of the tent, which caught fire.
Nora shrieked. “Stop it, Owen.”
Owen wasn’t going to stop. He seemed to grow taller, his expression heated. He stretched out both of his hands and threw his head back. A wind rushed in, harsh like a hurricane. It blew away the structure of the burning tent, fanning the flames as they flew into the air.
Now Nora and Owen were exposed, nothing covering them. Nora could see the rest of the tweens and rebels enclave all around her.
Owen looked up at the heavens.
Above them, a huge storm suddenly began to gather. Dark clouds rolled in, angry and black. Lightning leapt from one cloud to the other.
Owen gestured with one hand, and the largest spear of lightning came crashing down.
Nora’s shield held.
Lightning bounced off, striking the ground, harmless.
“Owen, please calm down.” Nora was pleading with him.
Owen’s eyes rolled back in his head. Now, the slits of his eyelids only contained a bright shimmery light, which shone out. The light emanated from his nostrils and from inside his mouth as well. He let out a roar.
And then everything was gathering all at once. Storm clouds, lightning, fire, wind, a torrential downpour of rain. All the powers of the natural world that the Greek gods had possessed. Owen was in control of them all.
Nora could see a huge wall coming down from the sky, straight for her.
She didn’t think the shield would hold, but she began to bolster it, pouring all of the energy she could possibly find into making the walls stronger.
She braced herself, squeezing her eyes shut, because it was coming, and she didn’t know if she was going to make it.
She waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Slowly, she opened her eyes.
Owen was standing in front of her, panting. Whatever had appeared overhead to strike at her was gone. Owen pointed at her. “You shouldn’t make me angry, Nora,” he said. “One of these times, I really will kill you.”
Nora was trembling.
Owen shook his head. “I don’t want to kill you.” He turned and took off running.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Sawyer arrived at the smoking remains of Nora’s tent at the same time as Phoebe and Coeus. They were accompanied by Alexander Night, head of the security enclave.
“What happened?” Sawyer said, out of breath.
Phoebe glared at him. “Let me ask the questions, why don’t you?”
Sawyer shrugged.
Phoebe turned to Nora. “What happened?”
Sawyer rolled his eyes.
Nora shook her head. “Owen knows. He knows everything.”
Phoebe massaged her temples. “That’s bad. The amount of damage he could inflict on Helicon… We need to start the exiling process, right away.”
“You want me to assemble the council, then?” Coeus said.
“I should think that we would be able to dispense with the pleasantries this once,” Phoebe said. “Time is of the essence, after all.”
Sawyer furrowed his brow. “You need the council to exile him?”
Phoebe glared at him. “Sawyer Snow, could you keep your mouth shut for the next few minutes?”
“It’s just that you didn’t need the council to let him back in,” Sawyer said. “In that instance, your word was law, and so I thought—”
“Shut up,” Phoebe said. She turned back to Nora. “Where has he gone?”
Nora let her hands fall to her sides. “I don’t know.”
Phoebe sighed. “I need to be near him to exile him. I need to at least be able to see him.”
Alexander pointed. “There.”
They all whirled.
Owen was standing underneath the archway of the tweens and rebels enclave, his arms folded over his chest, a smirk on his face. He spoke, and his voice carried all the way over the enclave. “Don’t bother kicking me out, Phoebe. I’m gone.”
“Owen Asher—”
There was a loud crack and a brilliant flash of light.
And then he disappeared.
* * *
“Come on, now,” Maddie said. “You must know something.” She was standing inside the tent of Scout Falcon. He was just one person in a long string of muses that had been part of Owen’s group of loyals. After Owen had disappeared that morning, all of them had been feverishly working to try to figure out where he’d gone.
By all of them, Maddie meant her, Agler, Sawyer, Lute, and Nora.
The rest of the muses all seem to be engaged in some kind of big council meeting. Tweens weren’t allowed to go. It was just the muses who’d come of age. They’d been arguing at the main fire pit for hours, only taking a break for lunch.
Since Maddie and the others weren’t allowed at the meeting, they decided to make themselves useful. The good thing was, most of Owen’s followers either were tweens or were in the muse police. None of them were at the council meeting.
Scout wasn’t looking at her. “I already told you I don’t know anything. I don’t even think I want you in my tent.”
This was typical. Most of the interviews had gone like this. Maddie was exhausted. She was hungry. The arguing muses at the meeting may have paused for lunch, but that didn’t mean that she and the others had.
It was now late afternoon, and Maddie was feeling real, actual hunger. Generally speaking, she welcomed that feeling. She knew that she needed to be sort of hungry most of the time in order to maintain a small waist. But she liked that when she was in control of it. And right now, she felt immensely out of control. She wanted to give up. They were getting nowhere.
Stick to the script, she told herself. She had to say all the right things.
“You know what Owen plans to do to Helicon,” she said.
“I don’t see why it’s such a big deal,” Scout said. “All Owen has ever done is point out the fact that it isn’t safe here.”
Also typical. That was what everyone kept saying.
“Are you aware of the fact that Owen killed his own mother?” Maddie said.
“Yeah, I know that.” Scout still wouldn’t look at her.
Maddie nodded. “I was there. I saw it. He had no mercy for her whatsoever. I don’t care how horrible your mother is. She’s still your mother. If Owen would treat his mother in that manner, to trap her and kill her and laugh at her while she suffered, imagine what he would do to people in Helicon if he had power.”
Scout vaulted away from her. “Yeah, if someone crossed him, I guess he’d be mad, huh?”
Wait. This was different.
Maddie cocked her head. “You’re afraid of him.”
“No shit, I’m afraid of him. You’re afraid of him too.”
Maddie had to concede that point. “Why are you on his side if you’re afraid of him?”
“I’m not ‘on his side.’ I went to one of those meetings to see what it was all about. But then, the way he was looking at me… I don’t know. I didn’t feel like I could stop going. I was afraid…” Scout squared his shoulders. “Whatever. Look, he’s bad news. So, there’s no way I’d say anything against him. If he found out I told anyone—”
“Do you know something?” Maddie moved closer.
Scout backed up. “Say I did. I might have heard him talking about something once.”
Maddie moved even closer. “What did you hear?”
Scout shook his head. “If I tell you this, and he finds out that I told you, what do you think he’s going to do to me?”
“But we can stop him,” Maddie said. “He won’t be able to do anything to you.”
“Right, because he’s gonna be exiled?” Scout said. “Because that worked so well before.”
“Tell us what you know,” Maddie said.
“I want protection,” Scout said. “I want a guarantee that if Owen comes back, he doesn’t get anywhere near me.”
“Fine, done,” Maddie said.
Scout narrowed his eyes. “You really have the authority for that?”
Maddie drew herself up, lying through her teeth. “Would I be out her asking these kinds of questions if I didn’t have authority?”
Scout considered. “All right, fine. Well, I overheard him talking once, and he said that if he couldn’t be in Helicon, the only place he rather be was Mount Olympus.”
* * *
“What I want to know,” Techne Lift was saying, standing next to her bench at the crowded main fire pit, “is when we’re going to have a chance to talk about why it was that Owen Asher—who we now know is clearly dangerous—was allowed back into Helicon in the first place.”
“As I explained before, we were gathering intelligence from him,” Phoebe said. “Now we need to focus on the issue at hand, which is the fact that Owen must be exiled. Until we can exile him, he can get back into Helicon at any moment—”
“We know where he is,” yelled Sawyer, bursting into the middle of the main fire pit. He was followed by Nora, Maddie, Agler, and Lute.
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