her arms crossed and her palms pressed flat against her chest in
reverence.
The House of Atreus owes you a debt, Sibyl, Daphne said with a
deep bow, completing her part of the ritual.
And the House of Atreus will pay it when asked, the Oracle said
before the glow died completely and Cassandra returned fully to
herself with a series of blinks and an exhalation. Everyone stared
at Daphne with shock and anger.
Im sorry, but I had to, she said barely above a whisper.
You could have killed her, Lucas said, clenching his fists. Shes
still too young.
If the vengeance cycle isnt broken, she has no future, anyway.
None of us do, Daphne mumbled, unable to look at him. Several
people raised their voices to argue.
Shes right, Cassandra said, cutting everyone off. Things will
change, Prophecy has been made, and like it or not, I am the
Oracle. I cant hide anymore.
Maybe not, Castor said somberly. But next time, we decide together
what questions to ask and when to ask them. He turned
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and pointed a finger at Daphne. Another trick like that and Ill
make sure you dont live long enough to hear Sibyls answer.
Daphne nodded once with a passive face that placated Castor, but
not Lucas. Hed seen Helen make that face before, and he knew it
was bogus. Lucas glanced at Helen, who had noticed the same
thing he did, and they shared an anxious look.
Cassandra said that she was tired, and Pandora took her upstairs
to lie down for a while. Ariadne went into the kitchen to check on
Matt, who was still icing a few bumps and bruises while Noel gave
him a crash course in demigods.
Lucas gestured with his head for Helen to meet him in the next
room. She tried to shake her head no, but he had already turned
away and started moving toward the door. She had to follow.
He led her to an unfamiliar part of the house, the wing directly
opposite his fathers office, one that Helen had never entered. As
they moved through the empty hallways and past the unused
rooms, she could see Lucas tilt his head ever so slightly over his
shoulder, aware of her presence.
As she followed him, never more than a few paces behind, she
could see his shoulders tense and his breathing quicken. She
watched the warm skin of his back moving under his shirt with
every breath, and she had to rub her tight fists against each other
to keep herself from reaching out to touch him. Finally, he entered
the empty solarium on the easternmost end of the compound and
turned around. She had one second to open her mouth in protest
before he was kissing it. The second after that she felt him gently
pushing her down to the floor. The second after that Helen very
nearly gave in to him.
A wave of nausea swept up from her stomach and she clamped
her mouth shut as she turned her head away from him. Lucas
pulled back carefully, thinking he had hurt her in some way. She
braced her elbows against the marble floor and shoved against his
chest.
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Stop, she begged.
He shifted off of her immediately, holding his hands up in a placating
gesture. As they both sat up and faced each other, his eyes
looked so confused, so wounded, that Helens eyes started leaking
tears, even though she had promised herself the night before that
she would never cry again.
What is it? he asked, bewildered and in pain.
We cant do this, she said, shaking her head in a rapid motion.
What are you talking about? He tried to get her to look at him
as he reached for her hands. Helen, were free. There are two other
Houses left to preserve the Truce. We can be together.
We cant do this, she repeated, balling her hands into fists so he
couldnt take them.
Why? he asked in a strangled voice, sensing that Helen was being
honest with him, but still not understanding why. Have your
feelings for me changed so much in one night? Did you stop wanting
me?
Thats not it, she said, agonized. I wish I didnt want you.
How can you say that? Lucas asked, relieved to know that at
least Helen still felt the same about him. I know youve been
through a lot today, and maybe youre not ready right this second.
Thats fine, well wait as long as you want. . . . He tried to pull her
into his arms, just to hold her, but she pushed hard against his
chest and turned her face away from his.
Were first cousins! she cried out hopelessly, her shoulders beginning
to jump up and down with uncontrollable sobs. Jerry
wasnt my father, Lucas. Ajax was.
Lukes whole body went still with fear and in the silence that followed,
all Helen could hear was the sound of the rain on the glass
roof.
Thats not possible, he whispered, even though he could hear
that she wasnt lying. He shook his head. No. We saw the Furies
when we met. We cant be related.
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Yes, we can, Helen said, wiping one cheek, then the other, then
back again to the first in what seemed like an endless procession of
tears that needed to be wiped away. The children of mixed lineage
can only be claimed by one House, and I was claimed by the House
of Atreus. Its been happening like this from the start.
From the start? Lucas asked, recalling Cassandras earlier
statement. Star-Crossed Lovers are repeated in the pattern. How
many other Scions of mixed lineage are out there in hiding?
Helen sniffed and stared at him with a tiny smile. He was so
sensitive, so quick to pick up on every detail she couldnt stop herself
from adoring him. There were an infinite number of ways for
her to admire this one person, and because of that, there were an
infinite number of ways for her to fall in love with him over and
over again. She realized that she wasnt going to have to give up
Lucas just this once and be done with it; she was going to have to
give up all the different ways she could have learned to love him
every day from that day forward. The weight of all of those future
heartbreaks pressed down on Helen until she had to drop her
head, unable to look at him as she answered his question.
Daphne calls us Rogues, and yes, there are quite a few of us,
she said quietly. No one knows how many, but there are at least
twenty that my mother can locate.
So if these kids can only belong to one House, but their parents
are from enemy Houses, one side of the family . . .
Is sent into a Fury rage and hunts that baby down. Daphne said
the urge to kill the newborn is almost irresistible, the same as it it
for a newly made Outcast. One of the parents has to fight their
family for their child, and it usually means that parent either dies
at the hands of their own parents or siblings or they end up having
to kill them.
Thats disgus
ting, Lucas breathed. Helen nodded.
It is disgusting. Babies shouldnt be part of the blood feud. Its
just wrong. Daphne swore to get rid of the Furies so that Rogue
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babies like me can be with both of their families, and so that no
one ever has to go through the horror of choosing between protecting
their child and fighting their own brother or sisteror parent.
In fact, shes made it her mission in life to free the Scions from the
curse of the Furies forever.
Lucas nodded, finally understanding. He started pacing, as if he
couldnt remain in one posture for more than a millisecond with so
many thoughts pushing and pulling on him at the same time.
What do we do? We cant stay away from each other, he said as
he stopped pacing and stared at Helen, who was still sitting
slumped on the floor.
I know, but I cant be near you, either, she said, standing up
with an exhausted sigh.
Lucas groaned and covered his face. Neither could bear to look at
each other, but they reached out blindly and embraced in a tight
hug. They rocked back and forth, both of them needing comfort.
My mother and I planned to leave today, Helen whispered.
Dont leave me, Lucas whispered back, tightening his arms
around her.
What are we going to do? Helen murmured desperately, knowing
he didnt have an answer.
They stood clinging to each other in the unused room with the intermittent
rain patting the glass walls until they heard worried
voices shouting their names down the empty halls.
I dont think I can do this, Helen said. She pulled away from
him and wiped her hair off her feverish forehead. I cant explain it
again.
Ill do it, Lucas said, instinctively reaching out for her hand,
then stopping himself and withdrawing his hand.
Hector reached the door just as Lucas opened it. His face was a
mask of anxiety and his chest was swelling with fast breaths. He
looked back and forth between their devastated faces several times
before it sank in that they were okay.
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You two are . . . alive. Thats good, he said with relief.
We should get back, Lucas said with a blank look before he
started walking stiffly down the hallway, leaving Hector with
Helen.
Daphne told us, Hector said directly. Im sorry, cousin.
Helen nodded a few times, not trusting herself to say anything,
and started down the hallway. To her surprise, Hector caught up to
her and put an arm over her shoulder as they walked. He squeezed
her tight for a second and kissed the top of her head. As they
neared the occupied part of the house, Helen realized just how
much she was leaning on him.
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UNCORRECTED E-PROOFNOT FOR SALE
HarperCollins Publishers
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Chapter Eighteen
Waiting in the shadows outside the Hamilton house
was a long shot, but Creon had no other choice. He
couldnt get within a thousand yards of the Delos
compound now that he had shown his hand and put
them on the defensive. He had been so close, so
close, but underestimating his cousin had cost him. Lucas was
stronger than he had thought. He would never make that mistake
again, but it was possible that once was all it would take to change
Creon from a savior to an embarrassment.
Now that his target was being protected by his own family, he
had few options but to wait and see if she was stupid enough to go
out on her own. He was hoping that if she went anywhere it would
be to the place she had once called home.
It wasnt much of a chance, but it was all he had at this point. He
couldnt go back to the yacht and face his other cousins emptyhanded.
He had to come up with something elsea lead, an opportunity,
somethingbefore he involved any of the Hundred. No
matter how this turned out, his father could never know about his
failure outside the hotel. It was too humiliating to even think
about.
Tantalus had finally entrusted Creon with the truth, and for the
first time in over nineteen years, Creon had been allowed to hear
his fathers actual voice. He hadnt been allowed in the same room,
or seen his fathers face, because that woman had deformed it so
monstrously it would be death to look upon him, but for the first
time in such a long time Creon had actually spoken to his father
and learned about the burden he carried.
His father praised him for being so strong and faithful over the
years. Then he told his son what had really happened in that rowboat,
how his thoughts and his will had been so grievously twisted
that he had had been led into a type of sin that had marked him
forevermarked like Medusa. Tantalus admitted his wrongs, repented
for them, and told his son that he had been trying to right
them ever since. He had sworn to remove the feminine evil of the
cestus from the world so that all men, Scion and mortal alike,
could finally control their lust. Then he had entrusted Creon with
the same sacred mission.
And Creon had failed.
Creon felt his phone vibrate in his pocket for the fifth time. He
who was trying to contact him, but this time he caved and pulled it
out to look at the screen. It was his mother. He debated answering
for a moment, then finally relented.
Where are you? Mildred asked in a low voice.
Hunting, Creon replied vaguely, sensing his mother was being
watched, maybe even listened to. It had happened before.
One of the traitors just called me, she said in an urgent whisper.
She told me about your failure in front of the hotel, and she
wants to change sides. She wants her men freed of the cestus. . . .
Creon heard the crackling sound of his mothers phone as it
brushed up against fabric, as if it had been shoved into a pocket or
under a sweater. A few seconds passed during which all Creon
could hear was the rhythmic brushing of clothes against the
mouthpiece as his mother walked somewhere else.
Are you still there? she finally asked when she got to relative
safety.
Yes. Mother, whats going on?
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Sssh. Just listen. The Hundred are starting to doubt you. I cant
let them know were in contact, she whispered urgently. Where
are you? She wants to meet right now, to make a plan.
Helen spent fifteen minutes on the phone with her dad, trying to
get him to calm down. He had been just about ready to go down to
the police station, and he demanded to know where she had been
all night. She didnt have an answer for him. Jerry was as angry as
he had ever had been with her. He demanded that she come home
immediately. He even yelled at her, which he hadnt done since she
was a kid. Helen wasnt used to disobeying
her father, but she
found herself telling him that she was safe and that she wasnt
coming home just yet. She hung up on him while he was still
sputtering.
She knew she was being unfair to him, but she didnt know what
else to do. She hadnt decided if she was going to tell her father
about Daphnes return and then tell him that she was leaving to
live with her, or if it was kinder to just disappear. Daphne insisted
that a clean break would be better for everyone, including Jerry,
but Helen couldnt quite bring herself to accept that. He might be
physically safer, but emotionally he would be destroyed. Helen
went through both scenarios in her head, and neither of them felt
right. Either way her father, the person who deserved to suffer the
least, was the one who would be hurt the most. Eventually, her
brooding was interrupted by Noel, who let Helen know that Claire
and Jason were awake.
Helen went upstairs to Jasons room and pushed the door open a
crack. Daphne was sitting on the edge of the bed next to Claire,
holding her hand and looking down at her with a fretful tenderness.
Daphne had loved Claire when she was a baby, she had explained
to Helen the night before, and she had always worried for
Claires safety growing up alongside a Scion. In the hotel during
the storm, Daphne had removed Helens curse, and she had also
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explained that she had left Claire excluded from being able to trigger
the cramps, even though it could have exposed Helen, just in
case Helen ever needed to protect Claire. Helen had thanked her
for that, although there was little else her mother told her that
night to make her grateful.
Did you sort things out with Lucas? Daphne asked as Helen
entered the room. Helen flinched when she heard his name, nodded
hastily, and put the attention back on Claire.
Hey, Gig. You really freaked me out, she said. She came over to
stand next to the bed.
Freaked myself out, Claire said, gesturing for her to sit down.
Then she noticed Helens puffy face. Are you okay?
Not important, Helen said as she perched next to her mother.
How are you two?
It was easier than I thought it would be, Jason replied. We
never went into the rubble, all we did was climb the dry hills.
Good, Helen said, smiling with relief. Thats far away from the