Dreamless (Starcrossed 2)

“We go down. We stay down until we find the right river,” Helen said with absolute certainly. “No matter how long you and I have to spend in the Underworld, this ends for the rest of our kind tonight.”

The corners of Orion’s lips tilted up in the faintest of smiles and his tight jaw relaxed.

“I can’t run at Scion speed through the caves, or I risk collapsing them. It’ll take me a few minutes to get to the caves on the mainland, but then it takes half an hour for me to get down to the portal,” he said, lowering his chin like he was getting ready to storm a citadel. “I’ll meet you then.” Orion turned and sped off.

“Take care of my dad,” Helen said to the twins and Kate, and then she headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” Lucas asked, grabbing her arm as she walked past him.

“Home. To bed. To the Underworld,” Helen ticked off in order, like she was giving him a list of deadly weapons.

“You’re just going to go lie prone in a bed, in a bedroom that has a broken window, after pissing off a Myrmidon?” His eyes flared with frustration. “That sounds perfectly safe to you?”

“Well, I . . .” Helen stammered, wondering how she’d overlooked those major details.

Lucas cut her off, muttering to himself about how she was going to give him a nervous disorder. Still firmly gripping her upper arm, he turned her around and led her to the door.

“I’ll guard Helen while she descends,” he called back to Jason. “If anything happens, reach me on my cell.”

“Right.” Jason was clearly trying his best to rally. “We’re moving everyone to our house. We can care for Jerry better there while we protect the rest.”

“Good idea,” Lucas responded.

“Keep us posted, brother,” Jason added, purposely using the word brother. Lucas averted his eyes but smiled gratefully before turning back to the door.

Helen and Lucas plunged onto the chaotic streets and took to the air, looking down on the swarms of people. She felt Lucas pull up short, and directed her eyes to what had caught his attention. Eris was running down a deserted backstreet, chased by two big men with swords.

“My father and uncle,” Lucas shouted above the cold wind.

“Should we help them?” Helen asked through chattering teeth. Lucas wrapped an arm around her and began rubbing her bare shoulders with his warm hands. Not for the first time, Helen wondered how he always seemed to radiate heat.

“They can handle it,” he said, pulling her against him to keep her warm and leadi

ng them onward toward her house. “Stay focused on your task, not on theirs.”

Helen had no idea how he could compartmentalize his emotions like that. His father was down there fighting a goddess, but still he stuck to his job. Like a soldier, Helen thought. It struck her just how much self-discipline Lucas had, and she tried to follow his example, but she couldn’t. Her mind kept straying to Jerry, to the twins, to Hector, but most of all to the fact that Lucas had his arm around her.

Helen followed Lucas under the blue tarp and landed in her bedroom. He led her straight to her messy bed and tried to get her to lie down.

“I don’t know what to do,” Helen said, unwilling to get in bed.

“Why don’t you start by sitting?” he suggested quietly.

“All that brave talk about finishing this tonight, and I’m completely clueless. I have no idea how to end this.” She was trying not to burst into tears.

“Come here,” he said, taking her hand and pulling her down next to him.

“You know what the worst part is?”

“What’s that?”

“I kind of don’t care about any of it at the moment,” she said, tears trickling out the sides of her eyes. “I don’t care that you’re a Shadowmaster, and that you’ve been keeping secrets again.”

“I tried to tell you in the hallway today, I really did. I just couldn’t. I guess I couldn’t face it myself, and telling you would make it real.”

“But I don’t care what you are!” she said, barely able to keep her voice down. “I don’t care that you’re a Shadowmaster, or that you’re my cousin. I don’t even care that I’m supposed to descend and save the Scions in about ten minutes. Lucas, the whole world could be on fire right now, but the only thing that I’m thinking about is how happy I am to be alone with you. How sick is that?”

Lucas pinched his eyes shut and sighed heavily. “What are we going to do?”