Once the door to the parlor closed, Ava unleashed the beast. “What is the meaning of this?” she asked Gregori. “How could you just tell the entire universe about Gio? Do you know what you’ve done?”

“And you.” She turned on Marc. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why are you always keeping these kinds of secrets? I am the General of the UFE and I should be treated as such!”

She hated using her title, but if that was the only way to get answers then so be it.

Marc stepped back in shock. For the first time, she realized, Marc didn’t know.

Caterina slapped Ava across the face. It stung, and cemented Ava in her place. “Stop acting like a child. If you want respect, then you must show it towards others. If you want to be trusted, then you must prove you are trustworthy.”

“Says the woman who betrayed her own race,” Ava snapped, regretting those words the moment they left her mouth, but it was too late to take it back.

Caterina lowered her guard. Her eyes glossed over, hurt, lips trembled. She raised a hand for another slap. Ava winced, feeling its ghostly impact, but it never came. Darious caught her mom’s wrist before it could touch her and kept it high above.

“This isn’t only a family matter. This is also a diplomatic issue,” he said, then let her mom go. “When Gregori graciously let you into his home, one of the contracts we specifically had you sign was a disclosure agreement for this very reason, Caterina.”

She tsked under her breath. “You of all beings should understand the need to protect her young. I wasn’t about to give away my son’s identity over a contract.”

“Only when it conveniences you,” Darious said. “It doesn’t matter what my personal views are. Amaranthine knows your history. They know you scheme and lie and will kill in the name of justice.”

“And so you’ll lock me away.”

He sighed, dragged a hand through his hair. “I could never take a mother away from her kids, but I can neither forgive this act.”

Why did life have to be so complicated? Ava backed away. The need to run away overwhelmed her. She couldn’t stay in this room another second.

Gio stood by the door, looking out of place and out of mind. She grabbed his arm and shook him awake. “Is this why you apologized earlier? Please tell me you had nothing to do with this. Tell me this was all Mom’s decision.”

“Primordial would find out, eventually. They’d wondered why one of your guardians has blue eyes. Why he looks so familiar,” he said, knowing full well how much he resembled his father, the late Primordial Crown Prince.

“That doesn’t make it okay. We could’ve made preventative measures. We could’ve covered you up somehow on the screens.” She waved at the monitors. “We’re not living in the stone ages, Gio!”

“Wake up, Ava, before it’s too late!” He took her face between his hands, forcing her to look at him. “This planet is dying. Primordial will be at our doorsteps soon. If exposing me will halt the war, then I will gladly do it over and over again!”

Ava pushed him off. Nothing she said would convince him otherwise. Either way, it was too late. The deed was done. They used Gio for some pawn in their military scheme. Ava didn’t care how much this helped the war, they were putting her brother’s life on the line.

Gio took a deep breath, and straightened his suit jacket. The AVA logo caught her attention. She glared at the bird, glared at Gregori who tried to negotiate his way out of this problem with Darious for their mom’s sake.

“I chose this path. You just need to accept it,” Gio finally said.

The tears came, no matter how much Ava wished they’d just leave her for good. “I will never accept it. Not if that means losing you.”

She left before he could stop her, before he could justify his way out of this and make her succumb to his decision. Ava was tired of crying. She was tired of feeling like death was just an inch away. She was tired of feeling helpless. She was just tired.

The gods are here.

When she left the parlor, a few guests silently greeted her, others mingled nearby, chatting and eating audouvers. She quickly saw the crowd of people, grouped around the Council, sucking up to them. Some were close to her age, others in their twenties, and only a few with peppered hair. She was expected to dance with them, entertain.

“Why didn’t you tell me about Gio?” Mika leaned against the wall.

“He only told me last night,” Sam said. “I thought everyone knew.”

I can’t believe this. When Sam noticed Ava, he had a wary smile, one that she’d like to pluck off his face. She couldn’t believe Sam knew and not her. “That didn’t take long,” he said, smile dropping slightly. “Hey, are you okay? Your left cheek is red.”

She looked between the two, not caring anymore. “My mom slapped me. She would’ve slapped me again if Darious hadn’t stopped her.”

That shut them up.

A few people from the stage glanced over. Great, they know I’m back. Ava really didn’t want to dance with anyone. But she didn’t have a choice. If she ran away, she’d be seen as a rebellious child. If she stayed, she’d be seen as a puppet, following the Council's whims. If she couldn’t have a choice, then she’d choose her own path.

Ava took Mika’s hand and walked him towards the stage. He didn’t resist, only frantically glanced about like a young bird. “Where are we going?”

“We’re going to dance until our feet hurt.” If she had to dance with someone, she’d rather it be with someone she knew. Mika might be the only one she trusted at the moment.

Without stopping, she addressed the crowd. “Gentleman, Ladies, I am already spoken for, but you may find me on the dance floor later in the evening.”

Mika and Ava made their way through those dancing. His grip tightened on her hand. The foot traffic was a little heavy, considering this was a celebratory ball, but still nothing compared to the horde they encountered at the Mercado.

Once they reached the center of the ballroom, Ava tugged Mika closer, and as expected of a prince, he knew how to dance. They twirled and danced, gracefully moved across the marble floor. Ava’s mind spun with their movements, drifting her away from this awful night and into the clouds. She wished to be somewhere else, wished to leave all this behind and forget her heartache, forget her brother’s betrayal. Just forget everything. But she couldn’t, like a parasite those words were burrowed deep inside.

The gods are here.

They bumped into someone. Her waist suffered beneath Mika’s iron grip. He didn’t notice. He focused on where they danced to next. His name fell on her lips a few times, drowned out by the orchestra until a drop gave her the needed silence to blurt out his name.

“Mika.” He finally looked at her. “It’ll be okay. Just take a deep breath. Ignore everyone else and focus only on me.”

He did as he was told, expelling a deep, dramatic breath through his mouth, flavoring the air with scented chocolate cream pies, cherry and lemon tarts. All delicious desserts. Ava smiled, but he only stared back in concentration.

They continued dancing, circling in silence, spinning and turning on cue. If things were going to get awkward between them, it just did.

Mika never took his gaze off her, and neither could she. Everything about him heightened, being this close. She noticed his steady breathing, the soft cheeks graced his eyes, and slick leather of his gloves. How they pressed gently on her waist and held her hand like she was fragile.

A breeze came through, tossing his black hair. It was edgy and wispy like a cat. Yet, the most intriguing part were the specks of freckles painted across his nose. She wanted to draw a marker across them and connect them like a constellation.

Mika wasn’t beautiful like Marc, but he was captivating in his own way.

This dance settled the rest of their apprehension of being physically close. They fell in step, his hand brought her closer, so close her body tensed. She wanted to run far away for fear of stepping into another trap.

The gods are here.

“Sam will ask you about Junipea’s death,” Mika said, easing away the tension.

Ava looked away, still angry at Sam for knowing Gio’s plan. “The reports tell everything that happened. Has he even looked at them?”

“He has and none of them state exactly how you caught Junipea,” he said, whispering, “They’re vague about the details.”

She gripped his shoulder and noticed how deceivingly strong they were when he was such a scrawny guy. So Gio hadn’t told Sam the whole truth. That was quite shocking with these turn of events.

“The details don’t matter. We’re not fighting the real Junipea, so his actions and reactions won’t be the same as last time,” she said.

“He still believes it could help and I think so, too.”

That’s it. I’m done with this. She let him go.

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” she said. He quickly caught her wrist, and even through his glove, she felt his warmth. She didn’t push him off this time.

“I’m sorry,” he said, apologizing sincerely for the second time since he’d been on this planet. More than what Marc gave her. “I was only warning you. We don’t have to talk about it anymore.”

Ava should walk away from him. If she continued dancing with him, something would change. So then why did she want to dance with him? Maybe she was just lonely, or she was scared to be alone. For the first time, she wasn’t sure what to do.

The gods are here.

Someone tapped her shoulder.

Ava quickly glanced back and forced a smile on the unexpected guest. “Am I interrupting you?” he asked. “It's later in the evening and I've waited patiently to dance with you, Miss General.”

Ava blinked a few times as she took him in. The guys long, ombre black and brunette hair reached well past his shoulders in waves, and covered parts of his desert sand skin. A streak of hot pink ran down the front like a skunk’s stripe. He completely stood out, and she didn’t remember seeing this one on stage.

She gave him her hand, excusing herself from Mika without a second glance. “Certainly. However, I can’t promise you we’ll have more than one dance together.”

A smile stretched across his cheeks. “One dance is enough.”

They stepped right into the next song as Mika left the dance floor. Ava watched him go, but he didn’t turn back once. Maybe she was a little too harsh, but after her experience with Marc, she didn’t want to take any chances.

Forget it. She had to concentrate on the guy she was currently with. Before chatting him up, Ava quietly assessed him further. He apparently loved hot pink, because although his entire suit was the standard black, his clip tie was pink and he wore pink leather derbies.

He licked his lips, showing a tongue ring stuck through the center, and two tiny snake bites on either side of his bottom lip. He bit the area like he was used to nibbling the skin, then cracked a swoon-worthy grin.

“I’m not sure whether you want me to kiss you or you just love staring at a stranger’s lips. Although, I very much hope for a kiss,” he said with a smooth, velvety voice.

Her cheeks warmed out of embarrassment. “Sorry, I’ve never met someone with piercings in their lip.”

Everyone knew any exposed hardware on the face would rip off during battle. This guy either didn’t care or believed it’d never happen to him.

He flicked his hair to the side, revealing layers upon layers of dyed, hot pink hair hiding beneath. “I have more on my ears. See?”

And he wasn’t kidding. Every space imaginable was filled to the brim with all kinds of earrings from a stud to a gauge. Some Ava wouldn’t put in her own ears. Who was this guy? Why hadn’t she met him before? Most of the people who attended these events were the same ones being invited. Everyone was a familiar face, except his, and then it dawned on her, too late like always.

“What’s your name?” Ava asked. “And please tell me you have a last name.”

A twinkle in his eyes ignited as he brought her closer, hand pressed onto her lower back. “You can call me Raz, but most know me as the god of desire.”

The gods are here. She fell right into their trap.

As they kept dancing, he forced her closer with each turn. The scent of ripe strawberries hit Ava hard, infiltrating her senses like an airborne virus. “Everyone’s so focused on your hot brother, they lost track of you,” he whispered, seductively. “If they knew your true identity, they’d be groveling at your feet and showering you with sexual favors.”

Speechless, Ava dropped her mouth. Raz didn’t wait for a response as he licked his lips again. “Oh, have you not popped your cherry, yet? Mmm. I’d be more than happy to get rid of it for you. Throw in the long-lost prince and we can have ourselves a ménage à trois.”

Sick bastard. Ava snatched the knife from her thigh and stabbed him in the gut.

Surprisingly, he held back a whelp. Marigold blood dyed his blazer and trickled off his chin as his gaze unveiled the truth. They flickered, and for a brief second, a burst of glowing angelic blue eyes revealed themselves beneath a pair of fake brown contact lenses.

He was a Prim and a god and Ava didn't give a damn about the consequences of such. She twisted the blade further into his gut, yet it did nothing. Her attack had no effect on him. It only made his grip tighter.

Raz gave a crooked smile. Blood dribbled through the corner of his mouth. “That won’t kill me, sweetheart. You should have aimed for my neck.”

“But where would be the fun in that?”

Ava yanked the knife out and stabbed him in the heart. Nothing. Why wasn’t this working? She pushed the knife further in, but even that didn’t release her from his iron hold. His fingers dug deeper into her skin as his anger increased—bruising.

Darious yanked Raz off of Ava, and glared him down with a killer intent. “Take your hand off of her, you filthy rat.”

“Rat? Such a fitting nickname, wouldn’t you agree?” Raz said to Ava as if she knew. He grimaced when Darious pressed the knife further into his chest. “I can see why you’re so bewitched by her. She’s as twisted as you.”

Like a trigger, Darious immediately dropped the knife. The blade clattered across the marble flooring, disappeared within the dancing shoes. It caught the attention of those nearby.

Darious took him by the collar. “Why are you here? What do they want with her?”

“How the hell should I know,” Raz scoffed. “They paid me for one simple task and one task only. And that is to finish my job.”

Raz ripped the plaster right off Ava’s neck.