“I would agree,” Amber said. “You don’t have the ability to blend in. That mark, for starters. The Lightning Rod wore a mark when his mistress was alive, although not by choice. He’ll recognize it immediately. Soon after, he’ll figure out who you are. The kids will be with you, so he might think you’re on the run. Or, if he’s smart, he’ll realize the coincidence is too extreme but assume you’re there to speak with him in a non-threatening way. People don’t bring their kids when they think a meeting will turn violent. If he’s very smart, he’ll know it wasn’t your idea to meet with him. Maybe he’ll take pity on you, or at least try not to make you a target. As soon as I know which way he’s leaning, I can work on the next steps.”

“Wait.” I stood up in a rush. “You don’t even know the next steps? You’re going to send us into incredible danger—you’re going to send my children into incredible danger—and you don’t even know what comes next?”

“We’re your wards, and we’re almost adults—”

“You speak again and I will make you wish you hadn’t,” I said to Daisy, who’d turned fifteen not that long ago and acted like she’d turned twenty. Her teeth clicked shut. “Kieran, what are you thinking?”

He shook his head slowly. “We can pull out right now if you can’t resign yourself to this idea. We do not need to go through with it. But I’ve heard all the details about how you handled the situation with Jerry. The things you said. The way you approached it. You never think about trying to get something for yourself, and it shows. You’re the best chance we have. I told you that before we left.”

I bit my lip, knowing he might well be right. But the kids—I couldn’t put them into danger like this. I couldn’t cart them right up to the front line and shove them forward. I said as much.

“There’s something else Harding said…something we haven’t been able to verify,” Kieran said. He was not taking this lightly. “He thinks Zeus himself must know about the Lightning Rod. That maybe Zeus had a hand in the Lightning Rod’s escape. Gods aren’t supposed to interfere in the lives of humans, but it’s always been said that some gods develop favorites. A person with a rare magical ability, treated unjustly, would certainly draw the eye of their god. Now, this next part is just speculation, but Harding suspects Zeus would be pleased if the Thunderstroke were better able to show off his mighty magic. It is not a bad thing to please a god.”

“That…” I balled my fists. “That sounds crazy. Zeus knows of this dude? Zeus. The god?” I rolled my eyes. “The gods haven’t walked the earth in…forever. And even if they had, Zeus wouldn’t leave one of his favorites to flounder.”

“The Thunderstroke’s not floundering,” Bria said before popping a grape into her mouth. She was just as calm as she always was before an extreme clusterfuck. “He has been given a second chance. Look at the facts—not even Amber knew about him. No one does, despite the fact that he has used his magic in a Chester town. He was once high-profile, and he’s got a rare, eye-opening kind of magic. Guys like him don’t get confused for being dead. An expert would’ve checked to make sure the poison had done its job.”

“Maybe the guy who reported his death was in on the escape,” I said. “The Thunderstroke had to have some friends.”

“Maybe, but secrets that big have a habit of coming out. The Thunderstroke’s body would’ve passed under a great many eyes as he was transported around the palace. Only after he was declared dead would he have been left alone. If anything was amiss, it would’ve been talked about.”

“Maybe he killed the person that helped him,” I reasoned.

“Maybe so, but no other deaths except his and the Demigod’s went on record. It’s just…too clean for a high-powered magical type,” Bria finished. Red nodded, which was annoying, because they hardly ever agreed on anything.

“Fine. Assuming that ridiculous notion is true, do you guys really think it’s a great idea to mess with divine intervention? You’d be pissing off Zeus. You would literally be pissing off the king of the gods. Besides, what does Harding know? Even though he had a rare and interesting magic, Hades didn’t do a damn thing for him. He’s nothing but a nosey ex-Spirit Walker. I’ll bet he only went to you guys because you’re gullible. He knows I’d see sense.”

“Probably, yeah,” Bria said. “You’re so rational when it comes to your kids.”

“I’m allowed to be in that town,” Daisy said, crossing one leg over the other. She wore plain jeans, a cropped black T-shirt that let her midriff peek out, and her hair in a ponytail. She looked cute, her age, and dressed down to blend in, as though she’d known about the plan in advance. “I’m a Chester.”

“A Chester is a close-minded moron who either doesn’t believe in magic or hates all things magical. You are not a Chester,” I snapped. “And I don’t think Chesters would be thrilled to have a Demigod’s ward in their town.”

“To put you at ease, I have laid out many next steps,” Amber said. “I just won’t settle on one until after I see how our man reacts to you.”

I slumped down onto the edge of the couch. “Was everyone in on this but me? I mean the details. The stuff with Harding.”

“We didn’t tell Jerry,” Thane said.

“Yeah, Jerry would tattle,” Donovan added.

“Freaking Jerry,” Boman muttered with a grin. They’d all taken up teasing Jerry, largely because he never seemed to notice, or if he did, he didn’t care.

“I can shelter you and the kids from a lightning storm,” Jerry said, staring out the plane window. His plate of appetizers had been picked clean. “I don’t care how wondrous this fool’s magic is. I own the mountain he lives on.”

“Damn right you do.” Boman put out his fist for Jerry to hit. Jerry ignored him, and Donovan and Thane snickered.

I ran my fingers through my hair. “Fine. Sure. I’ll do it. But when he threatens my kids and I rip his soul out of his body, you’re going to answer to Zeus, Kieran. Not me.”

“I’ll answer to Zeus. I hear that guy is hot,” Amber said.

“Ego’s too big—he’s probably bad in bed,” Bria responded.

“You’ll have spirit surveillance all over that town,” Jack said from his corner, the only spirit I’d allowed on the plane. “We’ll call in everyone and set up shop. We’ll start our perimeter at the edges of your magical awareness so we can account for his possibly larger range.”

I nodded, relaying what he’d said. Amber nodded with me.

I knelt in front of my wards. Their expressions were guarded. “You are somewhat trained, but not for this.”

“Speak for yourself,” Daisy said.

“I am,” I replied. “I’m definitely not ready. I’m now really thinking this is a terrible idea.”

“Actually, Lexi,” Mordecai said, “going to the Magical Summit without more firepower is a terrible idea. I’ve been doing a little research on it. Everyone might say it’s just about magical politics, and for the Demigods and leaders, that’s probably true, but for the staff, it sounds like the Wild West. Everyone challenges one another with their magic. A lot of people die.”