I almost forgot why I went into the kitchen.

  I was so hungry, and the smells were so good. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d actually eaten and my stomach was finally starting to let me know.

  “Here.” Aelin shoved a biscuit in my hands. “Help or get out.”

  “Thanks.” I bit into the biscuit and it was like heaven. “I needed this.” I looked around the kitchen. “Is it okay to be doing this? What about the owners?’

  “Klix bought it.” Justia walked over to me, drying her hands with a towel. “What’s up?”

  “There’s a plan.” I shook my head. “But it revolves around you.”

  The green woman froze as the other women in the kitchen turned most of their attention to me.

  “What do they want me to do?”

  I looked around the room. As far Aelin and Ren knew, I was just a hero and Jen didn’t even know that, as far as I was aware. None of them had been told how we got out of the fight with the Six either. They just knew that Whisper and Gesai had handled it.

  I shook my head. “Not here.” I hated that I was secluding Aelin from her, but until I had a more permanent solution in place, I was going to have to restrict my circle. The one who I was really missing was Rix, but I was glad that she was staying away. I could only imagine what the Goddesses might do to her if they caught her.

  I walked over to the door to the dining room and peeked out. “Ether, could you and Kara come here?” I didn’t wait to see if they were moving. I knew Ether wanted to be part of this conversation and Kara was staying close to Ether for the moment.

  I hated how many of my team that I was excluding, but they were the only ones who knew what it was like in the Bequeathal Chamber. I wove my wave through the kitchen to the freezer and motioned inside.

  “Atlas…” Aelin looked over at the Scarlet following Ether. “That’s not the best place, if you’re wanting some alone time…” The blonde made a kissy face.

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  “Aelin.” I shook my head. For a moment I had thought about rebuking her, but given the heaviness of the situation, I needed some brevity. “You know that I’d let you watch if that was all that…OW!”

  Ether elbowed me in the gut, then pecked me on the cheek before she walked into the freezer. Kara followed behind her sister and Justia followed after her with a confused look on her face.

  I pulled the door closed and tried to ignore the cold as I looked at the Scarlet. “Can you do something to keep people from listening in?”

  “I can keep your team and the Hound, but the other one and her Roots wouldn’t be…” Kara looked at Ether. “Efficient.”

  I nodded. “If you would, please.”

  I felt my ears pop as Justia looked at us.

  “What is going on?’ The brunette Healer had fixed her blue eyes on the Scarlet. “Why is one of Klix’s guards here?”

  I nodded at Ether. “It’s yours to tell.”

  Justia looked at Ether and the ivory woman swallowed. “Klix is my Grandmother.” She pointed at the woman in red armor. “This is my older sister.”

  “But I thought…” Justia looked back and forth between the three of us. “What?”

  “Klix makes Her descendants into Her personal guards. When we’re twelve, She has us start training so that when we get our Mantles, we’re in better physical condition, then She takes us down to the eighty-first floor where She power levels us.” Ether looked like she might start crying as she finished.

  I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her close to me. “Kara is here to guard Ether.”

  I could feel Kara’s eyes on me through the white visor. “Why did you bring my sister in here?”

  “Because I need to discuss what the Goddesses just asked me to do.” I looked over at Justia. “They want us to go back into Mive’s Bequeathal Chamber. Are you okay with that?”

  “Why?” Justia looked scared and I didn’t blame her. Being in there was disorienting enough for me. I couldn’t imagine how it was for her.

  “What are you doing?” Kara cut off Justia’s next question. “You’re the God, she’s the Priest. She does whatever you tell her too.”

  I sighed. I was getting tired of having this discussion. “Look, I get that part of your training was to take orders immediately from your grandmother, but I don’t have the luxury of centuries of experience, so I rely on the people that I trust. And right now the people I trust who have experience with the Bequeathal Chamber are in this room right now. The Goddesses want us to risk our lives to try to remove the seal on Mive, so I want to know if they are okay with that, because if they aren’t, then I’ll go back out there and tell those old crows where they can stick their plan.”

  I could see Kara tense and I knew that I had just talked down to a Tier Six that was five years older than me. My heart was hammering in my ears as I waited for her response, but none came.

  I turned to Justia. “What do you think?”

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