We spent all day training.

  I had thought that I’d made a breakthrough when I’d stopped having to say the spell out loud to activate it, but Whisper had pointed out that all I was doing was saying the spell in my head. Which was progress, but it still wasn’t simply casting the spell.

  Justia looked exhausted when we’d finally left the Chamber and it didn’t look like she’d made much progress in freeing Mive.

  It was late when we walked out of the private dining room. Klix and Gesai were still gone and it looked like the team had set up three tents on the other side of the main dining area for sleeping. Oz was the only one awake and she scrambled to her feet as we walked in.

  “Is everything okay?” The green-eyed woman scanned us all quickly.

  “We are fine.” Harror turned to me, “I have a sanctuary in my tree, I’ll be back in the morning to try again.”

  I watched the green Goddess and her two Roots in brown armor walk out of the building and head for the large tree in the middle of the road. As soon as Harror reached the tree, the bark peeled away, allowing the tree of them inside.

  “What’s going on?” Oz looked at her cousin. “That room was locked so tight that Jen couldn’t get in.”

  “We…”

  “We are working on reviving Mive.” Whisper cut me off.

  “Is it because…” Oz’s voice faded even though she was still trying to talk. She grabbed her throat and coughed, then looked at me. “What…” She shook her head. “That’s weird.”

  I realized that I’d have to tell her later about how the seal would prevent her from talking about how I was a Godling in front of others.

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  “So things are better left unasked.” Whisper craned his neck to look into the kitchen. “Is there..?”

  Oz nodded and jerked her thumb at the door to the back. “We made plates for all eight of you. They’re in the oven, though I don’t know if they’re still warm.”

  “Thank you.” The silver man gave a little bow, then hurried into the kitchen.

  My stomach growled to remind me that I’d barely eaten all day. “I guess we’d better eat.”

  Ether and Justia followed Whisper with Kara right behind them. Oz grabbed me before I could get through the door and pulled me back.

  “Is everything okay?” The brown woman had both of her hands around my right arm.

  “It’s…” I looked over at the tents. I didn’t know how safe this building was to talk in. I knew that Kara could do some shielding, but she was laughing in the other room while getting her food. It felt wrong to ask her to stop so that I could speak a little more freely. Zel, Shelly, and Jen hadn’t been brought into the pact and I didn’t need one of them to learn something that would get back to the Nobles.

  “Complicated.” I tried to smile, but that didn’t seem to put her at ease. I knew that she didn’t like how close Whisper was to us. And given the two Goddesses and their guards, not to mention the dungeon break, I could see how all of those worries were starting to weigh on her.

  “Hey…” I pulled her close and wrapped her in a hug. “It’s going to be okay.”

  “I just feel…” She pulled back just enough so that she could look at me. “Like I’m not doing anything.”

  “You’re keeping everything together while I’m helping to bring Mive back.” I brushed a black lock of hair back behind her ear. She tilted her head to lean against my hand and closed her eyes. I leaned in and kissed her gently, holding the embrace as she melted into me.

  “Atlas! Your food’s getting cold again!” Justia yelled from the other side of the door.

  I broke the kiss. “I’ll be in there in a minute!” I looked back into Oz’s green eyes. “Feel any better?”

  “Maybe a little.”

  “A bunch of littles together can make a lot.” I bounced my eyebrows.

  Oz pushed against my chest. “I think you’ve had enough ‘littles’ until you’ve eaten or Justia is going to throw a fit.”

  “Okay.” I held up my hands, releasing her. “But seriously. I feel a lot better knowing that you’re out here watching over the team.”

  The brown woman smiled. “Thanks.”

  “Now…” I pushed open the door. “It’s time to eat!”

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