The Taking 02: Hover Read Free Page A

crazy, but I’m telling myself it’s the medication. “I’ll do one better. I’ll show you. But right now we’re late.”
    All my anger from before vanishes, replaced by an immediate, more dominant feeling. Fear. I have never met Zeus before, even though he has been the Ancient leader since I was little, but I have seen him on the televised addresses with Earth’s worldwide leaders. He has an eagle-like presence, his eyes always studying, his demeanor eerily calm.
    We continue down the pathway in silence, my mind on Jackson and what we’ve become.
    I think Jackson hoped I would forgive and forget, but I’m not wired that way. I can’t just forget that he lied to me about his true identity. He could have told me, even if there was a good chance I would have turned him in the second I found out who he really was. Still…
    His body tenses and he whips around, rage in his eyes. “You don’t understand, okay? You don’t know what I went through every single day that I couldn’t tell you. You don’t know how badly I wished everything were different. It isn’t like—”
    “What? Isn’t like you lied intentionally? Does that even matter?” My own anger takes over. “I put everything on the line for you, gave you my complete trust. Why couldn’t you do the same for me? This isn’t as simple as you lying. You didn’t trust me enough to tell me. And maybe you were right because there’s a pretty good chance I would have shot you the moment you said you were Zeus’s grandson!” The words come out so fast I can hardly register what I said, or that it’s how I truly feel.
    Jackson jerks back, his face painted first with hurt then anger. He nods and continues walking, leaving me standing on the path staring after him. I swallow hard, feeling a lump rising in my throat. I don’t want to feel this way. I want to forgive him. I want to lean into him and feel his warmth settle over me like a blanket on a cold day.
    But I can’t.

Chapter 2
     
    “This is our ride,” Jackson says as I step up beside him, neither of us looking at the other. He points down to a river in front of us that ripples first blue then purple then crystal clear and back, like a fantasy. A single dark wooden raft with two large white sails awaits us. It’s neither large nor small, able to hold maybe ten people.
    Jackson takes my hand to help me aboard, and we both stiffen, electricity moving from his hand to mine. Heat rises up my neck, and for a moment, we’re back in the woods behind my house, walking hand in hand, both of us unwilling to let go.
    I release his hand the moment I’m on the boat, but I can still feel his touch long after his hand has left mine. I chance a look at the other Ancient and then to Jackson, who is watching me, his expression soft. He tilts his head, our eyes remaining locked, and though we are a few feet apart, it feels as though we are inches. Mere inches from breathing in the same air. Seeing him like this, it feels impossible that he’s the same boy who lied to me, impossible even that he could be related to Zeus. But he is, he did, and I can’t just forget. I’m not the kind of girl who just forgets.
    I break contact and instantly my insides feel colder, sadder.
    We drift down the river, the wind carrying us, it never seeming to die down, yet never causing me to feel chilled. I wonder what season we’re in, if Loge even has seasons, and then I realize I’m thinking this nonsense to keep myself from panicking. I’m about to see Zeus, someone who evokes fear in everyone he meets, and I have no clue what to expect. I consider asking Jackson, but I’m afraid to question him in front of the other Ancient and after what I said I’m not sure he even wants to talk to me. Instead, I allow my gaze to take in this new world, studying as much of it as possible as we go.
    The river separates the residential side of Triad from the city portion. We pass the rows of houses I saw at the Panacea, all tiny, squat