Sons of Zeus (The Warrior Trilogy #1)

And then they were there. Her house. Where her uncle had raised her but she’d felt a thousand Remnants that her parents would arrive at any second.

“They’re alive,” Dak said, standing by her just as he’d always done. “I know it.”

She nodded, then let instinct take over. The next few minutes were like a dream, as if the Remnants of her past were slowly unfolding to her like a storybook.

The front door was locked.

They rang the doorbell. No one answered.

They went around the back.

Through the yard.

Down the little dusty lane.

A long, beautiful, dreamy walk.

To the barn. That barn way behind the house.

And the doors opened.

And out they came.

Her mom.

Her dad.

Smiling.

Talking.

Laughing.

When they saw her, she bolted into a run, crossing the grassy distance faster than any horse ever could. They were shocked at her excitement when she hugged them fiercely, kissed them, laughed, and cried.

“My goodness,” her mom said, pulling back and looking delightedly at her daughter. “What in the world has come over you?”

“I just missed you is all,” Sera said. “I just missed you so much.”



The day had been a total blur for Dak.

Everything had changed, yet in some ways, it all felt the same, too. There was something perfect about it, and he felt happier than he had in a long time.

After the incredible reunion between Sera and her parents — he was man enough to admit it, he’d gotten a bit choked up — they’d walked over to Dak’s house, where his own mom and dad were busy in the lab, working on twenty projects at once. It was a huge relief when he saw them alive and well. But what really made him happy was that they were doing what they loved — solving the world’s problems, one by one.

The Smyths and the Frostes had actually joined forces, forming a company to seek out, discover, and invent practical scientific solutions to everything from illness to environmental issues. Their company was called Solving Quantum Physics.

Yep, Dak thought. The SQP. He thought that was just about the best thing ever.

“Dak.”

It was Sera, pulling him back to the real world. They were sitting on a big branch of their favorite tree, enjoying the cool air and the cleanness of it, drinking juice. She had a tablet out, scrolling through some article with taps of her fingers. It had caught her interest big-time, judging by the look of her eyes.

“So?” he asked. “What did you find?”

“Oh, you know. Just checking out the history of Alexander the Great. That’s right, the Great. And his best friend, Hephaestion.”

Dak’s jaw dropped. “What? Yeah, right.”

“I’m serious! Look for yourself. It’s in the Encyclopedia Britannica.”

Dak took the tablet from her and read through the article she’d found. He couldn’t believe it. He absolutely couldn’t believe it. Alexander and his armies had crossed the world, fighting when they had to, but also bringing food and knowledge and resources to countless people. Riq — renamed Hephaestion by Alexander himself — had become a dear friend and confidant to the hegemon. He was thought by many to be the true force behind the king maintaining respect for other cultures at the same time as advancing the world in the greatest leap yet in human history. They called it the Iron Empire.

Riq.

Hephaestion.

Bestie to Alexander the Great.

Dak realized he’d been holding his breath, and he let out a long and loud exhale. “That’s the single coolest thing I’ve ever read in my entire life. Our boy did pretty well, huh? That’s our boy!”

Sera laughed, and Dak loved the sound of it. They’d come so close, so many times, to everything being ruined. To death. To the end of the world. It was good to be home again. It was really, really good.

“So, what do we do with this thing?” Sera asked. She held up the satchel, the shape of the Infinity Ring obvious through the cloth.

Dak stared at it for a long time, as if the answer might appear in the stitches. “I don’t know. I think once my head doesn’t feel like it got beaten by a hammer from warping so much, I might be tempted to go hang out in ancient Rome for a few days.”

Sera shook her head. “I know you’re kidding, but we really can’t do that. It seems like the world is in pretty good shape, and we better not mess it up.”

“So, what are you saying? That we should destroy it? Like Riq did with Tilda’s Eternity Ring?”

“No, no, no. No way. Who knows what might happen in the future. Or . . . the past?”

“Yeah,” Dak agreed. “We’re safe for now, but you never know. So let’s decide where to put the Ring.”

Sera shrugged. “I guess we can wrap it in plastic, put it in a box, bury it. I say we give normal life a chance for a while. Sound good?”

“Sounds good times infinity.”

They were silent for a while, listening to birds and wind and rustling leaves. The branch swayed a little, making Dak sleepy. It’d be nice to take a nap and not worry if the world might end the next day.