"Actually that's not entirely true."
She blinked. "What do you mean?"
"You should talk to your cousin Geary. Her husband, Arik, used to be an Oneroi."
Tory sat perfectly still as if she couldn't believe what he'd just told her. Kind of funny to him given the way she seemed to be accepting everything else. After a brief pause, she asked a single question. "Arik was the Greek dream god?"
He nodded.
Tory covered her mouth with her hand. "So that's why Geary gave up the hunt for Atlantis. That weenie! It was right after she'd met Arik in Greece." Her expression angry, she slapped at his thigh.
"Ow!" Ash rubbed the spot, grateful she hadn't hit him any higher on his leg. "What's that for?"
"Why didn't one of you tell me?"
"It's not exactly something we're supposed to talk about with humans. Most of them aren't as reasonable as you're being."
"Yeah well, you do know this changes nothing." Her gaze showed every ounce of her determination. "I still intend to be the one who discovers Atlantis."
Ash froze as his own resolve set itself. In this battle, he was going to win no matter what. "Don't be stubborn, Tory. Let it go."
"That's easy for you to say. You don't know the mockery my family has lived with because you told my grandfather stories that enchanted the imagination of his sons. Both my father and uncle gave their lives to find Atlantis and prove it's there. I can do no less than to revive their reputations."
He cupped her face in his hand and tried to make her understand why she couldn't do this. "They're dead, Tory. Their reputations mean nothing to them."
Ash felt her clench her teeth as anger and grief flickered in her brown eyes. "They mean everything to me."
How could he make her see his point of view?
"You want to salvage your father's reputation and I want to preserve mine. You and I are at war with this. No one can know ever about the Atlantis that was destroyed."
"You're a god. Why would its location hurt your reputation?"
A twinge of hope went through him. "Did I tell you why I was in Atlantis as a human?"
"No."
Oh thank the gods that even drunk he'd had at least an ounce of self-preservation. Relief and joy poured through him. No wonder she was still giving him some respect.
And that was why he couldn't let anyone know about Atlantis. "Why can't you let this go?"
"Because I loved my father. I owe this to him."
Ash narrowed his gaze. "Would you destroy me in the process?"
Tory shook her head, trying to understand why he was so insistent. "You're not making any sense. How could this possibly hurt you?"
Tell her the truth, Apostolos. Ash flinched at the sound of his mother's voice in his head.
He looked up at the ceiling as he sensed her presence. You've been remarkably quiet throughout this, Matera. Why didn't you tell me about your priestesses?
Why should I? Besides you knew I had to have worshipers to maintain my god powers at their current strength. Did you think the Daimons were the only ones who paid homage to me?
Yeah, stupidly he had.
Show her the journal, m'gios.
And if she betrays me?
She's a human. I will kill her if she hurts you.
But he wouldn't allow that and he knew it. I can't, Matera. I don't want to see her look at me like that too.
What if she doesn't? What if she's being honest and to her you are nothing more than a friend? Your past doesn't matter to me. It doesn't matter to Savitar or Simi. You must learn to trust sometime, Apostolos. Don't you think that maybe she's the one person who won't judge you over something that was done to you against your will? Give her a reason to abandon Atlantis. Let her understand.
He looked back at Tory, terrified of the thought of seeing the same pity in her eyes that Ryssa had held in hers. He liked the fact that Tory saw him as a normal human.
Then again, she now knew him to be a god and her treatment hadn't changed. Maybe his mother was right. Maybe he could trust her.
"You can't live in darkness all the time, kid"—Savitar's words haunted him. "Sooner or later, everyone puts their ass in a sling. But you know what, most of the time you're still laughing about it, grateful you had the fun that caused the injury."
It was true. Yet the one thing Ash understood to the depth of his soul was that a physical pain healed a lot cleaner and sooner than a mental one.
"Please don't hurt me, Soteria," he whispered in Atlantean. Feeling sick with dread, he decided to trust in his mother. He held his hand out and used his powers to bring his backpack into his grasp.
Tory let out a nervous laugh. "You weren't joking about those evil Jedi tricks, were you?"