I swallowed hard, my mind racing. Why was Zeus here? What had I done to warrant a personal visit from the King of the Gods?

  Finn instinctively stepped in front of me, but Zeus barely spared him a glance. His storm-gray eyes were focused solely on me.

  “You meddle with forces beyond your control, boy,” he said, his voice like distant thunder. “Speaking ill of the Fates? Defying prophecy? You tread a dangerous path.”

  My heart pounded in my chest. I didn’t know what to say. What could I say?

  “I—” My voice cracked. I forced myself to stand taller. “I don’t believe in fate.”

  Zeus narrowed his eyes. “Then you are a fool.”

  The sky rumbled, and suddenly, I was on my knees, an invisible force pressing down on me. My body felt like it was being crushed under the weight of the storm itself.

  “Stop!” Finn shouted. “This isn’t fair!”

  Zeus ignored him. “Defying fate is not an act of bravery, Marcus. It is an act of arrogance.” He took a step closer. “The Fates do not make mistakes.”

  I clenched my fists. “Then why are you here? If it’s already decided, why waste your time?”

  For the first time, Zeus hesitated. It was barely noticeable—a flicker of something in his gaze. But I saw it, and I realised the God wasn’t trying to destroy me, I’d wentt through worse than this, I’d fought.

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  “You don’t know everything, do you?” I pressed. “You’re not here to punish me. You’re here because you don’t know how this ends.”

  The wind howled around us. Finn’s breathing was uneven beside me.

  Zeus’ expression hardened. “You will learn respect, child.”

  A bolt of lightning shot toward me, too fast to react. But just before it struck, a barrier of golden energy flared to life, deflecting the blast.

  A new voice rang out.

  “That’s enough.”

  The air shimmered, and another figure appeared beside us—a woman in golden armor, her presence radiating authority. Her gray eyes burned with intellect, calculating, analyzing. She stepped between me and Zeus.

  Athena.

  My mother.

  Zeus scowled. “This does not concern you.”

  Athena tilted her head. “On the contrary, Father. It concerns my son.”

  Their gazes locked in silent battle. The tension was suffocating. Then, after what felt like an eternity, Zeus exhaled sharply.

  “This is not over.” His form flickered, crackling like static. “You cannot outrun destiny.”

  With that, he was gone, vanishing into the storm.

  Silence fell. My entire body felt like it had been put through a meat grinder.

  Athena turned to me. “You are reckless.”

  I let out a shaky breath. “Yeah, I’ve heard that before.”

  Finn groaned. “Gods, Mark, do you ever know when to shut up?”

  I managed a weak grin. “Not really.”

  Athena studied me carefully. “You will have to be smarter than this if you wish to survive.”

  I swallowed. “I don’t care about survival. I care about my friends.”

  Her expression didn’t change, but something in her eyes softened. Just a little. “Then you must learn how to change fate. If that is even possible.”

  Finn frowned. “You don’t think it is?”

  Athena turned toward the horizon. “Even the gods do not know.”

  My mind whirled. I had spent my entire life believing fate was a lie. That nothing was predetermined. But now? I wasn’t so sure.

  One thing was clear, though.

  If fate demanded that Finn die because of me—

  Then I would just have to find a way to break it.

  And then, we returned, nobody except our small group knew what had happened…