Stupid, stupid stupid idiot.
I could barely contain my anger as we stood at the bar. Joshua leaned against the bar, swirling his drink.
"So, five minutes to Altican Manor?"
He wasn't looking at the girls; his intense brown eyes just stared at me. Something was going on with the bride,something he couldn't understand... yet. Well I had my questions for him as well.
For starters, why the hell he would think telling Catherine we were Sterlings was a good thing.
"We're going to have to break several sound barriers." He continued "Nothing the Fenris can't handle. But still, why the rush?"
"Just get the keys, Josh." My skin still buzzed from where Layla had touched me, every molecule felt supercharged. I turned to her to find her pale, her eyes moving from her watch to the exit, and back to the door once again.
"Fine," Joshua grumbled, fishing into his pockets for his keys. He produced a key fob of polished diamond. "But if I get a speeding ticket, you're paying in blood."
Ironic. We would be the ones paying in blood if Father found out how things were going.
We all made our way to my car only to find a couple of teenagers standing next to it, taking pictures. Even under the drizzling rain? I sighed.
Humanity, chasing clout with what could be doomsday two weeks away. I pressed down on my key and the car roared to life, floodlights blazing, sending the tourists scampering away.
"That's your car?" Catherine's jaw practically hit the pavement. Well, I had to admit, the Fenris was... what would people call it?
Badass.
A cursed blend of Bugatti and armored vehicle. It had a sleek, cold-blue paint job and rims so low you'd think they touched the ground.
"I call shotgun," Catherine chirped, already diving for the door. Joshua slid into the driver's seat, his hand gripping the wheel like a madman. The Fenris was my car, but I seldomly drove. It was an unreliable form of transportation when I could just deatomize myself and float with the wind.
Catherine on the other hand did not seem to mind. She buzzed with excitement. "You're going to need to put on your seatbelts," I warned. "Joshua doesn't believe in brakes."
"Oh, brother. What's the fun in those?" He laughed.
Catherine giggled like a schoolgirl next to him. Layla just stared down at her watch. "How fast is this thing?"
Joshua answered by shifting gear and floored the pedal. The car surged forward from zero to a hundred in two seconds, the force slamming us into the leather.
"WOOOOO!!!" Catherine yelled, at the top of her lungs and for some reason my brother joined her.
When we reached the gridlock of the FDR, Joshua didn't even tap the brakes.
With a low harmonic hum, the car vibrated, turning the world around us translucent.
When I got the Fenris, it had been imperative that my vehicle reflected my power, so I did what any reasonable god would do.
Upgrade.
A few tech mages to give a few slightly supernatural perks, like super speed and intangibility. Voilà.
New York's traffic did nothing to stop the car; It simply phased through obstacles. To mortal eyes, the road was probably empty, all thanks to Askarion's veil over mortal eyes. Even the girls noticed nothing unusual.
"Getting home on time is one thing," Catherine said as a semi-truck phased through her door, passing through her like she was a ghost."but how do you sneak back into your room without getting seen?"
"I wouldn't have left if I didn't have a way back in, Cat." She turned to me, her emerald eyes staring hard. "What we should be worried about is why you're bringing my father's biggest business rivals to his doorstep."
Yes, why were we heading to his doorstep? I wanted to barrage my brother with every insulting slur I knew, but he kept his mind blocked.
"There's nothing much to worry about; Magnus and Joshua are my... business associates..." Catherine lied, turning to Joshua. "You do know business, right?"
Joshua didn't take his eyes off the road. "Of course. Uhm, board meetings, and deadlines, and other things... business-related."
"Uh-huh," Layla sounded unimpressed.
"Plus, it's a masked gala." Catherine continued. "Nobody's going to pay special attention to them. It's not like they've got snowy white hair or something out of the ordinary."
The temperature in the backseat plummeted. Layla's eyes snapped to mine, her breath hitching.
"Yeah, snowy white hair." Her eyes traced my brown hair like she expected it to turn into frost.
Shit! Layla and I had been having the same nightmares. She saw me in battle, in God-mode: snowy white hair, cold blue eyes. That had to be the reason she did not recognise me at first glance.
She had seen the fury of the northern wind, not Magnus Sterling.
"Yes..." Joshua said awkwardly. "Definitely no snowy white hair. Just normal, mortal hair color."
Shut up! I didn't say it but rather blasted it telepathically into his mind, hitting his mental blocks like a sledgehammer. He winced, the Fenris swerving slightly as he gripped the wheel.
The silence that followed was heavy, broken only by the rhythmic hum of the car as we neared the Altican estate. Layla stole frequent glances at me, her green eyes now filled with uncertainty. I could read into her mind if I wanted to, but I didn't want to pry. Plus, something told me I wouldn't like what I would find.
We pulled out of phase mode into thick greenwoods, a rising mountain peak before us.
"Is that a dome?" I whispered. It was my turn to betray childlike amazement.
"That's literally the coolest thing I've ever seen" Joshua corrected. We were both a thousand years old, but I had to agree with him.
The view was breathtaking, and coming from the child of a multi-trillionaire god, that was saying something.
A beautiful asphalt road cut through the mountain, a black scar winding up to a domed structure at its peak. The dome was completely opaque, reflecting the moon and stars beautifully. It looked like one of those tiny, spherical universes.
The Fenris's tires dug into the asphalt, the forest floor receding lower and lower, replaced by walls of rock on either side.
"I'll stop here," Layla announced, her voice sharp and shaking.
Joshua brought the car to a halt. Layla didn't wait for it to stop before the door flung open.
She offered me one last piercing look before turning to Catherine. "I do hope you know what you're doing," she said, before making her way through a dense patch of shrubs.
"Likewise," Catherine muttered, her excitement replaced by what I could imagine to be realization of risk. The engine roared back to life and we continued our ascent.
"Question," Joshua announced, turning to Catherine. "If we're here for a debut and then a gala, why are you dressed in a hoodie?"
Catherine looked down at the hoodie, the blue lights of the Fenris reflecting on the woolly material.
"It's my godfather's house," she snapped, her voice tight. "I could go change before the debut starts. But the two of you," she twisted in her seat, her eyes landing on me, "what the hell do I do with you?"
"What happened to us being business partners?" Joshua asked in his usual cheerful tune.
"It was stupid. You can't get in without an invite," she said with a frustrated sigh. "The guards will stop you the moment you get there."
I stared at the rising wall of rock and rubble. Something was meant to happen tonight. Father had said he'd heard no word from destiny's deity, Askarion. But for some reason, it felt like I could feel destiny itself pulling.
These dreams, these visions. The countdown. Layla. A web was being woven, and being here tonight was a major string in its thread.
"Do not worry about my brother and I," I said, my voice vibrating with conviction. "We'll get in."
At that moment Joshua killed the engine.
Massive flood lights flooded the parameter, the white light spilling into the car. I raised my hand up to shield my eyes, but I could hear them from here. Heavy boots making their way down the asphalt.
I dropped my hand and managed a glimpse through the light.
A squad of guards were moving forward. Heavily armed.