Chapter 28
"What's going to happen here?" Nora asked, looking around Ares and Clare's burnt apartment.
"We'll have to renovate," Clare sighed, kicking aside the broken coffee table with her feet.
"Dad's been wanting to redo the kitchen for a while now," Cara said. "This is his chance."
"What happened to Maaz?" Nora looked at the dark marks on the wall that strangely reassembled arms and legs...as if someone had been thrown against the wall and burned.
"They retreated," Clare followed Nora's eyes. "They had the numbers on their side, but not the god of war."
"Was anyone hurt?"
"No," Clare rolled her eyes. "But Heyder will tell you otherwise."
"Was he hurt?" Nora turned to face the woman.
Clare snorted. "Nothing he couldn't handle. He's just dramatic."
Nora wished Hayden had taken her with him to visit his parents. But he was adamant about keeping her away from their house and them, just in case Maaz still had eyes lurking. Which he most likely did according to Clare.
"Don't worry," Clare said, sensing Nora's heartache. "They're all fine. Birdie will be staying with Eggs and Gemma and Hayden will be back for you and Noor soon."
"What about Cara?" Nora asked. "Will she be staying with your parents? In Juniper?"
With a heavy sigh, Clare shook her head. "As much as I would prefer her to stay with my parents or with my brother, her dad thinks it will be the safest option for her to stay with Hera on Mount Olympus."
"Oh shoot me," Cara mumbled. "I hate that place."
"Cara," Clare looked at her daughter over her shoulder. "Hera loves you and she always says you don't visit her enough."
"Why can't we stay somewhere else with grandma?" Cara whined. "I don't like the rest of them. They always say snarky things that I can't tell if it was meant to be an insult or not."
"It doesn't matter what they say," Clare reminded her. "You just be yourself and be polite. It's only for a few days."
"I would much rather be at one of dad's bases," Cara picked up a broken lamp and tossed it aside. "Surrounded by tall sexy soldiers I can order around."
Clare rolled her eyes as she turned back to Nora, "I don't know where she gets that from."
"Nora."
Nora turned towards where she had sat Noor down on the only chair in the apartment that wasn't destroyed. But as she looked, she realized the little fey had climbed out of his seat and was freely exploring the apartment.
"What do you have there?" Nora asked as she spotted Noor walking up to her with his hands cupped over one another.
"It's for you," the little boy said with a smile as he held up his hands.
"For me?" Nora laughed. "What is it?"
Slowly, Noor opened his hands to reveal a gold stopwatch. It sat on his whole palm like a heavy chuck of nugget, shimmering in the sunlight that poured in from the outside. The vines and grape leaves that were engraved on the stopwatch seemed to be done by the hands of an expert craftsman. Nora lowered herself to Noor's level and took a better look at the thing.
"Baby, thank you," she said. "But I think it belongs to Clare and Ares. We're in their house, remember?"
"No," Clare looked down at the little boy. "That's not ours."
