“Is she going to actually be able to find anything?” Mikhail asked Ares once the goddess was gone. “She’s right about us fucking the world up. It’s not going to make it any easier, will it?”

“No, it’s not, but she will find her. She’s relentless as you know,” Ares replied. “If the girl is truly descended from Zeus, there would be rain showers when she’s sad because she can’t control her power. She will also create thunder and lightning. Not much, of course, because the old man still has the thunderbolts, but there will still be some. Now, if it’s his daughter or granddaughter, that’s something else altogether. You see, the first two generations have the full power of the god that they descended from. I know how crazy that sounds, but that’s the truth of it.”

“Good,” Gareth nodded. He was looking at Lincoln and Thomas. Shifting closer to the god, he lowered his voice. “The sooner we find her, the better. How sure are you that it’s Zeus’s line the woman is from? I mean, you sounded damn sure, and your line of reasoning made sense to me, but are you really sure? I don’t know if they can hold out hope for one wild goose chase after another.”

“I’m absolutely positive that she’s of Zeus’s line. If Hera is as upset as Athena said, there’d only be one reason. She’s trying to stick it to the old man and failing. Seriously, the hate that your people have written about between the two of them is nothing compared to the truth. There is hate, and then there is holy-fucking-hell-watch-out-below sort of hate. That’s the hate that she has for him. She would do anything to make him hurt since she can’t outright kill him. She can’t do that because of the lightning bolts. Fucked up, I know, but there it is. Just like they can’t kill Apollo because of the sun or Artemis because of the moon. It’s all linked.”

“Yeah, I’m starting to get an idea of how pissy she is for the fucker. She’s a raving bitch, isn’t she?” Shaking his head, Gareth rubbed a hand over his face, and sighed. “So she’s keeping the woman shielded from you guys. What happens if we find her while the shield’s still in place?”

“You wouldn’t know she’s a key,” Ares said. “Until that bubble is gone you wouldn’t know her if she was standing in front of you. Shit, if you were touching her you wouldn’t know. Hera has always been fucking good at shielding. The best. Athena will be able to find a general idea of where the girl is, but we have to find a way through that shield. Honestly, I don’t fucking know how.”

It was Brooklyn who responded. “Thomas and Lincoln.” Everyone looked at her. “Love. Hate is something, but love is something more. Love is unstoppable. It will overpower everything that’s in the way. Trust me. Ask Aphrodite if you don’t believe me, but if Athena can find a general area, send them and they will know who it is. Their souls and hearts will tell them who she is, if they don’t already know.”

All the men in the kitchen nodded. “She’s right,” James said quietly. “Hera may be powerful, but that bond is something beyond her. In range it will reach out, and they’ll know. It’s like being hit by a bolt of lightning, no pun intended, guys. Right between the eyes, and you know. Deep inside, you just know.”

“Exactly. I knew that Antonio and Stefan were mine the moment that I met them. I love that connection that I share with them. I don’t know how the guys felt, but I’m telling you I knew when I first saw them that they were mine.”

“So essentially we are waiting for Athena to pick up the weather problems and then shipping Lincoln and Thomas her way?” Rachael asked.

“I’m going to go and help her. Once we have a location I’ll be back for you two,” Ares said. “I will get you there as fast as I can, and if we have to keep hopping locations, we’ll do it. For now, get your gear together, and be ready at a moment’s notice. I’d better get back and see what she’s come up with already. Everyone good here?”

They all nodded, except Thomas and Lincoln. Those two looked antsy, and a little lost. Not a good combination.

Brooklyn turned to Thomas and Lincoln. “With that all being done, what do you need for me to do so that we can have you guys ready?”

Lincoln shook his head as he got to his feet. “We’ll go grab our go-bags. That’s all we can do right now. At least we’ll be able to take full gear with us since we’ll be traveling god airlines.”

Mik pushed off the counter and nodded. “I’ll get some food on while you two see to that. Everyone make sure your bags are ready as well, in case support is required. Then we eat, and everyone gets some sleep. I know you don’t feel like it, but we do what we can in the moment. Kas, want to help?”

“Sure.” Kasper stood and walked to where Mik was standing. “I’m thinking that we should make something that can be stored, just in case.” Everyone was looking at Thomas and Lincoln, both of whom looked like they had been kicked. It wasn’t a good look on either of them.