I was trying desperately to get mom ship to start, when Sonia jumped to the place next to me. "What are you trying to do?"

"I'm going to move in with my dad." I looked at Sonia's eyes. I tried to hold on to my determination, but look on Sonia's face made me second guess everything I was trying to do. "You can't stop me. Gorgos are liars. They keep an innocent woman locked up. What else they are doing?"

"That's what you got from her words? You are going to the opposite side just because you heard mumbling of some estranged aunt." I wanted to look away from Sonia. I hated how I had to look at her to talk to her. Just by looking at her I started to feel guilty of the thoughts in my head. Just not enough to change my mind.

"it's not just this. It's everything. It's every single thing. My dad has always been straight forward with me. He hasn't lied to me like my mom constantly keeps lying. I want to live with him." I kept dodging Sonia's gaze, and only looked at her hands. "Wouldn't take that chance, if you were given one?"

"How would I know? My dad is being tortured right now." Silence fell between us. I wanted to apologize but couldn't. Instead I looked Sonia straight into her eyes, trying to be as stern as possible.

"Your dad might be an asshole, but mine isn't." Sonia laughed.

"One is a asshole who will betray your trust when you least know it."

"You don't know that!"

"You are not in a stage to be talked to. I just want you to know that i will be your big sister, liked it or not. We are family, not some asshole who has been hiding in Ashphodea 15 years." I looked away from Sonia.

I pushed ships's door open. "I'm sorry. You should get out if you don't want to come with me. You can't stop me." I could feel Sonia's eyes drilled into me. Instead of any aggression, she put her hand on my face and made me look at her.

"Push the bracelet if you need me. I will come to get you, okay." Sonia hit my shoulder playfully. "You're on your own now. Don't fuck it up."

Sonia got off the airship and I went off. I tried to focus my thoughts on dad and my new life, but I couldn't stop thinking about Sonia. She didn't have any other family than me and the Gorgos. I had more options. I had dad now. I felt guilty leaving Sonia alone, even if I hated mom right now.

When I was back on Ashphodea, I parked the airship just in the edge of the city. I pushed the button that made the ship invisible. When I turned around, Nikolai stood way too close to me, looking something with weird looking glasses.

"What are you doing here?" Nikolai tapped the sides of his head and the glasses around his face disappeared.

"Your dad forced me. I'm forced to be your guide."

"Guide to where?" Nikolai laughed.

"Firstly, to get dressed. You still have your last nights outfit." I looked down. He was right. I was wearing the outfit I was wearing from the anniversary party. I felt dirty just looking at myself.

"Then what?"

"Do you want to meet the gods?" I stopped in my tracks. The gods? The literal gods. I wanted to scream but I wanted to look cool in front of Nikolai.

"Why do they want to meet me?"

Nikolai laughed. Nikolai started walked away and I started walking along him. “You are now part of the elite of Ashphodea. I guess I should congratulate you. You immediately joined the ranks of the best." Nikolai thought about something for a moment, then he patted me on the shoulder. "That reminded me, your father introduced you to the Ashphodea youth group."

I didn't know if I wanted to join any group. I've always been the lone wolf with that one assistant. But if I was honest, I might need new friends here, who had different ideas than mom and Sonia. "What does the youth group do?"

"It's literally just a youth association that's really involved in Ashphodea's activities." Nikolai shrugged. "You are just looking at the chairman of the entire association. This will be my last year with that job title before I get to the real job next to dad and Neela."

I forced a smile towards the boy. I clearly knew what he was trying to do. He wanted to make me jealous. I have used that same technique perhaps too many times. It won't break me. My parents are the most dangerous people in the whole world. No title will scare me. "How old are you anyway?"

Nikolai walked backwards while looking at me. "19, which means you're a brat compared to me."

I burst out laughing. "Then why do I seem more mature than you?"

Nikolai tried to be serious, but couldn't. We both laughed for a few seconds.

Finally we looked at each other. Nikolai no longer looked as scary as I had initially thought. This could even somehow work. Finally, however, Nikolai opened his mouth again: "Well, I guess I should get to know you better if we're going to live in the same house for a while. Who is Edan? What else is he but annoying?”

I had never thought of it. I knew myself pretty well, I'd just never said anything out loud what I thought about myself honestly. Now, when I had the chance to change people's thoughts about me, to be my own person, and not just be a child of my mother, I couldn't get anything into my head. "Well, I've heard from a lot of people that I'm annoying, but I'm also… pretty taxing."

Nikolai started laughing loudly again. It was so distracting that he didn't notice that I wasn't laughing. I was still trying to think of something else to say. Why couldn't I come up with anything but jokes?

“Well, at least you're funny, it's going to be good or bad for you. Time will tell." Nikolai smiled and picked up his pace a little. I matched his pace.

"Which do you want more?" Nikolai said nothing to this. He just continued with his annoying smile. At the same time, however, he looked around us, and whenever someone around us looked at our direction, he greeted them politely. His nature had changed a bit from what he was like at the border of the city. His posture was straighter and his gaze was more intense.

When no one came near us for a moment, Nikolai opened his mouth again: “We are the descendants of the two most influential Ashphodean families. Years from now, we will be the people who run this city." He looked at me with a slight nod. "When that happens, I want the best possible ally by my side."

It was strange to think about. Mom had always made me think that I would be her successor, but now I also had another option. I could be the leader of Ashphodea. I could end this stupid fight. The idea seemed… enchanting. Sonia could work in Tartaros and I could work here. We would bring peace together, and of course Nikolai was somewhere in the background.

There was only one problem. "So you know about both of my parents?"

"Not really, I know she's some woman who escaped to Tartaros with you." Nikolai shrugged. "Neela hates her. That I know." I felt a lump on my throat. That might make our friendship a bit difficult.

"It's much more complicated than that. She's... friends with Medusa."

"Even better. I can use that connection to get revenge on grandma." Yes, Roxanne Grey. Hades. The woman my mom murdered. This is really complicated friendship.