Broni woke the next morning with hope in her heart for the first time in a long time. She truly believed that once Rhys learned more about her family and his new life, he would understand Thor’s only option had been to save him and make him an immortal.
Her higher spirits gave her an appetite, so she set out for breakfast, findingJericho sitting alone in the dining hall.
“Cara is still sleeping?” she teased. Her sister had never been a morning person, unlike Zerina and her.
“You know your sister well.” Jericho grinned at her before a frown took its place. “To give her credit, she hasn’t been sleeping well. She’s worried about Zerina.”
“We are very close,” she stated, taking a seat across from him.
Jericho continued eating his meal while Broni studied him covertly. Cara was the youngest, so Zerina and she had always felt protective of her. Broni remembered Jericho from his time on Earth when she had watched over him. He had fought many battles; some that had turned her stomach. She was happy he was going to marry her sister, though. He had been a force to be reckoned with as a mortal, as a demi-God he would be lethal.
Jericho looked up from his plate, and she flushed, embarrassed she had been caught studying him.
“I love your sister very much.” Broni melted at his words. His harsh face softened when he spoke of her sister, the truth of his confession sounding in his voice.
“I’m glad. I love her, too, and want only her happiness. I should give you a warning, though; she has a temper.” Broni smiled, sure Jericho was more than able to handle her sister.
“I discovered that for myself when she slammed my face into a plate of food.” Broni laughed when he winced in remembrance.
“She threw a perfume bottle at me when we were arguing once. My room stank for a month.” Broni told him of one of her many brushes with her sister’s temper,and their shared laughter eased the tension between them.
Sometime later, they were chatting comfortably when Rhys and Fate entered the room.
“I see you’re getting to know one another,” Fate said, sitting down at the table and then filling her plate.
Rhys didn’t talk as he filled a plate while Fate joined in the conversation about Cara.
They were finishing breakfast when Broni had a summons. The visions could come to her at any moment requiring her immediate response. “I must go. Excuse me.” Broni rose in preparation of leaving.
“Take Rhys with you.” Startled, Broni hesitated at Fate’s suggestion.“He needs to learn our different roles, and what we are capable of. Only by observing will he begin to understand.” Fate’s explanation had Broni nodding her agreement.
“I don’t want…” Broni ignored the beginning of his protest, taking Rhys with her by simply moving to his side and touching his arm.
* * *
Rhys’s words came to an end when he realized they were no longer in the dining hall but a small grocery store. As he studied the few people milling around, browsing the groceries, Broni was standing next to him, intently watching the doorway.
The door opened and two masked men carrying handguns entered, the taller one heading for the male clerk working the cash register.
“Give me the money!”
The clerk shakily opened the register and then started grabbing money out of the drawer while begging not to be shot.
Rhys stood watching, unable to move. The terror the witnesses were feeling flooded his body at the impending violence he somehow knew was about to erupt. Broni’s hand on his arm was the only thing that steadied him.
The heavier thug kept his gun trained on the customers. Rhys reached to grab the gun from him, but Broni held on tightly to his arm.
“You are unable to touch him. See for yourself.” Broni removed the hand thathad been holding him back, walking toward a woman cowering by the shelves. It passed through her.
“They cannot hear us or see us, and there are limits to what we’re allowed to do.”
Suddenly, a young man who had been shopping when the robbers entered the store, grabbed the stockier gunman trying to disarm him. Women began to scream as the robber with the gun trained on the cashier turned and began firing.
While the panicked customers fled toward the doorway, Rhys’s reflexes took over, and he moved to help one of the men who had fallen with a gunshot wound. When his hands passed through the victim, he knew it was useless.
Broni ignored Rhys, concentrating on the struggle between the two men. The robber who had begun shooting ran out the door, leaving his partner behind.
Broni moved behind the man in blue, watching intently when the gunman gained control of the gun, hitting him over the head. He dropped to his knees as blood began to drip down his forehead. The gunman aimed the gun against his temple and pulled the trigger, yet with a wave of Broni’s hand, the gun jammed. The gunman, frustrated, hit the man on his knees again in the temple before fleeing the store.