Goddess (Starcrossed)

him in order to prevent him from ever coming. But you know that prophecy already.”
    “The Tyrant is born to bitterness. He bears the blood of multiple Houses and must be able to reduce all mortal cities to rubble,” Matt said seriously. He didn’t like to agree with Pallas, but Matt knew he was right. He pictured someone like Hitler with Scion strength and the ability to destroy cities just by willing it.
    Matt remembered Zach asking the gang a hypothetical question once: If they had a time machine and could go back and kill Hitler before he had a chance to hurt anyone, would they do it? Even if he were still an innocent child when they went back and murdered him? They had all answered yes .
    “Matt,” Ariadne said, reaching out and putting her hand over his. “Are you okay?”
    “And the others, like the Shield and . . . the Warrior,” he continued. “Those are set roles, roles that must be filled? Have these roles been there from the beginning?”
    “Cassandra of Troy was the first to mention them . . . so, yeah. All of these roles have been there from the beginning.”
    “And every role must be filled before this cycle can be completed and the Fates can move on to a new cycle?”
    “I’ve never heard it put that way before,” Ariadne replied cautiously. Her sharp mind turned this novel idea over quickly as it shuffled through dozens of memorized bits of minutia, until finally, she nodded in acceptance. “But I suppose that’s a plausible interpretation.”
    “So we’re all trapped,” Matt breathed hopelessly. “We have to play our parts or the Fates will just start over and try again with the next batch of Scions.”
    Ariadne frowned in thought. “Maybe that’s why it feels like we’ve never really left Troy. Because something that was supposed to happen way back then didn’t, and the Fates keep trying to re-create it.”
    Matt smiled, sternly reminding himself not to lean over and kiss her no matter how clever she was. He waited a moment until he knew his voice would be steady before talking.
    “That’s what I think, too,” he said. “It’s like the Scions are stuck in an endless round of auditions as the Fates shift new actors into the same roles, looking for the right cast to make their play work.”
    “But they’re the Fates. If they want something to happen, why can’t they just make it happen?”
    “I don’t know,” Matt replied. “There must be some other force that moves against them. Maybe their sister, Nemesis.”
    “We should tell everyone about this,” Ariadne said. “Even if they think we’re wrong.”
    “I agree.”
    They sat for a while, each of them pondering private thoughts. The sun was starting to come up, and Matt told himself it was time to go, even though he could have sat like that with her for days.
    “Good night, Ariadne,” Matt said as he stood up.
    “Where are you going?” Her luminous hazel eyes were wide and troubled.
    “Home. I snuck out when Hector called me,” he said, looking anywhere but at her. “I want to be back before my parents wake up so they don’t worry. The riots really freaked them out.”
    “Okay,” she said quietly. “Will you come back later? The Houses are supposed to meet here tonight.”
    “I don’t know if I can,” he said. There was a ship out on the water, carrying his army closer. Matt could feel it like a phantom limb—removed but still aching. “I may have something else to take care of.”
    Ariadne nodded and looked at the floor. Unable to resist, Matt leaned down and kissed the top of her head. Her hair smelled the same, like honey and summer. He let himself run his hand down the back of her bent neck, feeling how slender it was under his calloused palm—as fragile as a flower’s stem.
    “Will you try?” she whispered, not looking up.
    “Yes. I’ll try.”
     
    “Hey. Are you mad at me?” Lucas heard Helen ask.
    He turned and saw her floating toward him across the roof of the house. He shook his head, and she sat next to him on the very edge of the roof over his bedroom.
    “I didn’t mean to disagree with you in front of the family back there. About Orion being the Shield,” she continued.
    “It’s okay. You were just bringing up a good point,” he said, knowing she could hear the truth in his words. Helen’s new talent as a Falsefinder made things both easier and harder between the two of them. He could never lie to her again, not even to protect her. Not that lying had ever