After seeing those heroes I once knew die or become the villains, I moved on. I looked for new homes, new soldiers to start revolts, and new powers to dismantle. There were dictators to de-throne. I never thought I would return. At least not to the city where I had seen mortals do the impossible.
And yet, here I was.
I laughed more in an attempt to lighten the mood than because I found her brand of honesty humorous. I needed her help, after all. “I’m back for good this time, and I’m going to make amends for my absence. I’ve been an ass to my family, and I want to change that.”
It is with deep regret that I, Tia Angelos, deliver this letter of resignation to the Revolt House of Boston, Massachusetts.
Except for that butler, he was still the loose end, the unknown quantity. So long as I didn’t know where he was or what he was up to, all was not right in my world.
I have to find him.
I was immortal. I was a goddess. I was the voice of revolutions. I was Adrestia.
One by one, I laid the lilies at the eternal resting places of my friends and comrades in arms. I only spoke in my head, not yet comfortable with letting Kimmika hear what I had to say.
I’m sorry. I miss you all. We were supposed to save the world together. How the hell am I supposed to do this alone?
Besides, if they needed to depend on me as heavily as I feared they would, was I doing them any good? Was I really teaching them anything? I couldn’t follow anyone in the group when they decided it was time for them to leave the house and pursue other goals in their lives. They didn’t need me to take care of them. They needed me to teach them to take care of themselves.
Eros was the last person I needed to explain my feelings to. Yet, I did all the same. “I’ve seen your love practically immobilize a person with pain, grief, and anger.” Seen and felt it myself. “They’re in love, so they don’t eat or sleep.” I didn’t. “They break up, so they don’t eat or sleep.” I didn’t. “Everyone is just happier being single!” I certainly was.
Why would you waste your shot like that? How could the world have been different if you had taken it?
I never found or received an answer to either question in the two centuries that had passed. I knew I ever would.
The only thing I knew was that I couldn’t ever make the same mistake that Alexander Hamilton made. Ever.
If you cannot convince Alexander Hamilton to be your right-hand man, the war for freedom will be all but lost. Even if America wins the war on Great Britain, it will crumble in on itself if Hamilton should die in battle. The country’s future is in its hand. We cannot allow him to die, lest he take all of us with him.
