Theseus had learned that the hard way.
So had the Big Three, who were now probably reevaluating their entire theology after Parker threatened them like they were just petty schoolyard bullies messing with a kid whose father owned the school.
That's why Atalanta didn't offer Tessa false hope. Not yet.
Because this love story? It wasn't built on kisses and shared breakfasts.
It had to be forged in chaos. Tempered in fire.
And if Tessa could find the strength to confess, to cut Ashford out of their silence with surgical precision—
But Parker was running. Again.
No. Parker wasn't healing. He was surviving.
And Atalanta—who could outshoot gods and outrun armies—was just trying to buy time until Tessa could muster enough strength to light the fuse that would bring him back.
Because what Tessa didn't realize was this: Parker didn't need a savior.
He needed a tether.
And she was it.
But not until she came clean.
