Page 104 of Queen of Tempests and Sin

I reached up, brushing my fingers lightly against his jaw. ‘Hey. We’ll be fine.’

He caught my hand, pressing a kiss into my palm, his voice low and rough. ‘Of course, kardia mou.’

* * *

When I got back to my suite in the Underworld, Guinn was MIA. I eventually found her in the kitchen with Theseus, the two of them sharing food and chatting like they’d been besties since birth.

‘Hey.’ She beamed at me the second I walked in. Then her brows pulled together. ‘You okay?’

‘Yeah, fine. You had a good day?’

‘OMG, the best! We’ve been trawling the dark web, and guess what? We’ve literally just found out the time of the auction. It’s happening tonight at midnight! Plus, I met Apollo. He was in London and dropped in to see Theseus. They’re buddies. He’s an absolute dreamboat!’

She was practically bouncing off the walls, while my breath stuttered. Auction. Apollo. Si. Too many thoughts, not enough oxygen. I went with the safest one first: the crush.

‘You’re also fifteen. And he’s a god.’

‘I know. Cool ya jets. It’s just a crush.’

Poor Theseus’s face fell like someone had punted a kitten, and Guinn didn’t even notice.

‘The auction is tonight?’ I muttered, mostly to myself. ‘Si didn’t say a word.’

‘He’s an overprotective asshat. No way he’ll want you anywhere near it. Plus, we’ve literally just found out the timeline.’

Anger fizzed low in my chest, hot and insistent, but first things first—I needed to talk to Guinn before I went picking fights with gods.

‘I need to talk to you about… things,’ I said, my voice tighter than I intended.

I flicked a glance at Theseus, and he cleared his throat, already reading the room. ‘Right, I’ll leave you to it,’ he said, and slipped out leaving us alone.

Guinn perked up, leaning across the counter like we were about to plot a heist. ‘Spill.’

I rubbed the back of my neck, suddenly wishing for a stiff drink. ‘Si asked me to… take part in a blood oath. An exchange. Not to bind me to him, but so he can give me gifts—strength, healing, being able to breathe underwater.’ My voice dropped. ‘And he called me his consort.’

Her eyes widened, the grin sliding right off her face. ‘Whoa.’

‘Yeah. Whoa.’ My laugh came out strained. ‘I don’t even know if I’m ready for that, but… part of me wants it. Part of me wants him. And I don’t know if that makes me brave or just really, really stupid.’

Guinn tapped her nails on the counter, thoughtful in that infuriating way only teenagers could be. Then she shrugged. ‘I can’t tell you what to do. You wouldn’t listen anyway.’

‘Fair.’

‘He’s an arrogant god—a total douche, sometimes. But…’ Her lips tilted into a knowing smile. ‘I’m pretty sure he really loves you.’

The words punched straight into my chest, but before I could reply, Perseus appeared—leaning in the doorway, smug as a cat—and cut in smoothly. ‘On that point, she’s right.’

I shot him a glare, heat rising in my cheeks, but Guinn just smirked, milking the moment. ‘Okay, here’s the deal. You go ahead with your blood-oathy-consort thing, but only on one condition.’ She jabbed a finger at me. ‘I get to spend as much time as I want with you in Genesion. And with Theseus. No locking me out of the shiny sea kingdom just because you’re busy playing goddess-lite.’

Her bravado was all teenage swagger, but her eyes—so much like mine—were steady, protective in a way that twisted my heart.

‘Deal,’ I said softly, pulling her into a quick hug.

Perseus cleared his throat in the doorway, arms folded, smirk stuck to his face. ‘I’ll say this much, Cordelia—you’ve caused more trouble for our king than anyone in centuries. And he looks… thrilled about it.’

‘Glad I could brighten his millennium,’ I shot back. ‘Now be useful instead of smug. You’re taking me to Si.’

His brows climbed. ‘You want me to drag you to the auction where Ixion plan to bid for the Dragon’s teeth? Absolutely not. Poseidon will drown me.’