Page 103 of The Gods Forbid

“Adrian, Reyna?” I asked, mostly looking at Reyna. I still couldn’t get a read on my brother.

Reyna looked at Adrian with a smile, clearly placing a hand on his leg under the table. “Took a walk around Olympus. It was really sunny this morning.”

Though I knew that meant Adrian was in a good mood, a small bit of jealousy threaded through my chest. Prometheus had been brighter than normal this morning, but nothing could beat the full force of the sun. I wondered what it would be like to wake up with the sun again.

“That sounds really nice,” I said, hoping my voice communicated how thankful I was that Reyna had answered calmly, especially while my brother was leaning back in his chair with a scowl on his face.

“You?” Reyna asked, eyes warm as she looked at me and Sebastian.

My instincts raised slightly, feeling like the answer to this was a test of some sorts, but I smoothed them. “Great,” I said with a genuine smile. I looked over at Sebastian, finding his hands folded over his mouth. Positioned like that, you could see the paint splattered all over his sleeves and hands.

“You busy this morning?” Adrian said, staring pointedly at Sebastian’s hands. His voice was on the wrong side of combative, and my back straightened in preparation for Sebastian’s retort.

“Yeah,” Sebastian, nodding and flipping his hands over to inspect the paint. “Finished a piece.” I just managed to catch my expression at the last moment. It was relief and gratitude and something that felt a lot heavier all at once. Sebastian had responded like he was speaking to a friend, not someone who was clearly being rude.

I opened my mouth to say something in support of him, but Adrian beat me to it. “Glad to see Persy’s kindness isn’t being taken for granted,” he said, though his tone implied that he had expected it would be.

Oh, no. I did not like that.

“It is not,” Sebastian said, and I could tell he was fighting to keep his voice level.

“What have you painted recently?” Reyna asked, her hand coming down on Adrian’s over the table.

Sebastian took a sip from his mug, and for a moment my eyes dropped to track the bob of his throat as he swallowed. “Mainly landscapes.”

Well, now I just wanted to know what the other paintings were. Speaking of, I still didn’t have the landscape he’d promised me.

“You do one of Olympus?” Adrian said, raising his eyebrow at Sebastian. I shot him as murderous a look as I could muster, not above contemplating serious bodily harm. He was being intentionally rude. I knew he was angry and hurt, but that didn’t give him a right to do this.

Sebastian breathed out, pausing purposefully. “No. Though I’m open to commissions.”

I clenched my hand to stop myself from reaching for Sebastian. He was being so perfect, respectful, but still himself. Not to mention, what he said subtly communicated that Olympus wasn’t his.

Adrian, on the other hand, let out a disbelieving laugh. “Oh, I may well take you up on that. I’m sure you have the place memorized, given how long you were planning to kill me and take it.”

“Stop,” I said, my voice barely making it past the gravel in my throat. I was furious and I didn’t know what to do with it. I’d never felt like this before, so … angry on behalf of another person.

Adrian didn’t listen to me. “Or should I still be planning for another attempt on my wife’s life?”

“I said, stop.” My voice was loud now, enough that my vocal chords felt strained with force.

The room went dead silent, Adrian’s eyes whipping to me. “I specifically asked you not to be an asshole and you ignore that request not twenty minutes into this meal.”

Guilt creeped into Adrian’s expression, his mouth opening to apologize.

“No,” I said, cutting him off. Once I got started, it was just too easy to keep going. I looked around to the entire table. I knew their rage was justified, but I had asked them to hide it. Sure, Adrian was the loudest, but no one had done anything to stop him. There was a difference between teasing someone for an old mistake, but that wasn’t what this was. “Do you know how difficult it is to sit at a table full of people you know you have hurt and keep your composure? How horrible it is to have to ignore your shame and act like everything is normal? Sebastian did that for you. He is trying, and if you won’t give him the chance to apologize and mend your friendship, then he fucking won’t!”

My lungs were desperate for air, my body needing to move. I stood, my anger propelling me out of my chair. I turned back to Adrian. “You were all friends before this! You should know that what happened was a mistake. Yes, a horrible, misguided, harmful mistake—but a mistake, nonetheless. There is more to someone than their past. And there is more to Sebastian than this stupid conspiracy.”

I turned to Sebastian, his eyes plastered on me like he didn’t recognize me. I had to turn away from the intensity in his stare.

“You want Apollo back? Then be fucking ready to act like it!” The outburst made my voice hurt and my head dizzy. I threw my napkin down on the table, turning away and stalking out onto Rose and Dominic’s back deck.

Chapter 21

Sebastian

The entire table was silent. Their eyes bouncing back and forth between Persy’s empty chair and me.