Page 107 of The Gods Forbid

“Oh,” Daphne gasped, looking like she was about to bounce out of her chair. “You have to ask them.”

That was a bridge we had yet to cross with the other person Sebastian considered a sibling—Luce Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt and Penelope’s counterpart. As I tried to keep my breath steady, Sebastian simply answered, “Will do.”

“I think you should ask them at the Council meeting,” Rose said. I’d forgotten the spring meeting was so soon, but after the way this brunch had started, I wasn’t sure how it could go much worse.

Sebastian raised his coffee in salute, the same way you would a wine glass, in agreement. Even if I wanted to talk to him about the Council meeting, that was a dynamic I didn’t quite understand, not the way the gods did.

Besides a few meetings that I sat in on, I didn’t know what went on there. The only meeting I remembered in any sort of detail was my very first. I’d gone away to university early, opting to study at a quiet, Minerva-sponsored institution deep in the mountains close to Olympus. At that first meeting, I had been a week into taking over at Prometheus, and was there to inform everyone what was going to happen moving forward.

There was a mix of older gods who were about to have their heirs take over and the new generation, my brother, Dominic, and Rose included. Sebastian, too.

I remembered him in vivid detail, especially how distant he looked. The wash of color in his eyes had looked duller than I remembered, the grin that I had a slight fascination looked forced.

Now, I knew what had caused it.

The memory made me want to place my hand over his and hold it tight.

I kept my hand by my side, knowing if I did that, it would throw this brunch into chaos. My hands were clenched into fists the rest of the brunch, holding onto my nerves and my sanity as I watched Sebastian slowly mesh back into this group.

My brother’s tone still wasn’t where I wanted it, but it went well, I thought.

“You okay?” I asked Sebastian as we stepped back through a portal into our house.

He looked down at me, his smile sending my heart beating double time. “Perfectly fine, love.”

Right as I was sighing with relief, he just had to add, “Let’s talk more about that speech you gave.”

I would be doing no such thing. I slapped his arm lightly, moving away from him quickly when he looked like he was about to follow me.

For the rest of the day, I couldn’t help but feel something else besides relief. That even though we’d crossed a huge marker in reintegrating him with the gods, it didn’t sit well in my body.

Chapter 22

Sebastian

“You nervous?”

“No.”

“Okay, scared.”

“Absolutely not.”

“I don’t believe for a second you’re excited about this.”

“Despite what you may think, Nikolas,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest while he snipped the thorns off flowers, “I feel perfectly fine.”

“I think that’s bullshit,” he said casually, his focus on the stems in his hands. “What did Calpurnia have to say about it?”

“She also called bullshit.” Though I’d developed a slight fondness for Calpurnia, the way that one would feel about an older neighbor who bothered you with treats and invasive questions, but she wasn’t right all of the time. Like now, for example. “I hate to break it to you both, but I am not worried about what the other gods are going to do to me.”

“I don’t know,” Nikolas said, shrugging one shoulder. He knew them as well as I did, as a former god himself. “I think you might have to be on the lookout for an attempt on your life.”

“Nah,” I said, shaking my head. “No heirs, remember?”

Nikolas looked up at me skeptically, saying so much in just that look. He could choke on seaweed before I addressed the layers of questions in that expression. Despite that conviction, I still added, “For now.”

“Why?” Nikolas asked, moving to gather the flowers in a bunch. He ripped off a piece of ribbon with his teeth. “Waiting for the perfect junior Apollo to stumble across your path?”