Page 155 of The Gods Forbid

The affection was still there, clear in the soft, precise brushstrokes.

It was honest and raw and him.

It was his time in Prometheus, altering the original, torturous myth.

A few people gasped. Most others looked impressed.

I threaded my hand around Sebastian’s back, holding onto him as he announced the name of the painting.

Redemption.

Epilogue

Persy

I married Sebastian one year to the day after he arrived in Prometheus.

I wanted it to be sooner, but he made me wait until the second half of the deal was over. Six months with me, six months out in the world as a test.

Though a large part of that second half was spent with me, he’d made it. He was less public than he was before, focusing on the actual aspects of his power rather than the fame.

What he’d always wanted.

Sure, everyone still loved Apollo and demanded his presence as often as he offered it, but he spent a lot of time taking care of his power, whether it was painting or a hospital fundraiser or shooting arrows off our porch in Delphi.

While he had reduced his time out in the world to the point that he wanted, I increased it. I hadn’t realized how much I’d isolated myself in Prometheus until Sebastian started dragging me to things with him, pouting at me and saying there was no way he’d enjoy himself if I wasn’t there with him.

It didn’t take much to convince me, especially since I silently agreed. With Nikolas taking on more responsibility and Calpurnia’s insistence that I get comfortable delegating, I was able to step back slightly.

It only made me better at my job, able to separate my life from work and engage in both better.

I certainly made use of my extra time. I still couldn’t quite believe what my life had turned into most days, but I’d never once, for even a second, doubted Sebastian.

How he’d completely repaired his relationship with Luce and Nikolas. How he perfectly reintegrated with the other gods, even forming somewhat of a brotherly relationship with Adrian.

So much so that Adrian was standing at the end of the aisle I was walking down, prepared to bless our union with his own hands.

It was one of the sunniest days we’d had in a while, Sebastian’s power anchored here in full force. We were in the hills behind my house, the same landscape he’d painted in the first days he was here.

That painting now hung in the spare room, once his bedroom, and now converted into a cozy, private part of the world that was supposed to be focused on work, but was really spent reading or distracting each other from work.

A particularly bright ray of sun refocused my attention on the path in front of me. I was holding a bouquet of bright, spring flowers in my hands as I passed by a select few of our friends, which also happened to be all of the gods.

There were few times where there was this much power in one place, but all I could focus on was Sebastian.

He was in a clean, white button down that highlighted the sun-kissed tone of his skin and the sharp line of his jaw. His dark hair stood out against the color, pushed back off his face and letting his multi-colored eyes shine.

I almost tripped over my own feet when our eyes connected, a bolt of lightning cutting me straight in half. Uncaring how it would look, I picked my pace up, almost running down the aisle toward him.

I crashed into Sebastian, his hands coming around my back to steady me. “You are beautiful, my love,” he whispered in my ear, voice gruff.

My eyes already felt misty with tears, but I pulled back and ran my hand down his face and over his heart. “You’re beautiful,” I said, intending to mean both his appearance and his soul.

“I’ll make this quick,” Adrian said, his words making us step apart slightly, though Sebastian’s hand never left my body, simply dragging down to hold my wrists.

To be entirely honest, I didn’t hear a word Adrian said. I could tell he was talking about us being a surprisingly good match, and made a joke that had light chuckles flitting through the crowd, but I was too busy staring at Sebastian.

What I did hear was Adrian’s voice kicking up in volume, his tone going hard, as he said, “If any of you have a problem with this, shut up.”