Page 58 of A Veil of Gods and Kings

“The only royalty I see here is you.”

He shifted, dropping a foot to the ground, and it landed with a thump that echoed against the high ceilings. He studied me for a moment and then burst into a laugh. “I think you’re right. I’m drunk. Because, I’m actually enjoying your company.”

“Oh, I’ll try not to take that too personally.” He smirked, and my stomach warmed again, feelings rumbling through me like an avalanche, chaos and destruction and nothing I could make sense of. I ran my thumb along a stack of papers, and they swirled a mustiness through the air. “I have an idea. What if I helped you with your work?”

He fumbled towards the desk, swaying and catching himself with his fingertips. “That’s a generous offer, b-but much of my work involves sensitive information.”

“You know I could just read your mind if I wished to?”

His face paled, the color swirling out of it. “Y-you can?”

I nodded.

“I wasn’t aware… That is...” He spluttered and shook his head. “What I’m trying to say is I didn’t realize that deities could access those powers before ascending. I… what I mean…”

I waved at him. “Stop before you spill something else, and I have to disrobe entirely.” His eyes widened, and I chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’ve never read your mind, nor will I.”

“How can I be sure of that?” He clenched his jaw. “What I’m saying is, it’s intimidating to have someone rifling through your thoughts.”

“Using too much magic would cause me to ascend.” I leaned forward, coming within an inch of his face, the alcohol heavy on his breath lingering between us. “Let me assure you I won't risk that in order to read your boring thoughts.”

He huffed a laugh, his shoulders dropping.

“What I’m saying is this. I could read your thoughts anyway. What is sensitive information to me? I’ll assist you, so you get through your work and have more time. And then”—I thrust a finger up—“we can think about some way to help the people in your city, and I have something else in mind as well.”

A wariness rippled over his expression. “Something else?”

I bobbed my head. “This is my last year alive. Spending it here is more than a little disappointing. But, I might as well make the most of it. What if we have some new experiences together?”

Hyacinth frowned, his gaze trailing to the door before returning to me. “What do you have in mind?”

I shrugged. I had many things in mind, actually. But I needed to focus. This was Hyacinth, the man who would currently draw my father’s attention with me here. “I just wish to live some life before I give it up. And you could use some fun.”

He ran his fingers over the empty tumbler and sighed.

I stood. “I’ll let you become less not-drunk, and we’ll talk about it tomorrow. Oh”—I gestured at the desk—“keep the sash. I have others.”

And I turned on my heel and walked out the door.

19

Hyacinth

I opened my eyes, and everything blurred and ached. My comforter rolled off of me as I turned on the bed. I scrubbed my hands over my face then froze. I still wore yesterday's clothes, including my robe. Wrinkles swept over it like a spiderweb. My head pounded, and I winced. “I am a fucking idiot.”

“If I told you otherwise, I’d be lying,” someone said.

I gasped and sat up. The motion caused the room to spin, and my stomach lurched. Apollo lay kicked back in a chair in the corner, ankle over his knee, a bow and arrow on his lap.

I cleared my throat. “Are you planning to shoot me?”

He startled and then followed my gaze to the weapon. “Oh.” He chuckled and pushed it into a knapsack that rested against a dresser. “No. I was just fitting arrowheads on. Something to pass the time.”

I scrubbed my hands over my face. “It’s highly inappropriate for you to be in my room.”

Apollo nodded, his curls catching hints of morning light that filtered through the line where the curtains didn’t quite meet. “That’s true. But I owe you another apology.”

I sat up and removed my robe, running my fingers over it. Gods, would those wrinkles ever come out? “And your method of offering that is to break into my room uninvited?”