She was everything her DNA said she should be.
But she was also my sister, so I could forgive her for who her parents were.
“What do you think of all of this, kid? Pretty crazy, right?”
“More than crazy,” she whispered. “This isinsane.”
A throat cleared behind me and I remembered that I wasn’t alone. Laughing, I spun us in a circle so Honor could see Hermes and Ryder. Her intelligent eyes scanned them both quickly and her small body buzzed with curiosity.
“Thought you might want to introduce us, Red,” Ryder smiled at me.
I grinned at him. I couldn’t stop grinning at him. We were on trial for the murder of a god, but my sister was here now, so everything was better. Or at least mostly better.
“Honor this is Hermes,” I told her, waving a hand at the disgruntled man. I wasn’t sure if he’d figured out who Honor was yet or if he already knew before Smith arrived with her. “Hermes this is Smith’s daughter, Honor, my little sister.”
Hermes didn’t immediately respond. He looked Honor over from head to foot, his eyes narrowing as he figured it out. “Smith as in Zeus?”
“Didn’t you know?” I couldn’t help but find that weird. Why didn’t anyone know about Smith, but me? Why had he gone into hiding for so long, but revealed himself to Ava of all people.
“This is Zeus’ daughter? A child he had with your mother?” I nodded slowly, hoping he would stop freaking out. He stumbled back to a cream settee and plopped down. “We’re all dead,” he muttered into his hands.
“What does he mean?” Honor whispered loudly.
Nerves jumped in my blood, but I couldn’t guess. “I have no idea.”
“Who’s that?” Honor’s attention had already swung to Ryder.
He smiled at me, encouraging me to tell her. So I opened my mouth and said, “He’s my… uh…” I couldn’t think of what to call him. He was so much more than my friend, but we hadn’t been able to define our relationship in all the craziness that had been going on. I had almost explained him as my musician, but that just made me want to jump off a cliff. I was spending way too much time on this mountain.
“I’m her boyfriend,” Ryder filled in the blanks for me.
“Are you?” I whispered, happy all over again for a different reason.
“Unless you’d prefer to stay friends?” Ryder sounded serious, but I saw the teasing glint in his eyes, the small twitch of his mouth.
“We were never very good at being friends,” I countered.
“Then we better do this instead.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
“So he’s your boyfriend?” Honor’s loud voice interrupted our private moment, but I couldn’t be mad. Ryder was my boyfriend and I was finally reunited with my sister. If it weren’t for the god of the sea trying to own me and the murder charge on my head, my life would be so good right now. “Good job, Ivy.”
I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing and shared an amused look with Ryder. He mouthed good job and gave me the thumbs up when my sister’s head was turned.
The doors opened and I felt the rush of balmy air coast over my skin. Smith moved into the room, dissolving all elements of the happy reunion with my sister. His chiseled face was a picture of concern, but the tension in his body instantly pulled goosebumps from my skin.
“Daddy!” Honor smiled.
He spared her a soft smile before turning to me. “We don’t have much time.”
Hermes stood slowly to his feet and waved an arm toward a sunken living room space. “Let’s have a seat.”
We followed him into the luxurious space, but only Honor took a seat. Smith seemed too wired to relax and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I needed to be ready to run at all times.
Ryder stood next to me with his arms crossed aggressively over his chest. “Are you expecting me to bow?”
