Chapter I
Demi
“Demi,RomanArcherishere to see you.”
My assistant—slash semi-relation, slash closest thing I had to a best friend—Cassie poked her head into my office, grinning uncontrollably. She knew what was about to go down, and she lived for this kind of delicious tension, as she called it.
Cassie pranced in wearing her normal flowy pink tulle skirt with combat boots and enough black eyeliner to mute her violet eyes. Her newly dyed platinum-blonde hair practically demanded that anyone beholding her wear sunglasses.
“I brought you some coffee, my own special brew,” she chirped in her lyrical soprano voice.
I stared at the mug she placed on my desk, wary of the contents. I knew all about Cassie’sbrews. And the way this one was steaming and smelled of chicory root, I wasn’t sure if it was meant to boost my mood or my butt. Maybe it didn’t matter—both could probably have used a boost. But I hadn’t been in a truly good mood for fourteen years. And honestly, happiness scared me. Not that I would ever admit that out loud. But I had to give her props for the mug that read,This is my happy face.
“Nice choker,” I commented. “Those spikes look lethal.”
“They are.” She waggled her eyebrows. “I could use them on Roman. Or poison him . . . again.”
“As fun as that was . . . Please don’t. The HR paperwork isn’t worth the hassle. And I don’t need another lecture from my father about why I shouldn’t let you poison his best friend’s son.”
Not that I’d given Cassie permission the last time either. And in my defense, as soon as I realized what had happened, I’d made her administer the antidote. And it’s not like it would have killed him. He got a nap and a rash. No big deal.
“Oh, fine. At least let me watch the fireworks. I love it when the two of you fight.”
“Hmm.” I thought about it. “Maybe you should stay. Act as my witness. You know, just in case.” The head of HR, Zara, granddaughter of Hades, had a killerdon’t test mevibe.
“Yay,” she squealed and clapped her hands. But then her eyes drifted over my outfit, and she shuddered. “I see we are still shopping at the Hefty trash bag store.”
I looked down at my blacker-than-black, shapeless dress—a muumuu flirting with full-blown tent status and hiding every inch of me. “You love black.”
“Yes, darling, but I don’t hide behind it.”
I cleared my throat. “I’m not hiding.” Oh, I was absolutely hiding.
“All I’m saying is, if you’re going to go head-to-head with Roman, you could have at least worn something a little more . . .”
“A little more what? He’s not worth dressing up for.” Like,ever. Believe me.
“You don’t need to dress up for him. I’m just saying you could wear something that says you’re a demigoddess, not a funeral director. Show him who’s boss.”
That was the point. I wished I could forget I was a demigoddess. But there was no running from it. I ran the Bureau of Affectional Affairs while working in a building full of magic with gods and goddesses, most of whom were distant relatives. However, I didn’t want any of it. I wished I could go back to being just Demi Blake. Hallie’s daughter. Not a divine surprise blessing, as my father once referred to me. I think he meant it as a sweet gesture; I took it as if I were a mistake. A big fat one.
“Well, to be fair, approving love matches is kind of like directing a funeral,” I deadpanned.
Cassie grabbed her middle and faux laughed. “Oh, ha. You have me in stitches. Maybe you should take up stand-up comedy.”
“Maybe you should do your job and let Roman in.” I flashed her a fake smile, trying not to be too snarky. Despite my desire to be anybody but who I was, I didn’t have anywhere else to go. I mean, my alma mater was Olympus University, and I graduated with a master’s degree in Divine Bureaucracy and Management. Not exactly real-world useful. Could you imagine that on a résumé? Although my professors were some of the best: Athena, Themis, Hermes. But who would believe that?
Besides, the world didn’t need more of my kind among them.
So, in light of that, I tried my best to be a good boss. Fair and semi-pleasant. And though I despised my goddess side, I knew what I did was important, and I took my job seriously.I was protecting humankind. It was the most thankless job around, but it was all I had.
“Fine,” she sighed dramatically. “But just so you know, the moon is waning, my tea leaves formed a broken heart, and my cat refused to look at me today. So yeah, bad vibes. I don’t think this visit with Roman bodes well for you.”
Being the daughter of Hecate, goddess of magic, Cassie was always saying weird things like this. Unfortunately, she was always right.
“Um . . . what do you mean by that?”
She shrugged. “You know I never get specifics, just feelings.”
