The first thing I noticed was how most of the room was dressed in shades of green and there were five people dressed in red — Erik, Gray, Hunter, Larkin, and myself. I felt several sets of eyes look curiously in my direction.
“Quen!” Charlie greeted me. “What are you doing here?”
I’d never been so happy to see her. As she came my way, I pulled her into a hug, and Gray left my side.
“I didn’t realise you were assigned here,” Charlie said, letting me go.
“I wasn’t,” I said, shaking my head. “Gray asked me to come with him.”
Charlie’s eyebrows practically disappeared into her hairline. “I’m surprised.”
“So was I. Maybe he’s actually adjusting.”
“Hmm,” Charlie hummed, fishing a notepad out of her bag and scribbled things down. “Okay, well, I need to follow Gray. Come over Friday and help me choose centrepieces?”
I nodded. “Sure thing. Go work.”
Charlie kissed my cheek and left me again, making me feel like I stuck out like a sore thumb.
“Bold choice,” Larkin, Hunter’s wife, said, giving me a onceover.
“Grayson said red.”
Larkin laughed and threw her long blonde hair over her shoulder. “I wouldn’t listen to half the things Grayson says. You realise that it’s his job to cause trouble, right?”
Hunter came up behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. “Nice to see you again, Quentin. Was the colour Grayson’s idea?”
I bit the insides of my cheek, nodding.
“He’s never going to play by the rules,” Hunter said, rolling his eyes.
“Is it a problem?” I asked.
“Not really. Just breaks protocol. Maybe check with one of us next time.” He kissed Larkin on the cheek. “Come on, love.”
He pulled his wife away, and I shrank back towards the wall, wondering what the fuck Gray pulled me into.
I spied Erik and Sloan, along with four children and their new baby. They glowed faintly with the aura, nestled among a crowd of family and psychologists. You could feel the swell of love in the room, and it almost threw me off balance as the Gods gathered around the family and their new arrival. Erik must have been in his element.
“Kind of sickening, no?”
When I looked to my right, there was a man standing a few steps away. A quick glance at his wrists in copper locked in front of him confirmed he was a God — as if their stunningly good looks alone weren’t enough.
“Archer,” he introduced himself.
“You’re not one of them,” I said.
“Technically, I am.”
“You’re a minor God,” I said, but he seemed unhappy with my assessment.
“I’m a God, nonetheless. Care to introduce yourself to me?”
“Scott.”
“I don’t think that’s quite right.”
I would never have guessed that Erik would be the family man out of the three of us. Sure, he was in charge of love, but when he’d first come into the role properly, he was so focused on everyone else that he hadn’t left time for himself. Then he met Sloan, and everything changed. They’d started slowly, but now they had baby number five.
