James piped up. “You thinkNaturewon’t accept our work on Gods.”
“I think we’ll probably need to sacrifice our firstborn to get in there,” she joked. “We’ll have an edge on the rest of the facility. Better than the others.”
James considered her words, and I bit the inside of my cheeks, watching the madness unfold in front of me. How was she still chasing after her mortal desires when she had divinity? None of this would matter.
“I want first author,” he said eventually.
Quentin scoffed. “No way.”
“You’re a demigoddess. What the fuck do you need a first author paper for?”
James was rising in my estimation.
“He has a point, Quen. You don’t need any of that,” I added.
“Pride and ego,” she admitted. “I worked my entire life and you expect me to stop because I’m part God. This is my lab.”
James shook his head. “Then I’m not doing it.”
I released a breath, thankful that her ego had stopped the stupid speck of an idea that would commit her to the lab for more hours than she was currently being truthful about.
“Joint first author,” Quen blurted out as he turned away. “And you’ll be the corresponding author. I’ll have enough to deal with. Emails from the rest of the community are about as appealing as an afternoon with Hunter.”
I calculated how pissed she might be if I smashed James’ skull against the wall and killed him. We’d need to clean up the body and there would be some trauma for her to deal with, but I was pretty certain I could convince her to forgive me.
He turned back to face her and nodded. “You’ve got yourself a deal, Scott.”
James held his hand out to her and Quentin went to reach for it before I pulled her away.
“No cuff,” I barked, and she blushed. “I hope you both know I don’t approve of this plan.”
“I know you don’t,” she said, looking up at me with a smirk. “But I also know you’re going to do everything you can to make sure no one finds out that we’re working on this.”
I sucked in a breath. “It’s a lie when I tell people you are no trouble.”
In the haze of work and the ever-looming prospect of being called up in front of the council, I’d abandoned most other things. I refused to stop at the pub and returned home to sleep every few days. Five more minor Gods had ceased to exist, and the pressure was crushing me. It was hard to imagine anything existed outside my sphere, but it did, and I was being faced with it tonight.
Elva’s host, Professor Bruna Conti, had graciously given up her home as a venue for tonight’s celebrations. I gripped Gray’s hand as we materialised in her living room that was decorated in purple and orange. The colour scheme reminded me of Halloween.
“If you hold on any tighter, I may lose my fingers,” Gray muttered. “We’re here to celebrate an engagement. Nothing sinister.”
“Nothing sinister,” I repeated sceptically.
There were a few faces I didn’t recognise who must have been granted clearance to join us on Earth. Gray marched past them, making a beeline for Ignacio and Elva. They were dressed in their respective colours, and Ig kept an arm wrapped around her waist, beaming proudly at anyone who approached.
“Took your time,” Gray said as we reached them. They shook hands, but Gray pulled him into a hug, clapping his back. “Congratulations.”
“I’m so happy for you both,” I said, echoing the sentiment and kissing both of Elva’s cheeks.
“We have to thank the both of you,” Elva said. “Hunter couldn’t argue his usual points when he knows Gray was made for someone else. Made the entire conversation a lot easier.”
“Glad to be of some use.”
“It’s exciting to think the family is growing.” Elva tucked some of my hair behind my ear. “We’ll have more members than we know what to do with soon.”
“You, me, and Ignacio are hardly a crowd.”
“Cassidy and Sophie.”
