“I’m sorry, but remind me who placed you in charge of the council? She may not be a Queen, but I am a King and you will remember that.”
They looked ready to fight, but Aria whisked her aura away and the room was left in shades of black and gold.
“Of course,sire.” The sarcasm dipped from the words and she bobbed a courtesy again. “If you wouldn’t mind, I have work to do.”
Gray didn’t say another word as he grabbed me, pulling me against his body and cocooning us in black. When the light appeared again, we were in the hallway of my home.
“Let me see,” he demanded.
“She said it would heal.”
“You will, but it’ll take some time.”
Gray lifted my arm, the sleeve of my t-shirt stained with blood. He pushed back the fabric, revealing the cut along the soft flesh of my arm. A mixture of red and gold smeared across the skin and clotted slowly. Gray’s palm covered the incision, fingers wrapping around my bicep, and a rush of warmth flowed through my arm. When he removed his hand, the cut had healed itself.
“She thinks she’s better than everyone,” he grumbled.
Shaking my head, I said, “It’s going to be a lot harder to convince them than I thought.”
“What did she say to you?”
“That I’m going to rebel against you all. That I’m with you as part of a grand master plan to have children so I can have an army of demigods. Or I could just sleep around with mortals and do it that way—"
“I’m going back there.”
“Don’t!” I grabbed his arm before he could move. “Don’t. We always knew this wouldn’t be easy. We can’t convince them through fighting. Maybe my gift will help when I get more comfortable with it.”
Gray’s lips twitched into a small smile. “Your gift is beautiful, but I’m jealous you’ll get to work so closely with Ignacio.”
“Just like you work with Elva. There’s no need to be jealous, Gray.”
“I always will be when it comes to anyone taking you away from me.”
I slipped my arms around his waist and hugged him. He was possessive, bordering on obsessive, but I wouldn’t change him. He squeezed me back before lifting me off my feet and putting me over his shoulder.
“Gray! No!” I said as he walked up the stairs. “I can’t.”
There was a crack as his palm landed against my ass. “Guess we’ll just need to be creative.”
“We’re going to be late,” James said.
He sat on the desk in my office, nursing the biggest takeaway coffee cup they offered and swinging his legs. The late nights were taking their toll, but the prayers were working. With Gray’s guidance, I found James’ voice, and the results trickled in. Stats were analysed, graphs and figures produced. It made me delirious to think that the finish line was within touching distance. A few more days to pull things together and we would have the first draft of a paper.
The first step would be sharing the findings with our colleagues. Gareth had set up the facility-wide update meeting for seven-thirty. Most of us weren’t functional in the early hours, but we had a lot to get through and an earlier start meant getting back into the lab quicker, and that was all that mattered to me.
“I’m aware,” I replied, watching the progress bar race towards the end.
James was saved from my growing irritation, thanks to the matching coffee cup that had my name incorrectly scrawled across it.
“But Gareth will have to wait. I swear he thinks we’re lab rats he can train.”
James cocked his head to the side. “Did you just call me a rat?”
“Lab rat,” Grayson corrected him as he lounged in my office chair. “She’s afforded you some purpose. I’d rank you as a sewer rat. Pure vermin, basking in filth.”
I would have loved to genetically analyse James because, with skin so thick, he had to be related to a hippo. Nothing Gray said bothered him.
“Scott, have I ever told you you’re my favourite Goddess?” James asked in a singsong tone.
