“I thought we could chat.”
The last conversation we had one-on-one was about her using my gift. We weren’t a pair who usually sought each other out but were thrown together, thanks to circumstances.
“I was about to revise the paper, but I can talk,” I said, curious why she searched for me.
The tension that resided between us from the first time we met had eased. Her sour mood, I realised, was more an influence of Hunter and years of abuse than a facet of her personality. She was a strong woman who protected herself in the best way she knew how, when no one else would.
“I wanted to check that you’re sure about all this,” she said as I turned away from the screen to give her my attention.
“About being a God?”
She let out a small laugh. “Not that bit. Unfortunately, you don’t have a choice about that.”
“So I’ve learned.”
There were a few moments of silence before she said, “I meant about marrying Grayson.”
I stared across at her. My engagement ring sat on my left ring finger. In quiet moments, I found myself admiring the piece of jewellery and wondering how Gray had created something so perfect. “I’m sure,” I replied. “Why are you asking? What did you learn from Archer?”
“Nothing much,” she said, brow furrowing. “Our relationship is a little strained and he wouldn’t let me in the house.”
Twisting the ring, I mulled her words before I replied. “What’s the worst he could do?”
“Archer? Or Hunter?”
“You know them both better than I do.”
“Unfortunately.” Larkin sighed. “Archer is vengeful. He’s been wronged a lot over his existence. His gift made him think he could figure out who was lying to him, but as you’ve seen, gifts can be fickle. They can work with us when they want, and at other times, they offer no advantage. He’s fixated on getting revenge and somehow he’s aligned himself with Hunter, though I can’t understand how.”
“It’s a recent development?”
“Archer wanted to be part of the project and caused a fuss in the lower heavens. We had to clean it up. Hunter extended the invitation in order to keep some peace. Archer can cause issues if he wanted to, but Hunter is the dangerous one,” she continued. “It was difficult to understand what he was planning when I was with him. Now we’re not under the same roof, it’s impossible.”
That didn’t help my predicament, but I would much rather know that Larkin was away from him than have them still married so she could gather intel. We would find another way.
“I’m glad we finally divorced. That I’m free.” Larkin’s gaze slowly lifted. “I never said thank you for what you did. You helped me get out when no one else could. I’ll never be able to repay you for that.”
“You don’t need to. I didn’t do it to gain any favours.”
She nodded her head. “I took marriage seriously. I thought he would be my eternity.”
It was a strange sight every time I saw her so vulnerable and honest.
“How does dating even work as a God?” I asked. I knew she wasn’t ready to jump into that pool yet, but I didn’t want her to dwell on Hunter.
“Ugh.” Larkin’s beautiful features warped into disgust. “It’s a nightmare. You know everyone or everyone knows you and so you’ve seen them in their awkward phase.”
“Sounds awful.”
“It is.”
“Would you ever consider a mortal? Because James…” I trailed off.
“If Hunter doesn’t want to murder me now, he definitely would if I dated a mortal.”
“Forget Hunter. Would you?”
“It’s complicated, Scott. Gray took a tremendous risk. Mortals die. We can live forever. Imagine getting attached to someone that deeply to know that one day they would leave you.”
