“I can ask, but I’m sure she’d be fine with it,” I replied, still wearing a wide grin.
“Nah,” he said. “It’s better to ask forgiveness than permission. Let’s go. I’m busting you out.”
“Actually, Sam’s supposed to come by soon.” I hoped, anyway. He’d said tonight, but I was the one who assumed that would be right after closing.
He waved his hands in a dismissive gesture. “We won’t go far, then. He can find you when he gets here.”
I considered it for a few seconds. He did have a point, Lucifer could find me if he really wanted to. And besides, who wanted to stand around and wait for a man to make time for them? Not this girl. Nathan was becoming a fast friend, and as much as I adored Sophie for being my first real friend, I was excited to have another demigod to hang out with.
“Yeah, okay. Just let me wash up.”
Nathan followed me into the kitchen. While I washed my hands and pulled my hair loose, he spoke in hushed tones to Zoomy. Messenger stuff, I assumed. How awesome it would be to move as fast as she did. And maybe a little terrifying. I’d seen how clumsy it could make her sometimes, and I was glad she reacted just as quickly.
By the time I dried my hands and grabbed my jacket, Nathan was waiting for me at the back door. I poked my head up front to make sure Chloe was okay to lock things up, then followed him out into the chilly evening. We headed down the street toward the bay, each breath forming white clouds around our faces.
“Huh. Snow’s a little early this year,” Nathan commented.
I looked up and sure enough, a few tiny white flakes drifted by on a subtle breeze. “Mm, not really. It’s almost December.” As I turned his comment over in my head, curiosity got the better of me. “Does it not normally snow this time of year where you’re from?”
He shook his head and chuckled. “I’m from Florida. We very rarely see snow.”
“Ah, that explains the beach boy look you’ve got going on,” I replied.
“Beach boy?”
I waved my hand in his direction. “You know, the blonde hair, tan skin, bodybuilder physique. You’re a walking poster boy for summer vacations.”
“And you’re a walking bonfire.” He tucked his hands into the pockets of his coat and shivered. “I’m tempted to walk inappropriately close to you just so I don’t get frostbite, but I’m afraid your boyfriend would cut my limbs off.”
“Don’t be a wuss. It would only hurt for a minute, and he might even cauterize it for you,” I laughed. “So, Florida, huh? Is that where your mom lives?”
His expression fell and I immediately regretted asking. Before I could take back my words, however, he answered. “She died when I was sixteen. Cancer. She—she didn’t tell me, but I knew. You know?”
Horror washed over me. I laid my hand on his arm. “You saw it? In your visions?”
“No, thank the gods for small favors. My visions are never connected to me. But cancer… it has a way of showing itself.” He grimaced and kicked at the sidewalk. “My dad showed up at the hospital about an hour after she passed. I wanted to curse him, to blame him, to dosomethingbecause he wasn’t there to help her. But even they have rules they have to abide by, and he wasn’t allowed to interfere.” When he looked up again, his eyes were red, but there were no tears. “I may not have liked it, but I understood. Eventually.”
“That must’ve been awful,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “I couldn’t imagine if… Wait, what rules?”
He paused and looked down at me, brow drawn down in confusion. “Strict non-interference. The higher gods aren’t allowed to interfere in our lives until we reach adulthood, with a few specific exceptions. My dad told me a little about it, said it was enacted a long time ago because of Zeus.”
I opened my mouth, but hesitated. He didn’t know who my father was—no one could know that. But maybe I could get some answers without revealing my parentage. “Are we talking about specific exceptions as in situations or the gods themselves?”
“Situations.” He looked away and kept walking toward the pavilion at Harbor Point. Technically, the park was closed after dark, but that’d never stopped me from taking a late stroll before. It was easier to enjoy the view with no people. “My mom didn’t have any other family, and I’d had my gift for about four years by then. My dad stepped in to keep me from falling into the government’s hands.”
“Did you know him at all before then?”
He ducked into one of the pavilions by the water’s edge, brushing the flurries from his shoulders, and eased down onto a bench carefully. It groaned under his weight, but held, and I risked sitting close by. “My mom had talked about him, but I’d never met him, no. As soon as I saw him, though, I knew exactly who he was to me. What about you?”
“What?” I squeaked. Clearing my throat, I tried again. “I, uh, actually did. I’d never heard of this non-interference rule before today. Both my parents took active roles through my entire childhood. Not married or anything, just excellent co-parenting.”
His green eyes darkened, just for a moment, then it was gone and an easy smile appeared on his face. “You’re lucky, then. Don’t worry, I won’t pry. You’ve been intentionally dancing around your parentage since we met.”
“Thank you,” I said, reaching over to lay my hand on his. “After being bombarded with questions from Zoomy for the past two weeks, you have no idea how much I appreciate it.”
He huffed a laugh, the puff of white smoke dissipating on the breeze as quickly as it formed. “I’ll ask her to drop it, but I make no promises. Hermes is a god of gossip, if nothing else, and Zoomy didn’t fall far from that tree. Whatever reason you have for hiding it is your own.”
“I hope I’m not interrupting.”
