Page 24 of The Gods Forbid

“Sebastian!” I gasped out, ready to start in on him for eavesdropping.

“Easy, Persephone. You can yell at me over dinner.” Well, that did nothing but make my heart beat faster which was … odd. He looked at Adrian, his stare hard. “I have no plans to hurt Persephone. Keep your head screwed on.”

“And I’m supposed to trust you?” Adrian quipped, his god voice strong and firm.

“Do what you want,” Sebastian returned, shrugging one shoulder in a way that still managed to look smooth. “Doesn’t change the fact that she won’t get hurt.”

I didn’t know if that conviction had come before or after the incident in his cell, but regardless of what Sebastian did, I felt like I could trust him. Even when he was trying to intimidate me, that had only ended with freshly healed skin covering my arms.

Adrian reached up and pinched the skin in between his eyes, muttering something under his breath that I was sure was a plea to our ancestors to bring him patience.

Then he did something that shocked me. He conceded. “Alright.”

I could see Sebastian straighten, the same thing I did, out of the corner of my eye.

“I promised Reyna dinner, and I’m sure as shit not missing that,” he said, speaking mostly to me. I felt Sebastian tense, more so than saw it, which I couldn’t dedicate any mental energy to figuring out right now.

I needed to figure out his guilt surrounding Reyna first. Whatever I was feeling was a second priority.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come?” Adrian’s eyes widened, which was brother-speak for you really should come. “You can stay on Olympus for the night.”

In other words, get some space from Sebastian.

I shook my head. “No. Thank you though.”

I would forever be grateful Reyna and Adrian had each other, but there were times when I was tired and stressed—right now, included—where the exhaustion made the admiration twist into something tinged with envy.

The jealousy was natural, only expected seeing so many people around me in relationships with their soulmates. They had full lives on their own, but with their spouse…

It was something I wanted. That honest, steadying companionship that could turn something as simple as dinner into this romantic, comforting moment.

I just wasn’t quite sure I’d ever get it. In my darkest moments, I considered stomping down to the Underworld and begging Rose to make the Fates tell her if there was even anyone in their plan for me.

“—I’m serious, okay?” Adrian finished on a heavy exhale.

I smiled and nodded quickly, trying to hide the fact that I’d zoned out. I assumed he was talking about keeping him informed or updating him, so I had no choice but to agree anyways.

Adrian walked over to me, shooting Sebastian a clearly threatening look and gave me a brotherly hug. With another slightly more violent look at the god living with me, Adrian stepped back into a portal to return to Olympus and Reyna.

“Don’t you dare,” I said, the words jumping out without a thought to say them.

When I turned, Sebastian already had his hands raised in surrender, a wicked grin on his lips. “I was just going to say I thought that went quite well. Are you going to make a habit of defending me, love?”

My heart was slamming against my rib cage again, the force returning with alarming speed. “Care to remind me where in that conversation I defended you?”

Sebastian’s grin went nowhere, if anything it widened as he stepped towards me. “I believe it was when you claimed I would never harm you.”

I was composed. Settled. Not at all feeling jittery as I asked, “When I asked you to give us a moment, did you think that meant you could eavesdrop?”

“I wasn’t trying to, but Adrian’s voice carries.”

“So you just decided to interfere?” I shot back quickly, forcing myself to speak so I wouldn’t smile. Sebastian would have no problem reconnecting with his power. Charm oozed out of him when he wasn’t even trying.

Sebastian took another step forward, crossing his arms over his chest and tilting his head in a way that made me feel like he could see right through me. “It got him off your back, didn’t it?”

“Fine,” I gritted out. He’d done something to help me. The natural response should have been to thank him but I could barely form a coherent thought when he was standing close enough for his cologne to eclipse the pleasant smell of rosemary and spices from the soup. At the reminder, I turned toward the stove, feeling the hot brand of his attention slip over to my cheek. “Am I allowed to eat some of that?”

“I made it for you,” Sebastian said. I was clearly going crazy because it sounded like his voice dropped lower, almost sounding like a threat.