Page 33 of The Gods Forbid

You couldn’t see much through the portal, not if you didn’t know what to look for, but Sebastian’s eyes lit with recognition.

“Clever one, aren’t you, love?” Sebastian said, taking a step toward me.

On instinct, I fell back a step, continuing to retreat as he all but walked me through the portal and onto the edge of a cliff.

I should have been scared of our positioning, especially given the remaining licks of the initial jolt of fear I got every time I saw him, but the feeling never really came.

I didn’t think he was going to hurt me, or at least wouldn’t do it intentionally.

Pushing me off a cliff would be very much intentional.

“Why’d you pick here?” Sebastian asked, though I was sure he knew.

I turned, looking out over the ocean and towards the horizon.

Well, now I felt the fear. Having Sebastian pressed along my back, forcing me to perceive him just through feeling rather than sight. “Best view of the horizon in the Mediterranean,” I explained quickly. It was the most uninterrupted view, giving you access to the best, clearest light we had. While it was already dusk in Prometheus, the sun was still high in the sky, warming my front degrees hotter than the already tingling skin along my back.

“And therefore the most light,” Sebastian said, and if I wasn’t mistaken, the words had been placed right next to my ear.

Nope, that was too far for my bravery to extend for now. I stepped away from Sebastian, walking over to one of the benches placed along the cliff’s edge. On the way over, I took in two quick breaths in an attempt to steady my heart rate.

For a second, I thought it worked until Sebastian came to sit down next to me and my heart kicked off again. “What’s the idea, then? I soak up all the sunlight and that makes me want to return as Apollo again?”

I looked out over the sea as I said, “More or less. I figured you’d appreciate the light after all those weeks inside. We don’t get much sunlight in Prometheus as it is.”

Sebastian hummed, a low sound in the back of his throat. For an entirely unrelated reason, I decided to close my eyes, tipping my head back to feel the sun against my face.

“You’re so far to the edge of the world, I’m surprised you get the few hours you do,” Sebastian said, his voice sounding more intense, more like a physical scrape over my skin, with my eyes closed.

“It’s only for six months. Well, five really.” The days were already dwindling away. If I was honest with myself, I wasn’t sure if I was ahead of the curve with Sebastian or grossly behind.

“And thank the Fates for that,” Sebastian returned. “I don’t know how you do it. I could never live that far from the light.”

My eyes popped open then, turning to find him already looking at me. A small jolt of shock zapped my chest. There was a completely uninterrupted view of the ocean. It was calm today, enough that the sky and sun was reflecting off the water, obscuring the horizon so that the view looked like one beautiful wash of light.

“You won’t have to if you play your cards right,” I said, my tone verging on playful. I might as well give into it. If I wanted to make any progress with Sebastian, I’d have to build a comfortable dynamic. If a light, teasing tone was what came out, then I’d just have to assume that was natural around him.

“I’ve already made Reyna’s antidote.” My eyes widened in shock and Sebastian’s grin grew. Daphne hadn’t told me that. She’d just told me that her meeting with Sebastian had been interesting and made me promise to come over for dinner one day this week so we could talk more. “I’d say I’m doing better than anyone imagined.”

“You think they expected you to fight me all the way through?” I asked, curious if that feeling was coming from himself or others.

Sebastian’s expression turned skeptical. “Haven’t I been doing that?”

“You’ve been surprisingly easy to work with,” I said honestly. He’d reacted no different than I’d expect for someone in his position. And he’d already knocked off the antidote for Reyna—a huge step in the right direction. “I’ve seen worse.”

Sebastian slapped a hand over his chest dramatically. “Don’t insult me like that.”

A genuine laugh jumped from my chest, so forcefully I had to cover my mouth with my hand to muffle the sound. Sebastian looked so stunned by my reaction, I said, “Don’t look so shocked. I think you’re quite funny.”

Sebastian’s mouth settled into a line, his jaw pulsing once. “A compliment of the highest regard.”

The warmth from the sun was steadying me, and though I didn’t want to bring up business and distract from the conversation we were having, I had something to ask him. It was better that I got it out of the way sooner so he didn’t think I was faking a conversation to trick him into answering.

Actually, that was a thought he should know. “Sebastian,” I said, even though his attention had never wavered from my face. “I have to ask you something. I don’t want you thinking I’m manipulating you into answering, so I’m just going to ask straight out.”

Sebastian’s chest expanded with a breath. “Shoot,” he said gruffly.

“Adrian’s spies have been checking in on those who’d been given tattoos,” I said, my eyes dropping for a moment to his sleeves, still splattered with paint. I hadn’t actually seen the tattoos hidden under there, but I’d been told he had a thin ring of black ink circling his arm for every person he’d recruited. “Daphne’s tonic is working well. They don’t seem to be aware of any involvement and are going about their lives as normal.”