Page 5 of The Gods Forbid

Hmm, I guess jaws were somewhat interesting. His was quite sharp, with a strong joint at the base. And his stubble complemented it nicely, I supposed.

The cycle of him stabbing his food then chewing slowly continued for another ten or so mouthfuls until his color started to pale and his breath picked up. It was making him nauseous. Well, that was what happened when you go from not eating more than a few bites of food to forcing down a real meal.

“You can stop for now,” I said, when his skin took on a particularly green pallor. “Let’s talk for a moment.”

That suggestion seemed to make Sebastian look even more nauseated. “Is speaking with me really that bad?”

Sebastian’s eyes blew wide for a second, shocked that I called him on it. I kept my breathing even so that the question would come across as intentional and bold, when really I’d spoken before I could think to stop it. “Yes,” he answered plainly.

I imagined that would offend another person, but I understood the need for solitude. It was shame’s best companion. “Well, seeing as you have another week or so of this solitary confinement, I’ll give you a choice. You can either feed yourself properly or I can continue to come back every day to make sure you don’t wither away into nothing.”

“I’m sure you would take great pleasure in knocking me down even further, until you have to monitor my every move,” Sebastian shot back, a bit of the color returning to his cheeks.

“I wouldn’t.” He looked at me expectantly, waiting for some type of expansion to that statement. I stayed silent, letting the words speak for themselves.

“I’ll take the rest of my days alone, then.” Sebastian set the tray aside, seamlessly folding his limbs into a proud stance. “Before you decide to fucking torture me with whatever you have planned.”

My shoulders tightened at his harsh tone, a fact his eyes clocked immediately. His gaze burned into the skin stretched over my collarbones. “Alright,” I said, moving to stand. “Please eat or I’ll be back tomorrow.”

I turned back towards the lock, my shoulders pinching involuntarily when the iron pricked my finger to open.

Just then, Sebastian’s voice rumbled behind me. “I don’t know which is worse—starvation or your company.”

I straightened, but didn’t turn, unsure what to do with the small pricks of pain that erupted over my skin. After a moment and a long breath, I simply opened up the lock and reset it.

Once shut away from him, separated by iron bars, I spoke. “I’ll suffer the pain your words inflict, Sebastian, but it will do nothing to change your situation.”

Sebastian’s breath heaved, fog gathering in the cold air of the cell. I’d need to do something about the heating if it was that cold. Or maybe it was something in the force of his breath that caused it.

Regardless of the answer, I left him sitting there. It took minutes for the tightness in my chest to dispel.

I knew what I was doing, but there was something about Sebastian that made me feel slightly … something. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

A project for another day.

I walked quickly away from the old cells in Prometheus, ones that were hardly inhabited anymore. Only those who had proved time and again they were beyond help remained there—those who had knowingly and wholeheartedly chosen violence over life.

I’d spent years fixing the rest of Prometheus, turning it into something soft and comforting. The power that fueled this place gave it the illusion that it was at the top of the world, the sky a dark, murky expanse with the promise of land and life far in the horizon.

It was remote and secluded, but that granted us some truly spectacular sunsets. Sunrises, too, but I preferred the latter.

There was a vibrant sunset in the sky now, although several hours before the rest of the world, a fiery orange that looked like it had been mixed by—

Well, it looked like it was mixed by Apollo himself.

I shook my head lightly to dispel the thought, walking through our main square. Off to the left was apartments for the residents, styled after soft stone used on islands. To the right were offices and treatment rooms—really anywhere dedicated to work.

It was important to me that I kept them separate.

And between them was my favorite part—the gardens.

Large bushes towered around the perimeter, secluding the interior. There were more species of flowers than I could count dotting the middle, nestled between benches and fountains and statues.

It was among those bushes that I saw a tall, lithe man jumping slightly to try and snip a flower off a high set bush growing out of the head of a sculpture.

“Niky, I do wish you wouldn’t do that. I would hate to see that break.”

Nikolas whipped around, his lips rolling in amusement. “Of course you would be the one to catch me. Can’t get away with shit in this place.”