Page 62 of The Gods Forbid

I really thought I was going to have to drag him out of Prometheus. This was good. I nodded quickly. “Plenty of time for you to get back to Penn.”

Sebastian dipped his chin once. “Eat first. Then you can drag me wherever you want.”

“That’s a dangerous promise. One might think you’d just given me permission to take you wherever I want after any meal.”

Sebastian just shrugged. “Alright.”

Wait, was he … okay with that?

Nope, time to leave again. Except this time, the only thing I could do was refocus on my food. Sebastian had finished his while he was ignoring me, but I still had a ways to go.

I almost choked on my food after two bites in, when I heard the distinct sound of a book opening and Sebastian’s throat clearing.

Oh, no. Please no.

He began reading, picking up right where I left off.

My hand tightened on my fork, the metal biting into my skin. It was all I could do not to fall over. I couldn’t look at him, that would only make this worse.

His power was wafting off him in waves, turning something as simple as reading into the most intoxicating thing I’d ever heard. I should have expected it—the god of poetry and all—but it was an entirely different thing to be confronted with it.

It was so … intimate.

My other hand curled over the marble counter top, not even finding an inch of the purchase I needed to stay upright. I felt like I was going to fall over.

“Eat,” Sebastian’s voice came from behind me, making my knees feel a little wobbly. “We have places to be.”

It took me a solid five minutes to get through half a piece of toast and three bites of eggs. Sebastian seemed fairly immersed in the story, because he didn’t say anything else about how slow I was eating. I wouldn’t complain either, not when his voice was spreading warmth through my body, just like the midday sun would.

➸

The mistakes didn’t stop there.

I hadn’t accounted for what seeing Sebastian in his element would do to me.

After quickly getting ready, we’d stepped right through a portal to the steps leading to the art gallery located in the heart of the University of Athena. The entire campus was one perfect study in architectural mastery, the towering limestone buildings and perfectly maintained landscape was the perfect backdrop for the academic advancements that took place there every day.

I hadn’t even realized that Sebastian and I had struck up an easy conversation until we had to cut it off to greet the curator of the gallery. I’d coordinated with Daphne, letting her know that we were coming.

That was unnecessary, it seemed.

The curator, Aren, damn near fell over when she saw Sebastian even though she had been told he was coming. She was beautiful, her dark brown hair hanging down around her shoulders and her confidence as obvious as the bright red color of her sweater.

“Lord Apollo I must say it is an honor to have you visit,” she mused, reaching her hand out to shake Sebastian’s. When he placed his hand in hers, my shoulder blades started to itch. “I think you’ll be pleased to see how your work has been preserved, in addition to the pieces we’ve added to the collection over the years.”

“It’s appreciated,” Sebastian returned with an easy, charming smile on his mouth. “Though I must say the credit must be given to Persy for setting it up.”

Aren blinked, turning to me like she just noticed I’d been standing there. “Oh, right. Well, Lady Jupiter, it’s great to have you as well.” I didn’t believe her, but I could at least respect that she’d attempted to be polite.

“Persy is fine,” I said, keeping my smile easy. Even though my stomach was churning, my body feeling out of place at a bustling university when I was so used to my quiet corner of the world, I wouldn’t let it show. “Lady Jupiter is my sister-in-law.”

“Of course,” Aren responded, though it appeared she was speaking to Sebastian more than me. “Well, hopefully you can pass along an invitation to her and Lord Jupiter to come visit soon.”

Okay, I did not like her. I didn’t enjoy having negative feelings towards anyone, but it was rather unavoidable with her. I was used to people going through me to get to my brother, but it never grated quite like it did with Aren.

And she was still looking at Sebastian, openly ogling him while he was scanning the tops of the columns where they met the facade of the gallery.

I was well aware that his strong throat looked particularly good when he tilted his head back, but she didn’t need to notice that too.