Page 76 of The Gods Forbid

The undeniable attraction I felt had shifted from inconvenient to unbearable. No matter how painful it got, there was nothing I could or would do about it.

“Let’s go inside,” Sebastian said, his hand remaining on my neck. “Before someone tramples both of us.”

I didn’t think that was physically possible, giving how imposing Sebastian was, but we did need to go inside. We were going in a side door, directly to hallways and offices reserved for doctors, nurses, and other staff. If we walked in the front door, we’d probably start a stampede of people rushing up to Sebastian for a moment of his time.

Sebastian held the door open for me, gesturing for me to go inside first. The narrow hallways made us walk so close together, I could feel the heat of his skin with every step.

I pretty much blacked out until we found the office we were going to—a doctor who had helped my mother’s friend through an illness. She was already outside waiting for us with a kind smile on her face, the apples of her cheeks pushing up the round frames of her glasses. “Persy, it’s lovely to see you.”

“You as well, Dr. Sophia.” She insisted I use her first name.

She turned to Sebastian then. I knew they’d likely met, if not were familiar with each other. What I did not expect for her to say was, “Sebastian, it’s nice to see you too. It’s been almost three months since your last visit. Long for you, don’t you think?”

Sebastian’s smile had taken on a new quality. No, no that couldn’t have been embarrassment I was seeing. “Happy to be back, regardless. How is everything?”

Dr. Sophia sighed, waving her hand in the air. “Same old. Everything is running well, but we could use your help on a few things.”

Adrian and I had talked about Sebastian stepping back into the public eye, reminding people that he was still very much their Apollo, and I’d come up with this meeting to manage both. I didn’t realize that had been redundant.

“I’m glad to hear my power is healthy,” Sebastian said as Dr. Sophia took off in a confident stride down the hallway.

With healing, Sebastian’s power fueled technologies and medicines that made treatments more effective and quicker, but there were always some injuries that were just too severe. As much as Apollo could heal, Pluto and Hades came for everyone eventually.

The only thing he could do was try to prevent an accident or a curable illness taking someone too soon.

“Very much so,” Dr. Sophia said, and I had to smother a smile when she waved a crowd of gaping doctors away from Sebastian. I really hadn’t realized how many people openly gawked at him. He was really handsome, but that didn’t mean other people needed to notice it. “I’m glad you came today. There’s a young girl, she was in a very bad accident, and our medicines aren’t working. It’s like trying to catch up to an animal sprinting away from you.”

I didn’t think I’d have to tell Sebastian that he would be helping, but there was a little jolt of shock that rang through my stomach regardless at his response. “Glad I could be here. Anything different?”

Dr. Sophia shook her head. “No. Nothing different. Though, again, I’m curious why you took this long of a break. You’re normally here every month.”

Wait, I didn’t know he came every month. I would have worked that into his schedule if I’d known. Oh no, if he’d missed the opportunity to heal someone because of me...

My thoughts were cut off when Sebastian’s hand descended on my back. Far lower than normal. Far closer to curling over my hip than normal. I didn’t know if he was aware of the spectacular spiral I was going down, but it made me stop thinking long enough to listen to what he was saying. “You know how to contact me if something is needed. Coy isn’t your normal style, Doctor.”

The breath I released was so heavy, it made me sway into Sebastian’s side. I reset myself immediately, remembering my place. Now that I was noticing it, the hallway was really crowded. He was probably just trying to move me out of the way.

That was just respectful, not anything about me.

I shook my head, resetting my smile.

Dr. Sophia crossed her arms over her chest, all business. “She’s in here.” Before I could ask, she looked at me. “You are welcome to come in as well, Persy.”

I nodded politely, following Sebastian and keeping a respectful distance. Once we were inside, the young girl’s mother shot up from the bed, her face going white when she realized there was a god in her midst. Then her eyes slid to me and went wild. “I swear she didn’t do anything. Someone hit her car, she had nothing to do with it. Please, please don’t take her.”

I forgot there were still people who thought Prometheus was nothing more than a prison, and that they associated me with it. I smiled gently. “I’m not here to take your daughter. She did nothing wrong. Lord Apollo wanted to see if he can help her.”

She settled, barely though. “Then why are you here?”

“She’s with me,” Sebastian said, voice hard and leaving no room for disagreement. The mother blinked at him, returning to her seat in a hunched over position.

Dr. Sophia was fiddling with a few tubes and monitors, making sure that the girl, far too young to be in this position, was okay. She looked really beaten up, limbs swollen and face bloody.

I thought Sebastian would go right to her, but he walked around the bed to the mother. “Do you mind if I touch you?” he asked her.

She looked up, brows drawn together in confusion. “No.”

Sebastian nodded once. Then he settled his hand on her shoulder and pressed down slightly. After a moment, the mother snapped straight, her hands flying to her lower back. “I—”