Iliana slid into bed and snuggled into Anubis’ warmth as he wrapped his arms around her. Thanatos shifted closer behind her back. She felt Hypnos’ hand rest on her arm, the careful touch saying more than his words ever would.
Her complicated, infuriating, impossible gods.
They’d each given her something she needed. They showed her she could be wanted without being a burden. Strong without being alone. Vulnerable without being weak.
And Hermes? He reminded her that she was allowed to want more than survival.
She couldn’t choose between them. She wouldn’t. Each of them had given her pieces of herself she thought she’d lost. Maybe it was selfish, but it was also honest.
As she drifted off, she smiled, knowing she’d made the right choice.
Chapter fifty
HERMES
Hermes sat in silence, watching the infuriating, delectable woman walk away from him.
Iliana had told him no.
His frown deepened. It wasn’t an outright rejection—but it was still a refusal. She wouldn’t choose or narrow down her world to him. It shouldn’t bother him. He’d never asked anyone to choose before, or wanted to be chosen.
Choice meant commitment, commitment meant staying, and staying meant watching her die. He’d be the one left behind.
He cut off the thought.
His pride stung.How was he, one of the twelve gods of Olympus, not enough for a single mortal woman?She should’ve begged him to stay, to touch her. Instead, she turned away, her back straight as she returned to the others, refusing to decide at all.
He leaned back, his arms crossed, irritation simmering under his skin.
Humans taking multiple lovers wasn’t a new concept for him. He’d done the same many times. But this was different. Sharing wasn’t the problem. It was the idea that she might never be his alone. Would she always look elsewhere?
And would he?
Why did the idea of her not choosing him feel like such a loss? Perhaps it was because he saw a bit of himself in Iliana; the same need for knowledge and adventure. Shehad balked at being pinned down, just as he’d avoided the same for most of his long existence.
It didn’t make sense. He should’ve been relieved, but he wasn’t. She hadn’t put limitations on what they could have. He had. He’d asked her to choose—to make it just the two of them.
What in Tartarus was wrong with him?
He thought about the curse, about Hypnos calling him to test a theory. When he touched Iliana’s ankle, he instantly saw the relief sweep over Hypnos.
Your touch helped, Hypnos had admitted reluctantly.
Now that he knew his touch helped, maybe she didn’t need Hypnos or the others. But what if it got worse? She’d still need Sleep’s help. It was too risky. Hypnos was currently the best option to keep it at bay. Still, the curse wasn’t the only thing that tied her to them.
He looked at the bedroom door. Behind it, she lay between Thanatos and Anubis. Warm and protected, but not by him.
Could he ever be content watching from the outside?
The question unsettled him because the real question hidden within was worse. Did he even want to be on the inside? Did he want to stay with them and find out?
He’d spent his life running from exactly this kind of entanglement, and here he was, upset that a mortal woman wouldn’t tie herself to him. It was absurd. Hypocritical and completely unlike him.
Hermes couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this kind of self-doubt. He’d always been loyal in his own way. Though the gods rarely returned the favor; they were always suspicious, always doubting. He was a trickster, a liar, a thief. The Messenger. Never a man to be trusted.
But Iliana hadn’t asked him to remain at her side, hadn’t begged. She’d simply told him the truth. She wouldn’t choose.
Movement stirred him from his thoughts. He had maybe ten seconds before—
