“Answer the question.”
“Fine,” he sighed before giving her a serious look. “You looked like you needed a break away from the gods. The fighting. From all of this. And maybe I wanted to see how you’d react to being in the mortal world again. To see if you missed it.”
She didn’t feel as though she were missing out on anything back where she belonged. Her apartment. Her photos. The thought of her belongings made her a little homesick, but everything she really wanted was gone.
Taking an unsteady breath, she pushed aside the grief threatening to pull her under again and refocused on Hermes. “And if I do? If I wanted to return to my normal life?”
Disappointment flitted across his face for a fraction of a second before he smiled nonchalantly. “Then we’ll have that conversation. I’ll speak to the other gods about figuring out a way to protect you at your home.”
She held his gaze. Only when she was sure he wasn’t just bullshitting her did she picture what returning home would look like. The four gods crowded inside her small, one-bedroom apartment. Thanatos’ wings tipping over her lamp, and Anubis taking up the entirety of her small couch.
She tamped down her amusement.
“I don’t want to be away for too long; a couple of hours at most. I feel safe here. With them.”
“Of course,” he said, breezy as ever. “Shall we?”
Iliana gave one final look toward the door, toward the disorder she was leaving behind.
Then she took his offered hand.
Chapter thirty-seven
HERMES
After making sure Iliana had a jacket on, Hermes pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her waist. She placed her hands on his chest, looking up at him.
He didn’t need to hold her to transport them, but she didn’t know that. Anubis had held her earlier for the same reason. Hermes saw no harm in keeping up the illusion, especially since she felt so right in his arms.
“I’ll get you back once you’ve eaten,” he promised, keeping his tone relaxed.
“Only dinner,” she warned. “I’ve had a long day and need sleep.”
Sleep.
He still saw her on the floor. Dagger in her chest. Blood everywhere. He’d never cared about mortals dying. It happened all the time.But Iliana? He worried about her too often, feeling conflicted by the depth of his concern. She was a distraction he needed to shake.
So he smiled brilliantly. “Of course.”
It wasn’t a complete lie. They would have dinner. He might get the chance to convince her to stay a little longer. Perhaps he could make her forget, even just for a little while, that the other gods were protecting her.Being competitive was in his nature—especially when no one else realized they were playing.
At his words, her shoulders relaxed.
He transported them to an alley near the restaurant. Iliana wrinkled her nose at the reek from the dumpsters nearby.
Hermes laughed. “Not your usual grand entrance?”
She shot him a glare, but before she could step away, he slipped her hand through the crook of his arm. She was too trusting.
He tensed as they left the alley and went out onto the busy streets of Paris, aware she was still in danger. He planned to give her a worry-free night, but he wouldn’t relax his guard. Not with her.
The city was lively, with golden light shining from cafés and restaurants, and the din of conversation and tinkling glasses melded with the music of Parisian nightlife.
Iliana looked everywhere. The excitement coming off her was nearly tangible, but Hermes hardly noticed the ambiance.
They were being watched.
At first, he only made a note of it, keeping it in his mind but not acting on it. Paris was full of mortals. Of course they noticed him.But as they neared the restaurant he’d originally planned to take her to, that nagging sense didn’t fade. He kept his stride easy, but the hidden eyes remained pressed against him.
