Thanatos and Iliana entered the kitchen of the safe house in Mongolia, their hair still wet from their shower together. They held hands, their fingers loosely twined. Their relaxed smiles contrasted with the other gods’ tense expressions as they waited.
An unexpected, unwelcome longing wrapped around Hypnos’ heart at the sight of their closeness.
That could be you.
He couldn’t face it. The longing made him vicious, words better left unsaid rising in his chest. The jealousy was irrational. Unfair. He knew that. But it didn’t stop him.
“You two finally get that out of your system?” he asked, his tone carrying the usual mockery. “Can we discuss the whole cursed-to-die situation now?”
He regretted the words the moment they left his mouth, but he wouldn’t take them back. Not when it was how he truly felt, even if something inside him nearly broke when Iliana flinched.
Anubis made a low, threatening sound. Thanatos glared at him.
Before the others could respond, Iliana stomped up to him, her shoulders back and her chin raised in defiance.
“I know you’ve been holed up in your cave for centuries and maybe forgot social niceties,” she said sweetly. Too sweetly. Her smoldering eyes narrowed. “But thatdoesn’t excuse your being an absolute ass. What I do,whoI do, doesn’t affect you. So please keep your snide comments to yourself.”
Hypnos couldn’t look away.He deserved the words—the way they landed like a slap. He expected anger to follow, but it didn’t. She didn’t shrink under his glare or weaponize tears to make him feel like the villain. She gave him exactly what he’d given her.
And he wanted more. He wanted to push her, to see if her fighting spirit would burn him.
Iliana didn’t wait for his reply. She turned on her heels and walked right to Anubis, dismissing Hypnos entirely. “I’m glad you made it back safely.”
Anubis’ grin was victorious as he leaned down and brushed a quick, confident kiss to her lips. It wasn’t territorial. It was pride. Joy.
Hypnos flexed his hands at his sides.
That could’ve been you.
He glanced at Thanatos, expecting to see jealousy. But his brother looked unbothered, maybe even amused.That only made it worse.
Why did he want to tear Anubis away and have Iliana look at him like that?
“Have you eaten, little one?” Anubis asked.
When had his friend becomethis? The god who’d sworn off attachments, building walls as high as Hypnos, looked at Iliana as if she were everything. His entire focus seemed to narrow to her needs.
Hypnos had seen it before in himself. Once, long ago. With Pasithea.
“Not yet, um…” She blushed as her eyes moved to Thanatos.
His brother sighed. “I may have burned dinner.”
Anubis snorted.
Thanatos flicked his hand, summoning a tray of steaming moussaka onto the counter. “Problem solved.”
Iliana smiled, taking the plate from Thanatos. “Thank you.”
Hypnos tried to untangle the churning emotions but was distracted when Thanatos caught his eye, raising a silent, warning brow. He stiffened. He knew what that look meant.Enough.
But he couldn’t stop himself. He returned the look, sending one word to his brother. “Really?”
Thanatos turned away, his shoulders tense as he added food to another plate. “Fuck off, Hyp. I do not need your approval.” He handed the plate to Anubis, who joined Iliana at the table. “It’s not like you ever listened to me aboutyourchoice in women.”
The hit landed harder than Hypnos expected. It was the truth. Thanatos had warned him about Pasithea—her motives, her ambition. He’d ignored it, letting his heart lead him straight into a hallucination of Pasithea’s making. And what had it cost him?In his grief, he’d lost his sons. The Oneiroi rarely spoke to him now. They’d once been close, but now their relationship was purely duty.
Hypnos rolled his shoulders, shutting down their mental link. He left before Thanatos could speak. In the bedroom, he replaced the disheveled sheets with a thought.
