Page 12 of Fate of the Sun King

“What about the… thingy?” Mael asks, waving a hand at Gabriel.

“Thingy?” Gabriel replies, his voice dripping with disdain.

“You know.” Mael fakes a noose around his neck, his tongue lolling out. “The thing where you can’t lie to him, or you… die?”

Something flashes in Gabriel’s eyes, and it’s obviously a painful subject. I wish I’d known about this during the Trials. It might have made everything different between us.

“That’s not how it works,” Gabriel says, his tone sharp, and Mael holds up his hands in defense.

“Sorry, man. Just making sure.”

“I have it under control. But I should go,” Gabriel says before he tugs on the hem of his jacket and turns on his heel, heading down the front hallway.

“Gabriel,” I call, following him before he stops, pausing for a second before he spins around.

“Will you tell him?”

He looks down at me, his mouth pressing together. I don’t beg him to protect me. I don’t ask. I already know that nothing I could say would change his mind.

He huffs out a breath, laden with exhaustion. “I’m not sure yet.”

Then he spins around again, and before I can say anything else, he opens the door and slams it behind him.

CHAPTER FOUR

NADIR

I brush past Lor, flinging open the door and descending the steps onto the busy street. I’m breaking my rule about using the front entrance, but I need to catch up with Gabriel.

“Gabe!” I call, spying his blond head weaving through the crowd. His shoulders stiffen as he attempts to ignore me, so I pick up my pace, shoving through the throng. “Gabriel, please! Stop.”

He comes to a halt, spinning around to face me. People surround us on all sides, and I’d prefer we didn’t have this conversation here in the open. I jerk my chin, asking him to join me inside a busy coffee shop, where we find a secluded corner table.

After ordering a round of drinks from the human server, I get to the point.

“Don’t fuck with me. Are you going to tell him we’re here?”

Atlas has been turning over Ouranos searching for Lor, but I’m counting on the fact that he hasn’t yet considered she’s in the last place he’d think to look. If Gabriel discloses our presence, our window of opportunity erodes away to nothing.

Atlas will eventually become aware of us, and I’m not foolish enough to think we can remain here undetected forever. Still, I’m hoping we’ll have accomplished everything we need to by then.

“You heard me. I told Lor I haven’t decided yet.”

“But what does that mean? Do you have to tell him?”

Gabriel blinks, studying me, while the server returns with our drinks before scurrying off. He picks up his spoon and stirs his coffee, avoiding the full force of my scrutiny.

“Gabriel. Do you have to tell him? Should we run?”

His spoon clinks on the walls of his mug, but eventually, he peers up, a flicker darkening his expression.

“He told me to find her and bring her to him.”

He pauses on a sharp breath, and my shoulders tighten across my back. It’s as I feared. He doesn’t have a choice. I move to stand, prepared to give the order to pack up because we’re leaving immediately. We’ll have to figure out a new plan. “But—” Gabriel says, placing a hand on my forearm and stilling me. “I didn’t find her. She found me.”

A heartbeat passes before his meaning settles between us, and I sink back into my seat, giving him a quizzical look. “How much does your king know about these loopholes of yours?”

“Enough,” Gabriel says, his expression grim. “But Atlas doesn’t concern himself with details he’d rather not consider.”