Page 36 of Fate of the Sun King

Her gaze flicks to me with alarm, and I try to maintain an outward show of calm for her sake, even if I’m roiling inside.

“Do you have a plan?” Gabriel asks. “Tell me you’re working on something.”

I nod. We don’t have a very good one yet, but we’ll come up with something.

“Good,” Gabriel says.

“Thank you,” Lor says. “For all of this.”

Gabriel tips his chin towards her. “I’m going to go get drunk. And a blow job.”

With that declaration, he spins on his heel without another word and leaves, slamming the door behind him.

“What was with him?” Mael asks.

I stare at the door and shake my head. “I don’t know, but when I talked to him the other day, I sensed something was happening with Atlas.”

“What?” Mael asks. “Trouble in paradise?”

As much as we joke about Atlas and his circle of winged babysitters, I’ve never gotten the sense that Gabriel is as loyal to Atlas as he appears.

I’ll never forget Tyr’s funeral. Gabriel had been a mess, barely holding himself together. He disappeared halfway through the ceremony, and no one else seemed to have noticed. When he hadn’t resurfaced hours later, I went searching for him. Something about the look on his face told me he needed someone, even if it was me.

When I found him, he was sitting on one of the clifftops overlooking the city, surrounded by empty bottles of the strongest orc-brewed moonshine to be found between Aphelion and The Aurora. He stood at the very edge, swaying dangerously, too drunk to maintain his balance for long. Even with his wings, I strongly suspect that if I hadn’t shown up, he would have fallen. Or maybe not fallen but jumped.

“It might seem that way,” I say, answering Mael’s question.

“So, what’s the plan?” he asks as we all file back into the house and gather around the table.

The back door opens again, and Willow slips inside. Amya did a good job with her hair, turning her black tresses into dark blonde. It doesn’t entirely disguise her, but combined with the short haircut, she looks a lot less like Lor.

We all overheard their argument last night about the things that transpired in Nostraza, and I can tell it’s bothering Lor, but she’s trying to put on a brave face. The accusations they flung at one another were enough to shame me yet again for allowing any of that to happen. No wonder Lor can’t find it in herself to trust me.

“Willow,” Lor says, her voice clipped. “How did it go?”

“I got the job,” Willow replies triumphantly with a thumbs-up. “I start tomorrow.”

I blow out a breath of relief. At least something’s going right. Lor and Tristan may not want Willow to take on this risk, but after the way she stood up for herself, I’m positive she can handle it.

I smile at the determined look on Willow’s face. She might be softer and quieter than Lor, but she’s got a similar strength of spirit. It’s no wonder Amya finds herself drawn to her. My sister has always been the sort to rescue every baby bird that’s been shoved from its mother’s nest.

“How was Apricia?” Lor asks, wrinkling her nose.

“Just as awful as you said.”

Lor gives Willow a tight smile.

“But I can handle it. It won’t be long, right?”

There’s a pointedness in Willow’s words, and Lor nods.

“Of course you can.”

“I saw Gabriel,” Willow adds. “He looked really pissed off.”

“He didn’t recognize you, did he?” Lor asks.

Willow shakes her head. “No, he barely looked at me. Apricia was too busy yelling at everyone.”