Page 101 of Queen of Tempests and Sin

The goddess of love threw her head back and laughed, a sound rich and warm enough to make most of the men in the courtyard lean a little closer. Her smile lingered on me, though, all mischief and appraisal.

‘Oh, I do like her,’ Aphrodite said, her voice dripping with amusement as though we were her new favourite entertainment. ‘Sharp tongue, sharp eyes. No wonder Poseidon is in such turmoil.’

Before I could roll my eyes, a shadow fell across me. Si, as straight-faced as ever, slid in at my side as if he’d been waiting for this moment.

‘Cordelia,’ he said evenly, his hand brushing the small of my back, grounding me while his voice carried for the whole courtyard to hear, ‘my intended consort.’

The world tilted. My brain short-circuited. Consort?

My jaw might’ve actually dropped. No warning. No discussion. Just casually announcing it like we were at some divine press conference.

I managed a strangled, ‘Uh—what?’ under my breath, but he just stood there, all smug authority and ancient power. A pulse of heat shot through me, traitorous and wild. I wanted to slap him. Or kiss him. Or both, probably in that order.

Aphrodite’s smile went full cat-with-cream, and Sephy was definitely choking back laughter.

Fantastic. I was apparently engaged in front of half the pantheon and hadn’t even gotten a ring, a heads-up, or a glass of wine first.

‘Then let’s celebrate!’ Aphrodite motioned to the servers, and glasses of champagne were instantly pressed into our hands. I downed half mine in one go, because apparently I was someone’s intended consort now and that seemed like a two-glass minimum situation. My pulse was hammering so loud I was sure the entire pantheon could hear it.

‘You could’ve warned me,’ I muttered to Si out of the corner of my mouth, my smile frozen in place for the benefit of our very glittering audience.

‘And ruin the surprise?’ His tone was maddeningly calm, as though he hadn’t just detonated a divine bomb in the middle of a party.

I nearly choked on the rest of my champagne. Surprise? This wasn’t a surprise. This was a seismic event with me as the epicentre.

Aphrodite’s laughter rippled through the air, low and amused. ‘Oh, delicious,’ she purred, eyes sparkling as they darted between Poseidon and me. ‘So she didn’t know.’

‘I knew,’ I blurted, too fast, too loud. Every godly eye seemed to swivel in my direction. ‘Of course I knew. Totally. This is… uh, a thing we do. He loves ambushing me with… titles.’

Sephy coughed into her glass, shoulders shaking, and Hades gave me a look so dry it could’ve mummified a sphinx.

‘Yes,’ Aphrodite purred, her smile feline. ‘I can see the strategy. Nothing says devotion like keeping your consort perpetually on her toes.’

‘Exactly!’ I said, jabbing my glass at her in sudden, ridiculous solidarity. ‘Gotta stay unpredictable, right? Keeps the romance alive.’

Sephy outright cackled, nearly spilling her drink. Aphrodite studied me with wicked amusement, clearly entertained. And Si—oh, the bastard—just smiled down at me, proud, every line of his face saying this circus act was going exactly to plan.

I wanted the floor to swallow me whole… and perhaps punch him in the nose.

‘Wait till I get you home,’ I growled at him from the side of my mouth, trying to sound dangerous and not like a woman already half-undone.

His smile curved, slow and deliberate. ‘I can’t wait.’

The words hit with the force of a lightning strike, stealing the strength from my knees, heat coiling deep and dangerous. Gods, I hated how easily he could do this to me.

Before I could snap something back, Si slid his hand over mine, warm and steady, cutting through my storm. His gaze swept to Aphrodite, his voice smooth, magnetic. ‘She’s more than my consort. She’s the one who makes me remember why eternity is worth enduring.’

A ripple of shock tore through me, my chest cinching like a vice. Damn him. Damn him for knowing exactly how to disarm me in one stroke. I shot him a look that was meant to be a glare, but it softened against my will, lips twitching at the edges. Fine. He was forgiven. For now.

Aphrodite looped her arm through mine with surprising strength for someone who looked like she’d never lifted more than a perfume bottle, then pulled Sephy in on the other side. With a flick of her hand, a pair of attendants hustled over with flutes of champagne, and we were guided towards a plush velvet loveseat that practically swallowed me whole.

‘Come,’ Aphrodite purred, settling gracefully, every move a study in effortless seduction. ‘Let’s get to know each other, shall we?’

I sipped my champagne, bubbles sharp on my tongue. Nerves buzzed under my skin like static. Great; a one-on-one with the goddess of love herself. No pressure.

She regarded me with piercing aquamarine eyes. ‘Tell me, Cordelia… what is it you feel for Poseidon? Be honest. Love is rarely tidy, but it is always revealing.’

My mouth went dry. Sephy shot me an encouraging look over her glass. I cleared my throat. ‘Honestly? Half the time, I want to club him to death. But the other half…’ Heat crept up my neck. ‘The other half, I think it might actually be love. Which is… surprising. For me.’