Page 51 of Queen of Tempests and Sin

I changed the subject before she could press. ‘Anyhoo, what was that about a hippocampus? Are those real? Like… actually real?’

‘Nice deflection.’ Sephy cocked her head, but her expression turned dreamy, and a slow smile curved her lips. ‘Oh, honey, they are very real. Wait until you see them. They’re Poseidon’s favourites… Gorgeous, terrifying, completely untameable—just like someone I know,’ Sephy said, leaning in conspiratorially, ‘I have a bet with him… If he falls in love, he’ll let me ride one.’

I almost choked on my spit. ‘Fall in love? With me?’ I coughed, incredulous, and waved a dismissive hand. ‘I’d suffocate beneath the weight of that inflated ego.’ I straightened, jaw tight and chin high. ‘I don’t do falling in love.’

Sephy squinted at me, mouth twisted in thought. ‘That’s what I thought… once.’

‘Hades?’ My brow dipped low.

‘Gods, yes. His hot and cold routine was worse than PMS. Had me spinning like a drunk ballerina. One minute he wanted me, the next—bam!—those emotional walls slammed back up like a security lockdown. He was insufferable. The guy shielded his feelings with the dedication of a CIA agent. Hell, I think he’d have taken a bullet rather than admit he was in love.’ She huffed a dry laugh. ‘After he kidnapped me⁠—’

‘He kidnapped you?’ I interrupted, horrified.

A humourless smile pulled on her lips, and she narrowed her eyes. ‘It’s not quite as bad as it sounds.’

‘Huh?’

Sephy tilted her head as she locked her gaze on mine. ‘He took me, yes. Was I pissed? Also, yes… Apparently I’m his long-lost love, and he wanted me back.’

I blinked in confusion. ‘That sounds… intense.’

‘It was,’ she said simply. ‘It’s a long story… I’ll fill you in another time. But as emotionally constipated and infuriating as he was, he still kept me here’—she waved her hand around the garden—‘hoping I’d fall for him again.’ A smile threatened her lips. ‘He was a jackass. Still is, some days, and, yes, his mood swings gave me whiplash… But try as I might, I couldn’t fight the bond.’

‘The bond?’

‘Yeah. We have a soul bond. And before you jump to conclusions, I do love him. He’s my every desire wrapped in a blanket of safety.’ Her voice softened, and for a moment, the raw, open look on her face stole my breath. It was all-consuming love, and it shone out of her like sunlight.

‘He scares the crap out of me,’ I muttered as my gaze swept over the narcissi dancing on the breeze.

Sephy’s laugh was soft and light. ‘He is scary, but we balance each other. He’s my darkness, I’m his light. When he broods too much, I kick his ass back into the moment. And yeah…’ she shrugged with a grin, ‘his people skills still suck. He’s working on it.’

She edged closer, a devilish glint in her eyes. ‘Has Poseidon shown you his fangs yet?’

My eyes snapped to hers. ‘Ex—fuckin—scuse me? Are you serious? Fangs? I blinked about a dozen times. ‘Are you all vampires?’ My voice pitched to almost a shrill at the word.

Sephy barked a deep, throaty laugh. ‘I don’t have fangs… fangless is good for me, thanks very much. But the gods that do have fangs aren’t vampires. Hecate came up with the idea of the gods retaining their powers, even without worship, after the Titanomachy.’

‘The great war between the Titans and gods.’ I frowned, and she inclined her chin.

‘Loss of worshipper equalled the loss of the gods’ life force, as it were. Blood is the fluid of life; so, Hecate made a potion for them to develop fangs and counter this possibility many, many aeons ago. They don’t need to drink blood now, obviously, but it can still be a pleasurable thing to do. A bonded’s venom is like a liquid aphrodisiac.’ A sly smile curved her lips.

‘Nope. Nope. Not on your life.’ I held out a hand in a stop sign.

‘Relax. Poseidon’s not going to bite you… not unless you want him to,’ she added with a wicked smile.

‘In his dreams. I’ll hide here for a while to keep Guinn safe, but the godsdamned, egotistical god of the sea can swivel. He ain’t getting anywhere near my neck or my fun-zone.’ Of course, right on cue, visions of his mouth sucking on my clit flashed through my head like a fever dream, sending molten heat straight to my nether regions. I shuffled my butt on the stone bench, trying not to squirm.

Persephone jumped up, ignoring my outburst. ‘Come on. Let’s go and eat. You know, when you combine wine and dinner, you get winner. This is the kind of positivity I need today. All these coronation shenanigans are stressing me out. Hedone is harassing me and driving me nuts.’

‘Hedone?’ I asked as I stood, brushing imaginary dirt from my pants.

Sephy turned back to me, walking backwards with a gleam in her eye. ‘I’ll give you some books on the gods to swot up on before tomorrow night. Some cozy bedtime reading, so you don’t offend anyone and accidentally cause a divine meltdown.’ Then her expression sharpened with that witchy shrewdness of hers. ‘Oh, and by the way… Poseidon can taste and smell your emotions.’

I froze mid-step and scrunched up my face. ‘What the actual?’

Yup. This whole situation was the tip of one colossal, mother-tucking, goddamned iceberg.

If Drakos weren’t already dead, I’d crawl down to Tartarus and kill the bastard myself for dragging me into this divine shitshow.