Page 143 of The Gods Forbid

“Just looking at you,” I replied honestly. It was that or tell her I loved her.

I was pretty sure she felt something similar, and both of us had come close to a confession over the past few days.

I needed to wait though. I needed these six months to be over so I could make sure there wasn’t a chance in hell she thought I was being anything other than honest.

Persy turned in her chair, crossing her legs and leaning back against her vanity.

“Yes?” I asked when she didn’t say anything.

“Just looking at you,” she replied, a smirk on her perfect lips.

I shot out of bed, stalking over to her and tipping her face up to kiss those words right off her mouth. Any more out of her and I was canceling.

Though when she laughed against me, I debated it anyway. I forced myself to pull away. “I think you should wear that gold dress again.”

Persy blinked, like it was taking her a second to remember what we’d been talking about. “I bought that to drive you crazy.”

Fuck, I didn’t deserve her. Though if she liked me, I must have been doing something right. “You did, love. Any chance you want to do it again?”

Persy laughed, bright and free. “I have another one I think you’ll like.”

The faster I got ready, the faster she put that dress on, so I pulled back and walked into her closet to change into the suit I’d moved over. I’d just gotten my pants on when I realized Persy had followed me in, leaning against the door frame and watching me change.

“Absolutely not,” I said, twirling my finger to tell her to turn around. “You stay in here and we aren’t going.”

Persy’s head tipped back in a laugh. I didn’t realize how little she'd been laughing over the past few weeks until she started doing it again. “I don’t want to get yelled at by my brother, so we’ll have to wait.” She walked up to me, placing her hand on my bare chest and a light kiss on my lips. “As torturous as that sounds.”

My heart clenched so tight, I was sure it would stop beating.

A weird chill broke over my arms at the thought, my skin itching like it did when the Oracle tried to call me.

I’d felt the same this morning, but if the Oracle had a fifth thing to discuss with me, she needed to be more obvious than making me crazy with the feeling of impending doom.

After another several attempts to make Persy stay home, especially after she put on a sunset orange dress that had a slit that showed off her legs, she managed to drag me through a portal and onto the steps of the Opera House.

Half the gods were on the steps already, making their way through reporters and patrons while cameras flashed around us.

My hand tightened on Persy’s reflexively, that chill returning. I didn’t give a shit about optics, she was holding my hand the entire way inside.

“There’s my brother,” Persy said, her hand pulling out of mine. She turned to me and spoke low. “I’m not ashamed. Not in the slightest. But I owe him a conversation.”

I made myself nod, though my hand felt overheated without Persy’s in it. I jerked my chin up to where her brother was standing, several steps ahead. “Go now. I’m not keeping my hands at my side the whole night.”

“I wouldn’t want you to,” Persy said softly, before gifting me with another slight smile and scurrying up the steps to her brother. I hated watching her walk away from me, but I straightened and greeted a few reporters who called my name respectfully.

I had the feeling someone was watching me, so I turned to survey the crowd.

A moment later, my eyes landed on Ariana and my heart stopped.

It wasn’t out of the norm that she was here. It was the type of event she frequented.

But this felt wrong.

I followed her line of sight to find it cemented firmly on Persy and Adrian, speaking between themselves. Persy’s back was turned, focused more on telling her brother about us than her surroundings.

No. This was wrong.

I turned back to my aunt. Then I saw her reach into the pocket of her trench coat.