Page 156 of The Gods Forbid

That was more of an endorsement of our relationship than any.

“Excuse me.” All the blood drained from Sebastian’s face, and he turned toward that voice, eyes full of rage. He looked ready to drive a knife through the heart of whoever had spoken.

I followed his stare to find the Oracle standing at the end of the aisle.

My father was halfway out of his chair in the front row, but my mother steadied him.

“Carry on,” the Oracle said, moving slowly down the aisle, as fast as her weak limbs would allow. She hardly ever moved from her corner of the temple, especially now that Sebastian and I spent time at Delphi. Realizing that everyone was staring at her, and she made quite a few gods shrink away from her as she passed, Pythia stood up straighter. “I’m simply taking the opportunity to watch a prophecy play out in person.”

My eyes shot to Sebastian, brows pinched together. All he did was reach up and smooth a hand down my face, gripping my jaw as his grin widened. Then he turned back to Pythia. “Take a seat, would you?” His tone was entirely soft, even a bit mystified.

Pythia nodded at him, slipping into an open seat and pulling her legs up into a cross-legged position. Jason Dionysus, sitting next to her, shivered, causing his girlfriend to smile and place a hand on his leg.

Adrian cleared his throat, though it sounded suspiciously like he was smothering a laugh. “Right, well, I think that’s a good a blessing as any,” he said, nodding at Pythia. Even a king had to respect her power.

“I’m losing patience,” Sebastian grumbled under his breath, his tone heavy in a way that made my stomach tighten. Adrian looked like he was about to hit him.

“Please,” I whispered, able to hide the desperation in my voice a bit better. I wanted this to be over as quickly as Sebastian did. I needed him to be my husband.

He’d made me wait long enough.

Adrian managed a laugh, which seemed to coincide with a look at his wife. “You have the blessing of everyone important,” he said, sliding his gaze from Sebastian to me.

Wait. That meant—

“You are married in the eyes of the Fates and the Oracle,” Adrian confirmed. I knew that we were Fated, I knew it deep in my soul, but the confirmation…

Tears were slipping down my cheeks now.

Adrian smiled at me, his own eyes growing misty. “Congratulations, Lady Apollo.”

Sebastian’s hands were on my face a second later, pulling me into him in a soul-searing kiss that made me forget where we were.

I felt his own tears against my cheeks, and I wrapped my arms around his neck to pull myself tighter to him. I wasn’t sure how much time had elapsed until he released me. All I knew was that I was dizzy enough to sway into him, falling into his hard, warm chest.

Sebastian tucked his head into my neck, right as I felt a particularly strong ray of sun shine onto my back. He pulled back slightly, his nose running over my neck while my hair fell over his face.

He dragged his nose up to my ear, then spoke low. “This is what the Oracle showed me. This is what I painted.”

My knees buckled. He’d told me Sunlight Incarnate was an interpretation of that prophecy, of the image of him looking through my hair. I just didn’t know it was real.

Once the feeling returned to my legs, I noticed how warm the rest of me felt.

Oh, no.

We should have definitely gotten married somewhere else so we could have the house to ourselves.

As I stepped away from Sebastian to steady myself, everyone took that as invitation to come up and congratulate us—not that I was complaining.

Nikolas and Kostas gave us both hugs and smacking kisses on the cheek, which was made all the more special when their little boy reached out from Nikolas’s arms and did the same.

Penn was crying so hard, he couldn't do anything but collapse into a hug.

I started crying again when my parents came up, especially when my father clapped Sebastian on the back and shared a look with him that carried so much fatherly support, it made me want to go back and kill Sebastian’s parents for failing him.

Most of the gods cycled through, offering their congratulations. Or condolences, as Dominic offered when he said he was sorry I’d have to deal with Sebastian for the rest of my life.

Rose, Daphne, and, Reyna hugged me at the same time, almost knocking me over from the force of it.