Page 37 of The Gods Forbid

Something in that action made me nervous, enough that I spoke without thinking. “What should we have for dinner?”

Oh, goodness. What was wrong with me? There were so many dangerous things about the way I’d phrased that.

Sebastian either didn’t notice or didn’t care, because he said, “I have ingredients for pasta sitting in the fridge,” without missing a beat.

“Did you enjoy the market?” It was one of my favorite parts of Prometheus. Constantly bustling and full of people who extended the same kindness they’d once been given to others.

Sebastian made a noncommittal sound in the back of his throat. “No one would let me pay for anything.”

“Oh, Fates forbid,” I returned with a smile. Though the sun was still beaming down on us, I turned towards him, resting my arm on the back of the bench and crossing my legs.

It only made sense.

My neck would hurt otherwise.

“I’m assuming that’s some extension of the treatment they give you?” Sebastian shifted in his seat, rotating slightly towards me, as he rested an ankle on his knee.

I shook my head. “No. It’s true no one lets me pay for anything, but I never told anyone to treat you the same.”

Sebastian looked me up and down, like he wasn’t quite sure he believed me. I was too busy trying to dispel a little jolt of fear from his perusal to care. “Everyone was pleasant. If not slightly scared of me.”

The way he said that would be something I would shelve for later. We’d spoken about too many heavy things today. “Pasta sounds lovely,” I said, shifting the conversation back. “And thank you for cooking.”

“Your other chef isn’t upset I’m stealing you away?” Sebastian’s voice had gone thin again, something I was realizing meant he didn’t quite care for the person he was speaking about.

Odd, given he’d never met Kostas.

“No,” I said through a laugh. “I think he’ll be happy to have the break.” Which really meant he had more time alone with Nikolas, but their budding relationship was still too fragile for me to feel okay looping Sebastian in on it.

Sebastian made that humming sound again, which I was only marginally better prepared for.

It was that small bit of unsteadiness that pulled me fully into the conversation, missing the point where Sebastian had asked me a question about the new structures in Prometheus.

I didn't pay attention to the way I responded or the questions that followed. Mine in return.

It wasn’t until too late that I’d realized we’d settled into a conversation far more causal than any we’d shared before. Sure, Sebastian’s cool charm was still locked into place and I was still sucked into it, shooting back quips with far more ease than I’d ever before.

But the conversation had slipped away from me, moving forward easily and comfortably, until the sun had fallen behind the horizon and the sky erupted with a sunset.

I wasn’t sure how long we would have stayed there, maybe even until the sunset had faded into a pleasant blue dusk, had my stomach not growled with hunger and Sebastian stood quickly. “Lead the way, love,” he said, waiting for me to stand with his hands clasped behind his back. Like he was holding them there lest they run away from him and do something insane like touch me. “Dinner time.”

Chapter 10

Sebastian

I’d made it through a grand total of two meals where Persy let me feed her and pretend she wasn’t dying to ask me personal questions.

She was smart, the way she did it. If I was being completely honest, I was a little scared of her.

If I ever told her why, she’d balk at the idea. A pretty blush would mar her cheeks as she rushed through an explanation on how she would never intentionally manipulate someone.

That didn’t detract from the fact that she had a way of making people open up that could easily be dangerous in the wrong hands or with the wrong intention.

In the span of a few hours, simply sitting with her and talking while the sun set, she’d not only managed to pry personal information out of me, but also made me ask her questions about herself.

The ease with which we fell into conversation was terrifying, and a testament to her skills with people. There was something about the way she engaged with people that made me think she didn’t quite realize how skilled she was.

Like she was still wrestling with a small thread of doubt, but forced it away so that she could help others.