Page 2 of A Veil of Gods and Kings

“It all blurs together over time, you know?”

“Actually, I don’t.” She made a noise in her throat. “Thankfully.”

“Some of us enjoy sex.”

I turned, but she reached out and snagged me. “What you say is true. Some people enjoy sex. But you aren’t one of them.”

“Temi…”

“Don’t ‘Temi’ me.” She jabbed a finger into my chest. “You know why it all blurs together? Because it means nothing. Because it doesn’t satisfy you. You can drink and party and sleep around all you want, and it will always leave you feeling empty inside. What you need is a real connection and a real purpose in your life.”

I groaned. “Yes, Father. May I go play outside now?”

Her features scrunched together. “Do not even teasingly compare me to your father.”

“Gods. Noted. Why are you so pissy today?”

She grabbed a clay bowl and smacked it down hard enough against the table that it clinked. “So, you forgot about this evening, did you? Why does that not surprise me?”

I paused. “What’s today?”

She dumped flour into the bowl, puffs of it rising like a fog around her hands. “The convoy?”

My heart leaped into my throat. “My father comes?”

She blew out a breath. “Thank the gods, no. It’s just Ares.”

“See.” I laughed. “Nothing to worry about.”

She snagged an egg out of a basket and cracked it against the side of the bowl. “Yeah, your brother who can start a war by raising an eyebrow. Nothing to worry about.”

“Temi, relax some. Come on.” I stepped towards the door again.

“Are you seriously still going to leave after I just told you Ares is coming?”

I placed my hands on the stone door sill. “He’s coming for dinner, isn’t he?”

“Well, yes, but—”

“Then I have plenty of time.” I tossed her a smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back by dusk.”

I stepped out into the golden sunshine of the day, but her voice carried to me as she yelled, “Apollo, I swear! And don’t expect me to handle this person in your bed. I’m your sister, not some attendant of yours.”

I chuckled and snatched a bite of the apricot. The juice dripped down my chin, and I wiped it away with the back of my arm. The golden sun stretched over the ridge, tossing out its warmth over the valley. A field of early blooming lavender danced in the wind, the purple flowers twirling and pirouetting around each other.

I eased down the hill and turned the corner at an apricot orchard. Clusters of the fruit, like a million miniature suns streaked in golds and oranges, were tucked in between the emerald of the leaves, splashing the world with their colors.

A child with dark curls and bright blue eyes twined between the trunks, ducking down and swiping up a piece of fruit. She wrinkled her nose and dropped it back to the ground.

“Hello there,” I said.

She jumped, her hands trembling, tucking the basket she held against herself. “Good day, sir.”

“Are you looking for fruit?”

Her cheeks pinkened. And despite the healthy color spreading over her skin, her features edged too sharp, her eyes gaunt, her clothes threadbare in several spots. “I assure you, sir, I follow the law. I’m only picking fruit up from the ground.”

I stepped in closer to her and retrieved an apricot from beneath a teepee of long grass. Its skin was splotched with bruises, and a bug wriggled down in its flesh. “It doesn’t seem like you have many good options here on the ground.”