Page 12 of A Crown of Hopes and Sorrows

Temi tucked her arm through mine. “Neither of those are true.”

I fixed her with a look. “Oh, please. She absolutely does.”

Servants walked by us, causing the candles along the hallway to flicker, and Temi remained quiet until they passed. “She’s not a fan of the feelings you have for her son.”

“She doesn’t know.”

Temi chuckled. “She does. She’s not oblivious, Pip.”

I groaned. “That does not make me feel better.”

“Well”—Temi leaned her head against mine—“it’s a good thing we have some comfort cake to split between the two of us, isn’t it?”

I met her gaze and burst into a laugh.

5

Apollo

Temi and I bustled through the city surrounded by guards amid the clattering, swarming crowds of the morning markets. Hyacinth walked ahead of us, waving to people, grasping hands. They grinned at him, crying out, “My prince!” But then their gazes shifted to me, to the golden irises, the silver glowing, all the marks setting me apart as something different, foreign, dangerous.

They weren’t wrong.

Temi elbowed me. “Stop glowering.”

“I’m not.”

She rolled her eyes but tucked her arm through mine. “People will see you as less terrifying if you—I don’t know—look less terrifying.”

“Gods are terrifying, regardless of how they look.” She cringed, and my stomach twisted. “Temi, I didn’t mean—”

“It’s fine.” We reached the temple steps and climbed up them. Banners with golden lightning bolts flitted about in the wind. We strode past the massive columns, the din of the crowd hushing as we stepped inside to the room where the smoky scent of incense laced heavily in the air.

“I’ll join you in a minute,” I said to Hyacinth. He hesitated for a moment, his eyebrows drawing together and forming that v-shaped dimple that made my heart patter, before nodding and continuing on into the temple with his guards. I turned to Temi. “How are you doing?”

She sighed. “It’s been a lot. I’m not sure.” She raised her hand, and silver bracelets on her wrist clattered, her ivory and gold dress rippling with the motion. “Who am I, Apollo?”

I chewed my lip. “I wish I had wise words to offer you. You know this is something I struggle with myself.”

Her expression grew more uncertain. And I didn’t like that. Her feeling anxious over my stupidity was one thing—that was basically a language between us. But her truly worrying disturbed me. It reminded me of her as a young child when Zeus had destroyed our village. Remnants of guilt still clung to me from that. I hated all the hurts Temi had experienced on my behalf. And now maybe she was a goddess as well. I couldn’t help but feel that a hard future stood before her. And it made me miserable that I couldn’t do a damn thing about it.

I cupped my hand over her cheek. “To start with, you are the best person I know.”

“I may not be a person.”

“The point stands.”

She chuckled and curled her fingers around mine, squeezing them. “Thank you.”

“Do you want me to go on this trip with you?”

A humming of sweet singing voices picked up from farther in the temple. They echoed off the ceilings, mournful and resonant, as they whispered their way to us. Temi cocked her head to the side. “I thought you and Hyacinth had your own journey you’re taking?”

“We do but”—I snagged her fingers again, trailing my thumb over the back of her knuckles—“if you need me to go with you… if you want me to go with you... I will.”

Her lips pulled up into such a gentle expression she suddenly appeared as she had as a child, all smooth-cheeked and bright-eyed, no worries, no fears hanging over her. “That’s sweet of you, Apollo. But you should go with Hyacinth. Besides, I’ll have friends on my trip. Pip and Val are coming with me.”

I considered her for a moment. “I’m glad to hear that.”