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“A snake.” I had that much basic biology.
“An adder, Leo. It’s venomous.”
And it had slithered all over my boots before coiling at my feet like a cat. “I thought there were no venomous snakes in England.”
“That’s Ireland.” He rested his head against my hair and blew out a breath. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
I was much better than him. Running my hands along his back, I held him tight. “I’m fine. I promise. I’m sure we scared it more than it scared us.”
“You froze. I couldn’t get through to you.”
He was right, but it wasn’t for the reasons he probably assumed. I’d sort of zoned out, hypnotized by the smooth flow of its body over the ground.
“What happened?” a voice asked from the top of the stairs.
Pollux put me down, moved a little in front of me and stared at Hector. “You have a black adder not four meters away from the cottage.”
“They’re usually hibernating by now. We don’t see them until spring.” Hector came down the stairs, gaze narrowed at whatever he saw on Pollux’s face. “Are you all right?”
He nodded, but then shook his head. “No. I—I’m not. She’s mortal, Hector. What if it had bitten her?”
“It wouldn’t have killed her, merely sickened her.”
His words seemed to inflame Pollux. “She’s mortal!”
Placing my hand on his arm, I got his attention. “I’m fine. Really. I mean—I’ve been on digs with scorpions. And it’s cold, so that explains why it acted so sleepy. I just surprised it. And I’m wearing boots.”
But Pollux’s face had gone green. He sat on the bench near the door, and stared ahead. “Mortal, though.” It was as if it had never occurred to him, which was weird, because his friend tried to yeet me off a train. “Mortal.”
Hector came slowly downstairs, and not far behind him, Achilles, Orestes, and Paris appeared. A full house. Moving in front of Pollux, I tried to block him from their view. For some reason, I didn’t think he’d want them to see him like this. The man had only just started to show any emotion, and somehow I knew he didn’t like giving things away. “Give us a minute, will you?”
Hector took in my stance and I placed my hands on my hips. The closer he came, the more I had to tilt my chin back to look at him. “Please?”
Studying me a second, he gave a quick nod. He turned toward the other guys, who backed off as well. “I’ll be in the kitchen.”
I nodded, then went right to Pollux, kneeling at his feet. He held his hands loosely between his knees, staring down at the ground. “I never thought about it before. All this time, all these discussions about what to do with you, and it wasn’t until that moment with the adder that it hit me.”
“Not on the train?” I asked, smiling a little, because it certainly hit me in the face then.
He peered at me through dark lashes. “Would you believe, no?”
I did. Touching his cheek, I skimmed my fingertips over his skin. “I’m okay. It was just a snake.”
He leaned down to press a kiss on my lips. “I wasn’t ready for what this would feel like.”
Biting my lip, I nodded, because I understood. This flurry of nerves that made my stomach ache was overwhelming. But I liked it.
Pollux needed a few more deep breaths, but he took them with his lips on my hair, so I didn’t complain, even if the stone floor in the entryway was far from comfortable.
“Come on,” he whispered after a minute. “I know you need to go back to work.”
I did, but only because the faster I finished chiseling the seal from the stone, the sooner we could get rid of it. “If this isn’t all of it, are you going to want me to find the final piece?” I asked.
Pollux stood, helping me to my feet as he did. He gazed over my head and I turned to see who was there, but the landing was empty. The others had given us the space I’d asked for.
We climbed the stairs to Hector’s office, and I got down to work.
Pollux left after a little while, kissing me on the cheek before sliding his lips to mine. Groaning, he kissed me again. “You’re too damn cute.”
