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“You weren’t causing any problems, yet,” Adrian explained. “Lukas told everyone you were finishing up your research.”
I didn’t need a reminder of that excuse. How Lukas had guessed exactly what I was doing to fill my time.
“But when you did,” Adrian continued, “I’d make sure you came back.”
It was my turn to cross my arms over my chest. “You didn’t, though. Lukas asked the Fates to find me after the catches came back low.”
“Who do you think suggested that the problem might lie with your absence?”
Right. Because he was always looking for areas that needed fixing, lest it further tarnish his reputation.
“And the Fates?” I asked, curious to know his methods. He had a good mind for strategy, and that was certainly something I could respect.
“They knew because I told them.” And there was that cocky side. “That little cloaking ritual you did when you ran worked. Your lifeline went dark but didn’t sever. They asked me what I knew.”
Asked him because he knew everything in the land of the living. Had I walked through the gates to the Underworld, that would have been Rose and Dominic’s problem.
Adrian shrugged, like the information was right at his fingertips. “My spies in Agrafa told me a new red-haired research fellow showed up without any advance notice from Athens. Once I confirmed it was you, I kept the Fates advised of your whereabouts.”
Not that anyone bothered to ask, but I was already considering going back. I could feel the tension rising and Rose’s attack was the catalyst that made me shove aside my dread.
“So they told Rose where to find me,” I finished for him.
“Yes,” Adrian said, resetting his jaw. When I didn’t move to respond, Adrian started walking past me before stopping and turning over his suit’s perfectly tailored shoulder. “Besides, I get it.”
“Get what?”
“The feeling of wanting to run.”
Unless he had some woman in his life I didn’t know about, he was obviously talking about running from pressure. “You do?”
Adrian nodded, running his tongue over his teeth. “Opinions are fucking heavy. I’d escape it for a year, too, if I could.”
“Cost of power, right?” No one had the type of power and status he did without it costing something.
“Sure.” Adrian’s face went somber, the storm in his eyes darkening. “But for what we gain? What we can give? It doesn’t feel expensive.”
And with that, he was off. Surely to go make the rounds with people he needed to keep in his favor.
I stayed still for a moment, his words hitting home. The way opinions had shaped my life was something I’d always struggle with. But I’d choose that every time if it meant I could still be the vessel that kept knowledge flowing and the sea fruitful.
That was if I could fix the damage I’d done.
With that reminder, I turned back toward the ballroom, hoping my already thin nerves wouldn’t break under Lukas’s stare.
Chapter 8
Lukas
I couldn’t stop staring at her.
Every word out of her mouth was like a shot of ambrosia, more potent than anything else in the world.
Every glance I stole was like a full bottle of it, pooling heavy in my stomach. I turned into a thief again, watching Daphne walk over to a column with a glass of wine in her graceful hands, leaning back against the stone.
The move made my dick jump behind my zipper.
Daphne had amazing tits. Or breasts or a chest or whatever you wanted to call it. They were fucking amazing. It was just a fact.
