Page 89 of Immortal Sun

But we needed her to be strong and take care of us, so I handed her the last one and smiled.

I sit at the breakfast bar and try not to tremble as thunder rumbles in the distance.

“They sure have a lot of storms here,” I whisper to myself, shaking off the memories. It was a long time ago, but life has a way of never really fading from memory. I give a slight shiver when I hear footsteps.

“It’s normal.” The housekeeper I’ve barely seen comes waltzing in with tons of grocery bags. “The storms fill up the water, help the fish, they keep us safe. Storms aren’t what you should be worried about.” She’s really tall and looks about my age.

I haven’t had a lot of interactions with her, but I bite anyway. “And what should I be worried about?”

“Everything else,” she says cryptically. “Like literally everything else. Now are you going to help me unload or just sit there?”

She’s bossy.

I like it.

I wonder if she tortures Cyrus on a daily basis and kind of hope she gives him hell. Then I forget about him as I help her unpack the groceries until everything is put away.

I don’t realize I forgot the milk until we both reach for it. She stares at my right hand and freezes.

“Something wrong?” I ask.

“Where did you get that?” She points at the bracelet then takes a step backwards toward the modern fridge.

I frown. “My mom gave it to me.”

Her hands go up in front of her like a shield. “Oh, that’s lovely.”

“Yup. Apparently, it keeps me connected to my brother.” I hold up the rock. “And now I have protection from a real god, amazing right? Cyrus and Enki truly seem to believe in this stuff.”

“Ha-ha.” Her laughter fills the kitchen. “Cyrus is a bit different but a good boss.”

“Who thinks he’s a god.” I point out to gauge her reaction.

She shrugs. “Probably from all the research he does. You know men, they snap their fingers and something happens and they suddenly have a dick swinging contest, nothing to be worried about, right?”

“Right.” I nod, suddenly feeling better. “Thanks for that, I’ve been feeling like I’m losing it all day.”

“Ah, welcome to Deer Harbor, sweetheart.” She winks. “Now, why don’t I fix you something to eat?”

“That sounds great.” I grin.

She nods right back and goes to work, and for the first time in days, I feel like I can finally relax.

CHAPTER 21

CYRUS

“The thrall takes instant vengeance; the coward never.”—Thor Rosland

Ican hear her pacing. The bell has started to get louder and louder as it presses against her skin.

I almost said ‘silky skin’ in my head and want to pummel the tree all over again. Instead, I walk down the stairs toward the water. The closer I get to the beach and rocks, the more my body pulses until my feet are at the water.

Apep is already standing there looking arrogantly out at the sea like he created it.

Enki is next to him on his phone, typical, and I can feel Daggon walking up behind me with Inti and Kratos. Jupiter finally makes his late appearance with Tyrell, always staying back to collect the rest of the lessers, so I know we’ll see him later, watching, complaining.

It feels like a meeting of misfits, all of us joined together hating the parts we play but needing to play them perfectly.

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