Page 59 of Gods of Prey
The accusation hits home. Sebastian flinches as if she’d struck him physically. “I never meant for it to go this far.”
“But it has,” I say as neutrally as I can manage. “And now we have to deal with the consequences.”
He goes quiet, considering his options.
“What if I went to them myself? Explained that this was my choice, that Sebastian isn’t forcing me into anything?” Jovie finally pipes in.
All three of us turn to stare at her.
“Absolutely not,” Sebastian says immediately. “I won’t let you face those monsters alone.”
“It might be our only option,” I say slowly, the idea taking shape in my mind. “If Jovie presents herself as a willing petitioner, rather than your victim...”
“They’d still refuse,” Sienna points out. “But they might be less inclined to execute everyone involved.”
Another crack appears, this time in the ceiling above us. Plaster dust rains down, and I can feel the fabric of reality straining at the edges of my consciousness.
“We’re running out of time,” I say. “Whatever we’re going to do, it has to be soon.”
Sebastian looks around at all of us—his sister, his best friend, the woman he loves—and I can see the weight of the decision settling on his shoulders.
“One month,” he says finally. “Give me one month to prepare Jovie properly, and then we’ll face the Divine Council together.”
Sienna and I exchange a look. We haven’t even gotten to the part where his Elder Council has placed their own deadline on us. A month is too long for the realms to maintain stability, but it’s also barely enough time to prepare for what we’re about to attempt. The world is literally crumbling around us.
We’ve only got a week left before the Elder Council acts.
But something in the tightness of Sienna’s expression tells me not to bring that up yet.
“We don’t have a month,” is all I tell him.
Sebastian shakes his head, refusing to back down. “She needs time.”
“We can get a week, if that,” I agree reluctantly. A mortal week is less than a day in Nytheris. It’ll take them that long just to gather in their chambers. “We’ll need to be strategic about how we approach them.”
“We?” Sienna turns from the window.
I look at Sebastian—my friend, my brother, my king. “Of course.”
His relief is palpable. “Thank you, Revel. I know this puts you at risk too.”
“Let me worry about that.” Ignoring the rock that’s settling into my stomach at all the promises I keep handing out with no idea how I’ll be able to keep them, I turn to Jovie. “Are you sure about this? Really sure? Because once we start down this path, there’s no going back.”
She doesn’t hesitate. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
Sienna drifts back over to us, her eyes lingering on me longer than they should. She’s the only one who has realized what I’m doing, but I can deal with her later.
“Then we need to move quickly. The longer Sebastian stays away from Aurelys, the more attention we’ll draw,” she says.
“Agreed,” I say.
“But first, we need to make sure there are no more loose ends here.” Sebastian adds, his voice resolute.Of course, he has to make this more complicated than it has to be. As if abandoning our duties and playing mortal for weeks on end wasn’t enough. “There are still members of The Order out there.”
Sienna’s expression hardens. “You can’t be serious.”
“We need to finish this,” he insists. “We can’t leave with threats hanging over what we’ve built here.”
When she scoffs and rolls her eyes at him like he’s the biggest nuisance she’s ever dealt with, he adds, “It might help our case with the Divine Council if we can show we’ve fulfilled our obligations in this realm.”
