Page 74 of Gods of Prey
“That was incredible,” she says, then raises her voice. “Bash! Come here!”
“Jovie, what are you doing?” I hiss, but she’s already moving toward my brother.
Sebastian looks up from his laptop, immediately noticing something different about her. “What’s wrong?” His eyes narrow, shifting between her and where Revel and I stand. “What did you do?”
“I showed her divine sight,” Revel admits. “She handled it perfectly.”
Sebastian’s expression darkens. “I specifically said she wasn’t ready for that yet.”
“But I was,” Jovie interjects, moving to stand in front of him. “I know you’re trying to protect me, but you can’t keep treating me like I’m going to break. I’m stronger than you think.”
“You don’t understand the risks?—”
“Then explain them to me,” she challenges. “Stop making decisions for me and trust me to make them myself.”
I drift closer, fascinated by the dynamic between them. This is the most assertive I’ve seen Jovie with Sebastian, and he’s clearly struggling with it.
“The Divine Council isn’t known for their patience or mercy,” Sebastian says finally. “If they think you’re not ready, if they decide you’re a liability?—”
“They’ll what?” Jovie asks. “Kill me? Bash, I told you I’m not afraid of dying.”
“I am,” he admits, his voice breaking slightly. “I’m afraid of losing you again.”
The raw vulnerability in my brother’s voice makes my chest ache. Revel moves to stand beside me, close enough that our arms almost touch.
“You won’t lose me,” Jovie says softly, taking Sebastian’s hands. “But you will if you keep stalling. They’re going to come for you, aren’t they? This council?”
Sebastian’s silence is answer enough.
“When?” she presses.
“Soon,” he admits reluctantly. I’m surprised he’s finally willing to acknowledge that the clock is ticking, let alone that we’re running out of time.
Revel and I glance toward one another, neither one wanting to admit that we’re out of time.
“Then we go to them first,” Jovie declares. “On our terms.”
Sebastian shakes his head. “Jovie, you don’t know what you’re asking.”
“I’m asking to stand by your side. In whatever realm, before whatever council, as whatever I need to become. But I’m not asking to be protected anymore.”
I watch my brother’s internal struggle play out across his face. The protector in him wars with the god who knows duty, the man in love with the immortal who understands what’s at stake. The predator who has been caught in a trap.
“She’s right,” I say. “Hiding won’t solve anything. It will only make the Divine Council more suspicious when they do come. And they’re coming sooner than you realize.”
Sebastian turns to me, and I see the moment he really accepts what we’re asking of him. “What do you know?”
I look at Jovie, seeing the determination in her stance, the way she’s not backing down from this fight. “Your Council of Elders has notified the Divine Council of your absence. They’re likely preparing to summon us as we speak. I think she’s been ready for days. You’re the one who wasn’t.”
Jovie’s stoic expression falls again, this time giving way to fear. “What does that mean?”
“It means we’re out of time,” Sebastian explains grimly.
Revel steps forward. “They respond better to initiative than to reluctance. If we present Jovie as your choice rather than a demand, it might get us further.”
“It could work,” Sebastian muses, understanding dawning in his eyes.
“So we do it?” Jovie asks. “We go to the Divine Council directly?”
