Page 56 of Gods of Prey
His hand rises as if to touch my face, then falls when he remembers I’m not solid enough.
The moment stretches between us, charged with possibility and impossibility in equal measure. Then his phone buzzes—a text from Jovie.
I glance at it and sigh as Revel reads it aloud. “Sebastian wants to meet. All of us.” He steps back, the spell broken. “He’s ready.”
I look up at him, struggling to shake off the weight of what just happened between us. “What do we do?”
“We tell him the truth,” he says. “All of it. About the Divine Council, about the balance, about why we’re really here. You said it yourself. There’s no more time to waste.”
“And if he refuses to come back?”
He meets my eyes, and I see the same conflict there that I feel brewing deep inside me. “Then we figure out another way. Together.”
The word hangs in the air between us.Together. It shouldn’t sound as appealing as it does.
I make myself fade from visibility, putting distance between us even though he can still sense my presence. “We should go.”
“Sienna,” Revel calls as I move toward the door.
I project my voice across the space. “What?”
“Whatever happens tonight, whatever Sebastian says or does...we’ll handle it. You don’t have to carry this alone anymore.”
I don’t respond, but something tight in my chest loosens slightly. For the first time in centuries, I don’t feel entirely isolated with the weight of divine responsibility.
As we leave the apartment together, I can’t shake the feeling that everything is about to change. Sebastian remembers who he is, which means he’s making a conscious choice to stay in the mortal realm. The Divine Council’s patience won’t last much longer.
And somewhere in the middle of it all, I’m developing feelings for the one being I’m supposed to be naturally opposed to.
The irony isn’t lost on me. The Goddess of Death, falling for the God of Life, while trying to convince her brother to abandon his own mortal love.
If the situation weren’t so dire, it might almost be funny.
Instead, it feels like the beginning of the end of everything I thought I knew about duty, love, and the delicate balance between Life and Death.
The elevator doors leading to Sebastian and Jovie’s apartment closes, and we ride up in silence. I study Revel’s profile, admiring his strength and patience. He could easily turn us over to the Divine Council and walk away the ruler of Aurelys. It’s what I’ve always assumed he’d do. Instead, he’s kept our secrets. He cares about our fates. And he faces it all with remarkable composure.
16
Revel
I’ve faced many challenges in my immortal existence, but nothing quite like the tension in this room right now. Bash paces like a caged animal, his mortal form vibrating with barely contained fury. Jovie sits on the edge of the sofa, eyes darting between us all. And Sienna, ethereal and stubborn as ever, hovers near the window only visible to me, her spectral form glimmering in the afternoon light.
There’s something different about him now—a weight in his eyes that wasn’t there before. He looks at me, and for the first time since we arrived in this realm, I see recognition.
“You can drop the act now,” he says, moving toward me. “Both of you.”
Sienna materializes fully beside me, no longer bothering to hide. “What exactly do you remember?”
Sebastian glances at Jovie, who takes his hand without hesitation. “Everything. It all came rushing back when I killed him. When I felt his life force drain away and realized I could control it.” He looks back at me. “How long have you been here?”
“Just a few weeks,” I admit. “We’ve been trying to find a way to help you remember gradually.”
A laugh escapes him—bitter but not angry. “Gradually.Right.” He runs his free hand through his hair. “Gods, Revel, I’ve been so suspicious of you. Part of me knew something was familiar, but I couldn’t place it.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, meaning it. “We didn’t know how else to approach this.”
Sebastian steps forward and pulls me into an embrace. The relief I feel is overwhelming. My friend is back. Not completely, but enough that I can see him in there. We’re halfway there.
