Page 78 of The Shadow Gods

“Kraken sightings?” Paris asked, a tiny grin turning up his lips. I guessed he’d heard me earlier.

I rolled my eyes. “Definitely. If any krakens are released, let me know.”

* * *

Back to reading. If this had been a movie, it would have been boring. Any writer worth their weight would make it a montage of the hero flipping quickly through pages, nodding sagely, and taking notes.

Instead, it was me, searching desperately for a hint of what Athena wanted from me and how I could use it to keep the gods trapped.

I had three books on the bed with me:Theogony, Metamorphoses,andHistories,butMetamorphoseswas open on my lap, and I stared at a line. It stuck out: “for no god may undo what another god has done.”

I traced it with my finger, then whispered it, feeling each sound on my tongue.

Everything was in riddles.

The door to the room opened, and Pollux stuck his head inside. “There’s a commissary.” He didn't come inside but leaned against the doorjamb. “It's warm and there's tea and biscuits.”

I stared at the line a second longer, then closed the book. Collecting the three tomes, I got off the bed and slid my feet back into my shoes.

Pollux held out his hands for the books. I handed them over and stretched.

“Find anything?” he asked.

“Everything,” I replied. “It's all there if I can decide what is real and what is myth, and what is true and what is rumor. Right now, I'm going off the assumption that everything is real.”

He made a sound in his throat, staring out the tiny, circular window at the water. His green eyes went distant, along with his expression.

“I had a dream about you the other night,” I said. The look on his face reminded me of the unfamiliar Pollux who had appeared that night.

He stared a moment longer, then shifted his gaze to mine. His dark brows went up. “Did you?”

Heat blasted along my cheeks and down my neck. He shifted the books to one arm, so he could put the other around my neck and drag me closer. With a hard press of his lips to mine, he released me. “What was I doing?”

His eyes held all kinds of promises. I couldn't look away from him. The words he said made no sense when my brain fogged over with desire.

A little too tall, too broad, and too rugged to be called handsome, but god, he was hard to look away from. Those eyes. That color green that could change based on the light and his mood.

I was staring longer than I meant to.

Pollux lowered his brows, and his mouth went into a hard line. “What is it?”

Lifting onto my toes, I kissed him again. I looped my arms around his neck so I could push my hands through his silky soft hair.

A low groan left his lips as he tilted his head to kiss me deeper. There was a sudden thump as the books hit the floor, so he could hold me closer.

My feet dangled off the ground as he held me, suspended, and kissed me.

And kissed me.

“You dreamed about me?” he whispered against my lips. “I wonder if it's how I dream about you?”

Oh, my god. The deep voice vibrated through my skin and went straight into my blood, heating my entire body.

“Where were we in your dream, Leo?” he asked.

My eyes fluttered closed, but the ship blasted its horn, and I jumped out of my skin.

“Always interrupted,” Pollux muttered, placing me carefully down until my feet touched the ground. He picked up the books that had fallen and straightened. “Let's get some tea, and you can talk to me about dreams and books.”

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