Page 82 of For the Love of the Gods

“Why even have us if you can make shadows do your dirty work?” Marcus asked, coming fully into the room.

“Because they can’t talk back,” I said, not looking up from the large, leather book in my lap. “And when you aren’t calling me crazy, I actually enjoy speaking to you.”

“Fair,” Marcus said, and then, “Why does it look like you knocked over a bookshelf?”

“Thanatos Society,” I said, looking up at Marcus. “What do you know about them?”

Marcus snorted. “Bunch of crazy fucks that’s what.”

“Eloquent,” I said, his brazen assessment funny, but unfortunately unhelpful.

“Fanatics,” Marcus corrected dramatically. “Obsessed with death. And you and Dominic for that matter. I heard they threw a party so that they could move your portraits to hang on the same wall.”

I laughed softly at the image, not entirely unappealing.

“Why?” Marcus asked at my silence, arms crossing. “Concerned?”

“Odell,” I said by way of explanation. “I was worried about zealots. If he was that angry, I was wondering who else would be mad. I know they don’t have a history of picking one side, but they were the first people I thought of.”

“Makes sense,” Marcus said, casually lifting a shoulder, even though the topic of conversation was anything but. His confidence often verged on cockiness and this was one of those times. “I know Raiden has a guy but I’ll talk to the Head Priest at the Temple in Athens. He’d know if anyone weird came through.”

“Thank you,” I breathed, relief clear. “It’s the end of the month so…”

“Administrative nightmare,” Marcus finished. I fought a groan at the thought. Taxes, registrations, hospital clearances, they made the end of the month draining. Especially the latter.

It never got easier, seeing Charon’s boat almost tipping over from the amount of souls coming through the gates when the hospitals removed those who had died over the months.

I shivered a little at the thought, a distant wish for strong arms to hold onto passing through the back of my mind.

“I’ll look into it,” Marcus promised. “I hate to be the one to remind you, but today is Saturday.”

I knew that. Jason and Thea had been over for breakfast that morning. The four of us sat on the deck until Jason had to go back for a meeting and I ran up to the library to start researching.

But it was Marcus’s reminder, laced with a reluctant color that he always had when we broached the subjects of the Fates that had me steeling my spine.

“I know,” I began slowly, nervous to even articulate what I was contemplating. “I don’t think I’m going to go today.”

Marcus looked at me for a half second longer than normal, taking it in. Then, “Okay. I’ll keep you updated on Max’s findings tomorrow.”

And just like that, he let it go. He sounded a little relieved, but like he was masking it under nonchalance. It was that willingness to let me do what I needed that comforted me, ever thankful for his friendship.

“Okay,” I said softly. Marcus left after a quick exchange, leaving me to my research. It was easy to ignore what that decision was doing to my chest while translating Ancient Greek in my head.

After a little longer chasing dead ends, I decided to let Marcus and Raiden contact their people at the Thanatos Society and my temple. Asking for help was new, but I was trying it on.

I stood, almost tipping over from standing on numb legs and took in the mess I made. To speed up the process, I conjured two Shadowwalkers. Their impossibly black forms moved with vacant silence to the books and began placing them back in their home.

I bent, grabbing two books I knew lived right next to each other.

I had taken the entire row out of the histories from the years the Roman houses first appeared, curious if any formal rebellions sprung up. The disputes between our patrons at the time seemed to pull their focus, in addition to being the reason the Roman houses manifested in the first place.

I reshelved them, then went to turn to grab the third, but it appeared in front of my face.

“Here,” Dominic’s voice rumbled, right over my skin. In my focused state, I hadn’t even felt him come in.

As he moved the book towards me, his eyes traveled over my skin, my clothes. I shivered slightly at the perusal, fighting the temptation to flee and hide from the urgency building in my chest. It’s not like we hadn’t seen each other over the past few days or that he hadn’t sought me out, he just didn’t verbalize it.

We weren’t talking about it. The sex. It was happening all the time, everywhere. Couch, desk, wall, chair, but never a bed. It had been only five days of it and yet I felt the permanent mark of Dominic’s hands on my body.

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