Page 49 of The Gods Only Know

“No one,” Lukas said, his words overlapping with the end of my sentence. “Guess you’ll have to do it.”

“Yeah, well can’t miss what you never had,” Lukas said, jolting me out of the memory. The phrase carried so much double meaning.

Was he talking about us? That he didn’t miss me because he never had me? A primitive part of me wanted to bash against that, to jump up and yell that I’d always been his. But the rational part of me recognized that he still spoke low, keeping us in private conversation.

“If you go over to that table and get me something to eat,” I said, praying that this wasn’t too far, “Then I’ll consider letting you sleep on me.”

Lukas’s eyes widened. Just barely. When they reset, there was determination glowing there. “Stay here.”

In what felt like seconds, Lukas had rounded the table, filling a plate with a little bit of everything, warming my indecisive heart. He handed me a plate and a glass of wine, before going back to serve himself.

By the time he got back, most of the other gods had risen and were taking their share. Dominic stayed sitting.

“Eat,” Lukas said when he sat back down, somehow even closer than he was before. “I’m tired.”

A laugh got stuck in my throat. “Don’t rush me. Unless you want to hear my stomach grumbling.”

“That’s like white noise, baby, it’ll put me right to sleep.”

I stabbed a piece of chicken and plopped it in my mouth. “Your funeral, then. If I hear one complaint, I’m smothering you.”

“Stronger than you, Daph,” Lukas said around a bite of zucchini. “A pillow is a horrible weapon.”

I didn’t have a good response for that. Because he was right.

“You’re a horrible weapon,” I grumbled, before shoving my fork through another piece of meat, hard enough to clank against the plate. I chewed and crossed my arms over my chest.

It wasn’t until I paused to eat that I realized what had just happened. I almost choked when I realized that Lukas had called mebabyandDaph. I coughed a little, dislodging some of the stuck food.

Lukas lifted a finger to my chin, checking my face to make sure it was a mistaken bite. Locked away in this pseudo-summer camp, it seemed we could act like our old selves.

And I wasn’t going to remind him we weren’t those people anymore. That we’d hurt each other, likely irreparably. “I’m fine, Luke,” I said, right as he took a sip of wine.

It was his turn to choke, spitting some of the wine back into his glass. Desperate for him not to crash into the realization that I’d called him a nickname I wasn’t sure I was allowed to use anymore, I said, “If you spit that wine on these white cots, Adrian is never going to forgive you.”

Lukas lifted a thick eyebrow in doubt, thankfully settling back into the conversation. Pretending. “You’d rather me choke than offend Adrian’s delicate sensibilities?”

“In the interest of self-preservation, yes.” A stray hair slipped out of Lukas’s bun. I clenched my hand into a fist to avoid touching it. “When he tries to smite you with a lightning bolt, I might be in the line of fire.”

Lukas sensed a challenge. He was always a sucker for them, chasing victory. His nostrils flared a little, eyes lighting. “Oh, I’ll remember that.”

I laughed under a close-lipped smile and went to respond, but the door opened again.

A guard I vaguely recognized from Sabina’s court walked through the door, godless. He cleared his throat and straightened his shoulders. For more than respect, for confidence. “We are still finalizing a few things. Some gods are proving a bit harder to track down. Please stay here until we locate everyone.”

Behind him, only visible to the left side of the room—to Lukas, Dominic, Julian, and I—stood Marcus. He was watching the new guard with rapt intensity, before motioning to someone out of sight. His moved his hand in rapid circles toward his torso, the universal signal forhurry the fuck up.

Rose.

The realization snapped into my head, almost placed there by my power. Dominic’s eyes shot to me, looking for confirmation of his own version of the thought. I ignored it. She was surely fine, but he didn’t need an excuse to think otherwise.

The guard was through the door and had it shut a moment later.

I had to restrain a laugh. This whole situation was insane, locking us in like children at camp instead of gods who could fend for ourselves.

Mostly. We could die just as easily as humans, but if we saw you coming, we had a fighting chance.

“Dominic, no,” Lukas said, catching Dominic’s intention even though he’d barely moved an inch off the couch. “She’s fine.”

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