Page 127 of For the Gods' Sake

“You want to be king.” Adrian’s chest rose with a deepbreath that pulled his shoulders back in a confident, steady stance. But I could see the anguish under it all. “And what makes you think I’m going to let that happen?”

Sebastian pressed the tip of the arrow further into my skin, pulling out a trickle of blood. I didn’t even have to look at him to know he was cocking a brow at Adrian. “I think you know I can take all of this from you.”

Adrian took a careful step closer. His eyes were intently focused on Sebastian and me. Almost like he was trying not to draw attention to other points in the room. “Oh, really?”

Sebastian chuckled, like this whole thing was nothing but a game to him and he was only playing because he had nothing to lose and everything to gain. “Have I not proven to you that I can ruin you if I wanted?”

The hard set of Adrian’s jaw seemed to be answer enough for Sebastian, who carried on like he was about to launch into a captivating story. “Let’s go through all the ways I’ve done so, shall we?”

Adrian stayed silent, letting Sebastian talk. That was clearly his Achilles heel. His own confidence and recklessness and desire to show thathewas the one who was in power making him ready to reveal his secrets.

Sebastian leaned back against the couch, crossing his ankle over his leg. All while keeping me at the end of his crossbow.

He was clearly comfortable in his position as the one in power, his guards outnumbering us and his death off the table—for now. “For one, it was quite easy to convince people that Rose had stolen their chance at the Greeks winning the Underworld with her blood lustand ill-advised marriage,” he said, sparing her a look over his shoulder while she fidgeted in her chair. When his head turned back, there was a pleased smirk there. Happy to have Rose restrained.

Though I wasn’t sure whether her fidgeting was just that or if she was fighting against her binds. The guard watching over her was focused on Sebastian, pulled instinctively into his storytelling. “What I did not account for was the utter incompetence of the people assigned to kill her.”

“You wanted me dead?” Rose snapped.

Sebastian barely spared her a glance. For a second, I thought it was because he couldn’t look her in the eye. “At first. But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Now, you can be my perfect scapegoat. I’ll sic any fatalities on you and leave my own reputation spotless.”

Rose did nothing but smile at him. Which I was learning meant she was certifiably pissed.

A sound got my attention. At first, I thought it was coming from out in the hallway, but a clap of thunder muffled the sound.

Sebastian returned his attention to Adrian. “I made people lose faith in the sea. And I can make people lose faith in you. Whether its through a newspaper, another god’s power, or by forcing you into submission through your lovely girlfriend here.” Adrian released a warning growl at that jab. “I. Control.You.”

Adrian dodged that comment for the moment. “And the others? What makes you so sure they’ll bow to you?”

Sebastian scoffed. “I think you’ll find that most of the others don’t care who leads them so long as their lives and the lives of the people they love are protected. I have people in every court ready to make that threatclear. If that doesn’t make them fold, they can fade away into irrelevance or bend to submission in one of the safe houses you so kindly built for me.”

Adrian took one cautious step towards us, narrowing Sebastian’s attention on him. His voice remained steady, even though I could feel the electricity kick up in the room. “Before we even begin to discuss whether or not I plan on surrendering to your plan, I’m going to need you to explain what I’ve done so wrong to bring this on.”

My breathing slowed for just a second. I knew Adrian. And in a situation this tense, this important, he wasn’t one to spend time dwelling on grandiose stories of his failures. Which made me think he was trying to distract from something. On the off chance he was, I kept my attention glued to him, hiding any trickle of relief from Sebastian.

“You not realizing how severely your parents fucked this world up by having you is problem number one,” Sebastian said, lifting his forefinger pointedly.

“As I’m sure you know,” Adrian said lazily, that cold confidence that I hadn’t seen in weeks descending back on his shoulders. “Nothing in this world happens unless the Fates allow it. Clearly this was in the plan or I wouldn’t be here. As for my parents, if you have any care for the peopleyoulove, I’d advise against saying anything about them.”

My heart started to ache, because despite Adrian’s words, I knew he still doubted whether all of this was his fault. He had it inked on his skin for Jupiter’s sake. And having to defend it against Sebastian,knowingthat people had joined his ranks, made me want to set the world on fire.

Sebastian’s disbelieving scoff caught my attention, edged with a rare show of fire moving through his otherwise callous demeanor. “I don’t have anything more you can take.”

Adrian’s eyes narrowed on him, his jaw setting with contempt. “You blame me for Artemis, don’t you?”

“You say that like it’s not your fault,” Sebastian snapped. That little show of fire was now a full on blaze, channeling all his attention on Adrian. I could only hope Adrian had something planned and was intentionally provoking him.

“It’s not,” Adrian defended, his voice hard with authority and conviction. “I amsorryyou lost her. I know she was like a sister to you. But her life did not end because of me.”

From what I remembered, Artemis had tragically ended her own life when she was eighteen. I knew that Adrian had a bow and arrow tattooed in her honor, right on his sternum, but he hadn’t told me anything about her death. And in the early hours of the nights we’d spent together, we’d talked about every person he faulted himself for.

Sebastian was clearly placing blame where it didn’t belong. It was a dark type of anger, one that was so steeped in conviction that nothing and no one would convince him of anything different. Not under these circumstances, anyway.

And his anger was clearly enough for him to feel entitled to retribution, because the tip of the arrow dug into my skin again as he said, “This death can be your fault.”

The blood trailing down my neck stole Adrian’s attention for just a second, enough that I was worriedthe windows would shatter from the force of the storm outside, before he forcefully refocused his attention on Sebastian. “What do you want?”

His words carried just enough concession for Sebastian to think he had him. “Power. And for you to surrender.”

---