Page 75 of For the Gods' Sake

His fingers grazed my wrists, going straight for the ties. My hands were freed from the binds a second later, then a tingling sensation shot up my arms. I moved away from his touch, bringing my hands in front of me.

I expected to see deep, purple bruises marring my skin, but they were already fading to an almost undetectable level.

He’d healed me.

“Oh, don’t act so surprised,” he drawled, coming to step around me. I’d recognized his voice, then known with certainty who he was when he used his power on me, but seeing it was still a shock.

He was almost preternaturally perfect. His hair, his eyes, the structure of his face all looked perfectly sculptured, like each was carefully selected by a master of art that would rival their patron god. It didn’t help that he was tall and broad, with shoulders that could eclipse the sun.

There wasn’t an ounce of attraction behind any of it, but I wasn’t ignorant to his beauty. And while he stood over me, with a smirk on his face, he was too imposing to ignore.

His eyes tracked down to my arms, to where he’d used his healing touch on me. “I wouldn’t let you sit there in pain.”

I scoffed, crossing my legs and leaning back in my chair, scraping for any ounce of confidence I couldmuster. “I’m supposed to believe that? I assume you were the one who ordered your minions to kidnap me in the first place,Lord Apollo.”

Sebastian grinned, pulling a chair up in front of mine. He sat, resting his ankle on his knee. He studied me carefully, his head cocked to the side like he was examining a piece of art in a gallery, trying to find the meaning under the paint and charcoal.

“I must say, I respect the fact that you do not seem scared of me,” Sebastian said, crossing his arms over his chest. His forearms flexed, bringing out the tattoos against his golden skin. “Although, it may not be the smartest decision.”

A surefire way to piss me off was to question my intelligence. I scoffed in his face. “You want me to be scared of you?”

Sebastian grinned, nodding his head slowly. “A dose of healthy fear is wise. It helps you know when you are the weaker link in the room. And, honey, you are certainly in the weaker position here.”

His words wound something ugly through my chest. Mainly because of how confident he seemed to be in this plan to overthrow the gods. And also a healthy chunk devoted to the fact that he called mehoney. Only Adrian was allowed to call me that.

“Is that so?”

“Snippy,” Sebastian said through a rumbling laugh. “I see why Adrian likes you. You say the things he won’t. But to be clear, yes. I am a god. You are no match for me.”

I opened my mouth to protest.

Sebastian raised his hand quickly. I shut my mouth. His grin had dropped and he was now staring at me with a hard expression. I at least knew when I was aboutto cross a line.

“It would behoove you to listen,” Sebastian said, his voice going deep as the threat built. “I am offering you safety. And not just for you, for your entire family.”

“You expect me to believe my father and Lady Juno aren’t working with you?” The signs that they were seemed a little too perfect. Well, maybe not now that we knew thatmaidenwasn’t a code word for them.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow at me. “Yes. That was a coincidence, I must say.”

He leaned back further in his chair, relaxing into it. Like he had all the time in the world to keep me here. “The story of the original Juno and Jupiter is delicious, really. All that dramatic, romantic tension.” Sebastian smiled, clearly entertaining himself with his own storytelling. “Any story that involves a peacock must be. But no, they are blissfully unaware of the conspiracy your boyfriend and his friends want to attribute to them.”

It was an intentional power move, reducing a group offivegods toyour boyfriend and his friends.

"They weren't suspicious for nothing," I hedged. Adrian said there was reason to suspect Claudia.

"Oh," Sebastian said, nodding his head like I'd reminded him of something that had just barely escaped him. "Claudia does have a bit of a crush on your father, unfortunately."

The only thing I could do was gape.

"Harmless, really," Sebastian continued. "But present. She said something about working with him on a women's organization, but I remember being quite drunk then."

I couldn't focus too much on the idea of Claudia Junohaving a crush on my father, so I refocused on the issue at hand. “So this is all you then?”

Sebastian’s smile closed into a confident grin, curling up on one side. “Deliciously so.”

“If you’re so sure of this little plan,” I said, drawing on what I knew always pissed my father off. He hated it when people undermined his authority or his intelligence. Maybe if Sebastian reacted the same, he’d slip up and reveal something that could give Adrian a leg up. If he even lets me out of here alive. “Why don’t you tell me what it actually is?”

“I’m proud of you for attempting whatever it is you’re planning in that little head of yours,” Sebastian said, gesturing toward me. “But you won’t be telling Adrian anything. I’ll make sure of that. And because I’m so sure of my methods, I feel compelled to let you in on my side of things. Temporarily, that is.”

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