Page 83 of For the Gods' Sake

“How do you know?” Lukas had asked.

Adrian had spared me a glance then, looking at me like my appearance physically pained him before answering, “She can’t answer any of my questions. Andsomeone took her out of a store.”

That obviously meant he was having me followed, but I couldn’t find the mind to be angry about it. That was the only reason we were here. The only reason he knew.

I just wished I could verbalize how impossible it was for me to have betrayed him.

“For the love of Zeus,” Daphne cursed under her breath, moving me to sit on a raised chair in the corner of her office. Then she took to examining me for any injuries.

“I’m fine. I—”

“Stop struggling,” she’d chastised lightly when my body tensed. “It’s okay.”

I was trying to figure out a way to tell her that I was fine because I’d beenhealed, trying to give them any hint to Sebastian’s identity as the master of this plan. But my voice failed me before I could get anywhere near it.

The tension in the room was thick, enough that Daphne took to silently examining me despite my protest. My eyes darted between Adrian, sitting in the corner of the room, his hair disheveled and hanging over his forehead and Lukas, who was openly staring at Daphne.

It looked like he was focused on her back, watching for signs of tension. Daphne obviously sensed his attention because she paused, looking over her shoulder at him. Something silent passed between them, the type of communication that could only come from years of being best friends, heightened by the depth of their love.

Lukas’s eyes narrowed, like he wasn’t convinced she was okay, but seemed to drop it. He came over andsmoothed her hair behind her back, pressing a small kiss to her shoulder before he let her return to me.

As he moved away, Daphne reached up on her toes and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. It made me smile seeing them like this, openly and comfortably affectionate.

My eyes found Adrian on instinct and my smile dropped. Even underwater at Daphne and Lukas’s palace, you could tell how dark the skies were, cutting off the moonlight streaming through the water.

Daphne continued her search, finding nothing. Of course she didn’t. The poison they used to knock me out, the bruises from the binds, the concussion I’d likely suffered from headbutting Sebastian were all gone. But I couldn’t tell them any of it.

“You look like you strained your eyes a bit,” Daphne said, shining a light in my eye that made me wince. Lightning striking somewhere on land lit the water an eerie blue. “I doubt it’s damaged, but if you’re worried,” she said, looking over her shoulder at Adrian, “You could always have Sebastian double-check.”

Look at me, I pleaded.Anythingto show that I was tensing at the mention of him.

But no, Daphne was still looking at Adrian’s fallen head. He didn’t address her. I couldn’t see the look that Daphne gave Lukas, but whatever it was had him walking over to Adrian to place a hand on his shoulder.

The second his hand touched Adrian, he jumped back. Holding his hand up like the contact had shocked him.

Fuck. Adrian’s power was obviously fighting its way out of his body. I’d felt it when he was holding me. Dull, even comforting, pulses of electricity shooting throughme.

But Lukas was practically made of water. It’d probably hurt.

A fact that Adrian seemed to gather, because he slowly lifted his head and looked at Lukas’s hand. “I’m—”

“Don’t even start,” Lukas cut him off.

Adrian sighed then ran his hand over his face. Still not looking at me. “No Sebastian,” he said. For the love of Jupiter, I could kiss him for that. My limbs still felt shaky with remaining fear and adrenaline. The only moment I’d felt steady was when Adrian held me in the dark. “She’s okay?” he asked, a rare hint of stress in his voice.

“Healthy,” Daphne responded. “Along with the other thing you asked,” she said vaguely, sparing me a look. That was fine. They didn’t know if I would be forced to rat them out. Or honestly if I would willingly do it. “I’ve been working on a antidote using some of Piper’s blood.”

I scoffed. Bitch. “How’d she give that up?” I asked.

“Willingly,” Daphne said with a sweet smile. Yeah, I was sure that was how it happened.

“I hate to play devil’s advocate,” Lukas said, already cringing as he said it. “But how do we know she’s not lying?”

The only answer was Adrian’s low growl of warning.

“Fine,” Lukas said, raising his hands in surrender. Then he turned to Daphne, silently asking for her take.

Daphne reached back and placed a comforting hand on my knee. “Reyna wouldn’t do that. I’ll take the fall if I’m wrong.”

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