Page 99 of For the Gods' Sake

“Persephone, darling, what did you bring for dessert?” Mila asked her right as she walked back into the kitchen.

Persy blinked like she was trying to remember the name. “Um…tiramisu?” she responded, a clear note of doubt in her voice.

Her mother didn’t seem to catch it in her move to head back inside for the last of the food, leaving Persy and I alone again.

“You don’t bake,” I said. More of a statement than a question.

Persy grinned under the rim of her wine glass. “Haven’t the patience for it. I should have counted on you to be the one to guess.”

I studied her across the table. “Why?”

Persy shrugged one of her shoulders. “I brought a tray over one day and my father just assumed I made them. I never corrected them.”

“Again,” I said on a laugh. “Why?”

Persy smiled softly. “One of the former residents of Prometheus does. He likes order and control, so I suggested he try cooking or baking as a hobby. He came to love it. Now, he splits his time between the kitchens in Prometheus and a bakery in Athens. But he asked me not to tell anyone he makes them.”

My third, “Why?” landed on the table.

“Not my story to tell,” Persy said with a note of amusement on her lips. “But it has gained me quite a few favors with the gods. Not going to throw that away now.”

My response was cut off by Cassius and Mila joining us back on the porch, taking their seats at the head of the table. Cassius pulled out Mila’s chair for her, dropping a kiss to the top of her head.

I wasn’t sure how long they’d been married, but it was clear they were still deeply in love. True to the tales of their forbidden love story that shook the entire world.

Adrian followed shortly, coming out on the porch and dropping a basket of bread down on the table.

I damn near choked on my wine. He’d rolled up the sleeves of his button down, exposing his forearms. Covered in tattoos.

He walked straight for the chair next to me. I looked up at him in shock, which he only took as an opportunity to plant a kiss on my forehead as he took his seat, his hand settling on the arm of my chair.

The entire table was silent for a long moment. Persy was openly impressed, while Adrian’s parents were looking at him in a mix of shock and happiness.

And Adrian seemed either unaware of the gravity of the moment or was intentionally ignoring it. “Howmuch do you want?” he asked me, nodding at the expertly plated steak.

It took me a second to get over my shock, but I was eventually able to answer him through a hoarse voice. While he put some steak on my plate, I turned to gauge his family’s reaction. Persy wasn’t even attempting to hide her smirk.

But his parents…well, Cassius looked like a father who’d just watched his child win the highest honor for their purest passion. And Mila looked like she was about to cry.

“If you’re done staring,” Adrian said, not even looking at his family. “I’d like to eat. I’m starving.”

And with that, the tension broke and the table returned to normal.

I was expecting a host of questions slung at us, badgering us for details of our relationship. But none came. The conversation was casual. Yes, digging into my life and my interests, but little about me and Adrian’s relationship.

Everything they needed to know could be found in his rolled up sleeves.

With each passing moment, my excitement and contentment was replaced by dread. Because I knew how serious the threat against Adrian was.

Sebastian was smart. Powerful. Charming. Everything Adrian was just with an undertone of callousness that made my blood run cold with fear. Who knew how many people in Adrian’s close circle had traded their loyalty for whatever Sebastian promised them.

Or threatened them with, in my case.

I didn’t know how I was supposed to look my familyin the eye, knowing I held their safety in my hands. Hell, I’d probably try to stab Renato the next time I saw him.

And while Persy passed around the tiramisu she’d brought, casually evading a question about the ingredients, the ice in my veins froze my blood solid.

“And this is why you’re my heir,” Adrian joked, after letting out a contented hum over a bite of tiramisu.

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