Page 55 of Gods of Prey
To be honest, I’m slightly terrified of the same thing.
“Ididn’t tamper with anything.” My hands cover my chest. “I was taken along for the ride just as much as anyone else. But it appears that me, Sebastian, and Jovie are the only three who realized what had happened.”
“And you abandoned your realm?” His voice lifts in question.
This is where it gets messy.
I bite my lower lip. “Sebastian didn’t return to Aurelys in the last timeline, either. When I realized it, I returned to the mortal realm on my own to find answers. It was . . . not as successful.”
Images of watching Bash hunt and kill my murderers flash through my mind, along with all the times he stalked and hunted Jovie before she fell in love with him. He was a far more vicious beast in the previous timeline than he is now. Part of me is grateful that Revel didn’t know him then. It would have altered their whole relationship.
“And he did all of this for her?”
My response is a slow nod.
“Tell me about your friendship with Jovie,” Revel says suddenly, his voice less hostile now.
I look up at him, surprised by the change in his tone. “Why?”
“Because I need to understand what we’re dealing with. Whatyou’redealing with. I’ve obviously underestimated it.” He sits in the chair across from me, leaning forward. “I know Sebastian cares about her, but you do, too.”
“She was kind to me when she didn’t have to be. When I was just some rich medical student who kept showing up at her coffee shop.”
“That’s not all of it.”
He’s right, of course. My connection to Jovie runs deeper than simple kindness. She became the sister I never had. The friend I’d never allowed myself in all my centuries of existence.
But what would a male like him understand about that? One who can have any being he wants at the snap of his fingers. One who people love and revere and fawn over.
“She saw through my masks,” I say finally. “All the walls I’d built up over lifetimes of playing my roles. With her, I could just be...Sienna. Not the Goddess of Death, not Sebastian’s twin, not someone defined by duty and divine responsibility. Just me.”
Revel’s expression softens. I scowl at the change, hating the feel of his pity. “And now?” he asks.
“Now she’s doing it again.” I meet his eyes. “That’s part of what makes this so dangerous. The more time I spend with her, the harder it becomes to remember why I need to take Sebastian away from her.”
Revel watches me move across the room. “Is that what you want? To take him away from her?”
I stop, my back to him. “What I want doesn’t matter. The balance is failing. The Divine Council will intervene soon if we don’t fix this. The Council of Elders has us on a timer. We’ll lose our leverage if we delay any more.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
I turn to face him, and I’m surprised to find him standing much closer than before. When did he move?
“No,” I find myself admitting quietly. “It’s not what I want. I want my brother to be happy. I want Jovie to keep being kind and brave and everything that made Sebastian fall in love with her. I want?—”
“What?” His voice is barely above a whisper now.
“I want to not have to choose between duty and the people I care about.” The confession tumbles out before I can stop it.
We’re standing too close now. I can see flecks of glittering silver floating in his gray eyes. I can feel the warmth of his Life energy even in my spectral form. For a moment, I forget that we’re supposed to be enemies. Forget that he’s Life and I’m Death. My brother’s best friend almost since birth. I forget that we’ve spent centuries in opposition one way or another. I forget that we were arguing just minutes before.
“Sienna,” he says, and my name sounds different on his lips. Softer.
“Don’t,” I whisper, but I don’t pull away.
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t look at me like that. Don’t make this more complicated than it already is.”
