Page 37 of Crimson Skies

“Hi, Menippe,” Cassius greeted her awkwardly.

He stole a glance at Morgan. His lover looked like he was about to blow a fuse.

Cassius swallowed a sigh.Great.

Black wind shivered into life around Morgan. “How aboutbothof you step away from Cassius?!”

Atropos pinched the bridge of her nose. Tisiphone chuckled.

“Calm down,” Victor told Morgan soothingly.

“What’s happening?” Leiv whispered to Cedric, intrigued.

“The Sea Goddess took certain…liberties with Cassius when they met in the Astrea Sea,” Cedric explained tactfully.

Asteria glowered at Menippe and tugged Cassius closer to her body. Ladon lowered his heads. His inquisitive gazes swung from Menippe to Asteria.

“Do they wish to mate with the Awakener too?” the dragon boomed loud enough to make the nearby treetops quake.

Cassius groaned as he became the focus of hundreds of rapt stares.

Morgan clenched his jaw so hard Cassius was afraid he’d crack a tooth. “No one’s mating with anybody!”

“Speak for yourself.” Tisiphone smirked. “Coraos was definitely mating with Theophile last night.”

Theo looked like he wanted to sink into the ground.

Victor narrowed his eyes at the Fury. “How about you keep your ears to yourself next time?”

Cassius carefully extricated himself from Asteria’s hold before things got out of hand. He turned a deaf ear to the sad sound the eagle made and went over to Morgan.

Menippe moved, her eyes gleaming.

Dark currents brimming with Dryad magic latched onto her limbs and held her back before she could leap on Cassius. The Sea Goddess cast an irritated look at Morgan.

“Do not touch other people’s things!” the demigod growled.

Though Cassius wanted to berate his lover for his grouchy attitude, there was no denying his possessive words made his belly tighten and his heart glow.

Menippe considered this for a moment before straining valiantly forward, her lips inches from Cassius’s mouth. “Just one little kiss won’t hurt anyone.”

“Oh yeah? I have it from a reliable source that you practically choked him with your tongue the last time you saw him!” Morgan snarled.

The reliable source was bent over laughing next to Tenebra.

Atropos looked to the sky and muttered something under her breath.

“Are they always like this?” the mayor mumbled hoarsely.

“You get used to it,” Strickland grunted.

Arethusa looked fairly bemused by the goings-on around her.

Hesperia was eyeing Tisiphone and Orena’s outfits curiously. “Are those human clothes?”

Kalliste reached the summit of the hillock and stepped around the huffing Menippe like she’d seen this all before. “Brothers, it is good to see you again.”

She hugged Theo and Cassius.