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Chapter 1

Adrian

The gods were used to attention. Whether it was as a patron or from fascination, your divinity always followed you.

It followed me to a higher degree than everyone else. I was the god of the skies, the shaker of worlds, the prodigal son, the kid who fucked everything up, the king of the gods.

There was a certain level of attention those titles drew in.

I’d gotten used to it. From everyone buther.

And she’d found me again.

The wedding of the century—the union of two gods whose families hated each other for thousands of years—wasn’t a particularly random place.

I knew she would be here, one of the bride’s best friends and all, but she was stillfollowing me. Because even here, in this shadowed corner of the ballroom where I was intentionally hiding from her, she was there.

Ever-present like a beautiful little mosquito, leaving behind the reminder of her presence as a welt after sucking my life source away.

And the fact that I was considering changing course made my skin itch and the collar of my suit feel tight.

I didn’tdoitchy. I didn’t do uncomfortable.

My life depended on order. Control.

I had no other option when the eyes of the entire world were trained on me and my every move.

Those very eyes were looking at me with rapt curiosity. I was obviously hiding. Some might even say fidgeting.

I twisted my signet ring around on my finger, a relic from the Zeus side of things. Another carefully crafted move that made people remember that I hadn’t abandoned that side of my heritage, despite my last name.

And this plan—this stupid,stupidfucking plan—could mess with the entire carefully crafted system. But if it worked, if she agreed to it, it could solve our problems and maybe a few others where my reputation was concerned.

We needed this. The gods needed this.

I bit down my pride and tossed back my champagne and came out from behind the column I was hiding behind. I swiped two more glasses off a passing tray at the same time my eyes locked with Lukas’s from across the room.

The fucker looked so happy, I was concerned he’d start turning the water around him into rainbows.

He should be. He’d waited long enough to make Daphne his wife. I raised my glass in salute, hoping he understood that what I was about to do would serve as agood enough distraction to make the exit he was surely planning unnoticeable.

Lukas nodded once, accepting my congratulations. I took a sip, sealing my well-wishes.

Then I looked into the crowd, found Reyna Romulus, and started towards my target.

?

Reyna

The gods were hard to avoid.

I didn’t think any of them really understood it—how obvious their divinity was.

Sure, they lived and died like humans and worked among us, but there was something distinctly godly about them.

Take Lord and Lady Pluto. Lord Pluto had Lady Pluto pushed up against a column, whispering something in her ear. Neither of them appeared to be aware that the shadows around them deepened to a haunting degree or that dark tendrils of smoke gathered around their feet.

Or Lord Poseidon, who didn’t seem to notice how condensation would gather on glasses as he walked past, like the water was reaching for its owner.