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“Coward,” Persy coughed into her hand, rolling gracefully over her shoulder to stand. “The rules are who gets through the door first. Lukas won this time, but by the barest bit. Maybe take that inch of height you always lord over him, Dominic, and use it to your advantage next time.”

Daphne’s laugh covered Lukas’syes—just barely. As if Daphne was the prize he’d select for winning, he pulled her into his side and planted a firm kiss on the side of her head.

Daphne looked up at him with wide eyes, like she was momentarily shocked by the open display of affection. To her credit, she’d had more years believing he didn’t love her than she did in a loving relationship with him. A dull ache pulsed in my heart that she still harbored doubt.

But it looked like she shoved it away the second it arrived, leaning into Lukas’s embrace with a smile on her lips.

In a rather human moment, Dominic looked genuinely upset at his loss. Rose smoothed her hand down his arm in comfort, something secret passing between their smiles.

Daphne broke my stunned silence a moment later, extracting herself from Lukas’s grip, even though it was clear she didn’t want to. “Reyna,” she said, walking over to me with open arms. I jumped forward and accepted her hug, squeezing her tight.

She caught onto my feelings immediately,whispering, “It’ll be alright. We’re not that scary,” into my ear as she returned my tight hug.

“Thank you,” I whispered back, endlessly grateful for the way she seemed to cut through everyone’s walls and understand them.

When she pulled away, I realized I had missed Adrian greeting Dominic and Rose, but caught the tail end of his incredibly male embrace with Lukas, clapping him once on the back while nodding at something Lukas said between them.

Then Lukas’s smile turned towards evil and he said something else. Something that had to do withme, if I was reading his lips right.

Whatever it was, Adrian let out a breath of laughter and shoved him lightly, only garnering a booming laugh from Lukas.

Daphne looked over her shoulder at the sound, letting out a deep, almost relieved exhale as she did.

“Reyna,” Adrian beckoned, holding his hand out to me. “I’d like to introduce you. Formally, that is.”

I nodded, giving him a small smile that he matched. For a second I was worried if my silence was odd, because Dominic and Lukas shared a loaded look with one another as I walked to Adrian’s side.

Once I was within arm’s reach, his hand extended towards me, snaking comfortably around my back. I didn’t know if he was continuing our ruse, but the touch calmed my nerves to a degree that it shouldn’t.

“Dominic and Rose,” he said, introducing the gods of the Underworld like they were childhood friends rather than the harbingers of death. I guess they were—to him. I didn’t know if I could ever ignore the fact that even in Rose’s open smile and Dominic’s respectful nod, therewas something distinctly powerful about them.

Rose was the first to speak, smiling brightly. “I, for one, am so excited to finally meet you. Daphne has said the most wonderful things.”

I had no choice but to return her smile. “Me too. I wish it had been sooner.”

Rose raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow at me. “I’m choosing to believe that Daphne’s portrayal of me has outweighed any preconceived notions you may have had.”

Right. Because Rose had only clarified that she wasn’t, in fact, the one to kill her brother and father a few months ago. Before that, she seemed to walk around with her head held high, like she was okay wearing the murderous crown people ascribed to her.

I’d always known there had to be more to the story. I trusted Daphne’s opinion and she’d always stuck by Rose’s side.

“It has,” I assured her. I never really had any trouble with people, it was one of my strengths. At least that was what I was told. Adrian made me feel off-balance in that regard. Another person might call it butterflies. Or a crush. But that person would be incredibly wrong. Very wrong.

But despite my nerves at the beginning of this, I felt like I’d regained my footing while talking to Rose. Felt my confidence come back. “I’m glad we at least now have this to introduce us.”

“And what isthis?” Dominic cut in, staring at our proximity openly, his eyes tracking the minimal space between our bodies. The hand pressed to my back. The way I leaned into it.

I opened my mouth then closed it, unsure how torespond. I didn’t know what Adrian wanted to say.

“Let’s try that introduction again,” Adrian said, authority and a darker undercurrent in his tone. “Then I’ll answer that question.”

Dominic gave him a nod punctuated with raised brows, then turned back to me. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Reyna.” He shook my hand solidly, and it was either confirmation bias, or I could have sworn I felt my hand go numb like he was unintentionally sucking the life out of it.

He turned back to Adrian and said. “Care to answer now?”

Rose snaked her hand around her husband’s arm at the same time Adrian said, “In a moment. Now set aside whatever is making you an impatient bastard and let us finish.”

Dominic paused for a moment then nodded, looking down at Rose. If I had to guess, she was the reason for his impatience. Surely her attack had something to do with this. And Dominic wanted answers.