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“Say it’s because of her association with Adrian,” Daphne jumped in. “That she needs more protection. And then Avery can fill the role.”

That plan seemed to fly with Adrian, his hand now laying flat on his leg.

“How does your family hire security?” Dominic asked, more in confirmation than anything.

“Lady Ares,” I answered. Lilah, as she was known to the gods, had continued the tradition that her line had held to for the past few generations, taking her role as goddess of war and expanding it to areas of private security.

“I’ll tell her that Avery is looking to move back to the peninsula,” Lukas said. “And I’ll ask if she knows of any leads.” And then after a pointed look in our direction and a raised eyebrow at Adrian, he added, “That work for you, Jupiter?”

The use of his godly moniker seemed intentional, like it was a nod to his authority over the rest of the room.

“Yes,” Adrian gritted out. He was still clearly not happy, but it was enough to solidify the plan. Half on instinct, half because I wanted to, I leaned harder into his side, intertwining our arms.

When I’d asked him over dinner all those nights ago how touchy he was, he’d gave a typically evasive answer. So I just did what I knew I needed when I was dealing with stress, to be comforted with touch.

Either it worked too well or was a colossal failure, because Adrian’s body only seemed to grow more rigid.

“We have a family brunch tomorrow,” I said to the whole room. “Maybe coordinate with Lady Ares and I can meet Avery then? See if my brother even notices the change.”

I loved my brother, but he was not without his faults. One of them being his focus on the indulgences of life instead of the details. At least he wasn’t as bad as our cousin, who had a habit of taking it too far with gods.

Come to think of it, I’d been meaning to ask Daphne how close Lukas was to laying him out the night of the Harvest Festival. He was on a particular bender that night—one that ended with him passed out on a couch.

A little self-defense move Lilah taught me had absolutely nothing to do with that.

“We need to stay in communication,” Adrian said,a clear note of command in his voice. “Anything that changes, you tell me or your guards. I don’t care how innocuous you think it is.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Seeing Adrian like this—in the full seat of his power and exercising it over gods who always intimidated me with the sheer force of their strength only added to the headiness of his presence, making my awareness of his more potent. It settled lower in my stomach, lashing with heat.

“Council is this afternoon,” Adrian continued. “Pay attention to reactions or expressions. Emre will be doing the same. There’s a god in this, of that I’m sure.”

“Juno?” Dominic asked, his brows creasing slightly.

“Maybe,” Adrian said, like he didn’t quite believe the word himself.

“There’s an easy story there,” Daphne said. “With the history between your lines and her relationship with Lorenzo.”

She gave me a small smile as she said it, I waved my hand to dismiss her. She didn’t need to mince words around me. “But I agree, not a guarantee.”

Adrian’s arm curled tighter around mine, intertwining our hands together and pulling me up to stand. “We’ll reconvene this afternoon. I appreciate you all for coming this early.”

Lukas looked at Dominic, pointing over to Adrian. “Did he just say thank you?”

“Not in so many words,” Dominic said, looking at Adrian skeptically. “But I’m pretty sure he wasattemptingto communicate gratitude.”

Adrian let out a short breath of laughter. “I’m too damn old to give you a vocabulary lesson on whatappreciatemeans. Unless you want to get hit over the head with a dictionary.”

“I’m older than you,” Dominic said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Are you trying to say something?”

“Only that you have always been, and continue to be, a thorn in my side,” Adrian said, sardonically.

Dominic just barked a laugh, nodding at his friend. “See you later.” He wrapped his arm around Rose’s shoulders, who waved at me as he marched them out of the room and right through a portal.

Daphne came up for a quick hug, while Lukas clapped Adrian on the shoulder, before they too retreated back to their palace.

As they did, Emre walked over and extended a hand to Persy, helping her off the floor while she balanced her tea in the other hand.