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No matter how mad Daphne made me, no matter how much she made me want to wringherneck for running, I would never entertain that shit.

Nikolas must have been too hungover to feel anything because he just laughed. “Give her my love.”

I wanted to punch him again for that but forced myself to pull back. Punching my brother wasn’t productive. “Get your shit together.”

Nikolas seemed like he absorbed the words to the extent he could. He had no intention of stopping, but maybe he’d keep it quiet.

Not that I trusted him to listen. I’d keep a guard on him in the distance, making sure he wasn’t sharing secrets or putting himself in danger. Also to make sure that he was just partying like the children of other wealthy families instead of crossing over into addiction.

Sufficiently more pissed, if that was even possible, I realized I wouldn’t be able to make it through dinner without bending a metal fork in half. Glancing at my watch, I saw it was already seven. I could have made it, but decided I’d rather be literally anywhere else.

Not even Daphne’s presence would be enough to make that bearable.

The Harvest Moon party was in a week. Her reintroduction could wait until then.

Chapter 7

Daphne

I’d spent the better part of the past year alone. I was surrounded by people most of the time, but I was still alone.

Most of the academics I'd been with cared little about my divinity and were too focused on their research to care about me.

The past week was a lot of the same, except in my own damn house. Lukas hadn’t made it back for dinner, so my reintroduction was delayed until the Harvest party. To tonight.

I’d avoided any large court gatherings, telling myself it was to hold off until it was official. But there was a good part of me that just didn’t want to see anyone.

Not when I felt like I was hanging by a nail-thin thread over a pit of chomping, bloodthirsty sharks.

Who was I kidding? There was only one shark—Lukas. My feelings for him were the teeth, prepared to rip me apart more than they already had. The broken trust would be the thrashing, ensuring I bled out.

It felt stupid to be this affected by him when we were never together.

But we also weren’tnottogether.

I knew what he smelled like, down to the note. I remembered the weight of his hand on my back. I knew what he looked like in the morning and right as he was falling asleep.

And yet I might not have a right to be this heartbroken, because there wasn’t technically something to break.

I needed to focus, because tonight there would be eyes on both of us. And I’d made embarrassingly little headway the past week. We couldn’t tell if the catches were back up to par for a few more weeks, it would take time for those to bounce back.

Eleni told me that spirits were low but not panicked yet. The gods hadn’t done them truly wrong. Not in recent memory, anyway.

My research was turning up cold, unable to find anything that didn’t point to consistency and the Hera/Juno of it all. The word maiden combined with a circle painted a very clear picture.

But that had to be a problem for another day, because I needed to be focused tonight. It wasn’t even something I consciously did anymore—the command of a conversation. But if I was tired or distracted, I’d slip up a bit.

Or worse, not actually make any mistakes but have the nagging fear that I did.

And distracted I’d certainly be. Because in all likelihood, Lukas would be in a suit.

Not a full tux, reserved for formal occasions. But a starched, white shirt that deepened his already darker tan skin a shade. A suit jacket and pants, probably a rich navy, that stretched across his arms and thighs.

At the thought, I jerked forward, hitting my elbow on the edge of my vanity.

I cursed under my breath.

I had to finish my makeup before my thoughts went a little haywire and my hands started shaking. I’d always enjoyed doing my own makeup and hair, taking time in carefully completing each step. Even if it ultimately looked rather simple,Icared that it was done well.