Page 128 of Fallen Gods

“What the hell, Rey!” he yells through his laughter.

“I! Needed. Water!” I snort through the giggles.

“Thenask!”

We’re still cracking up when the door opens and Reeve waltzes in. He goes still as Aric and I both look up at him from the floor. Reeve stares us down, expression unreadable, though one thing’s for certain: he doesn’t look amused.

“Had a good night, did we? Do my eyes deceive me, or am I still drunk?”

“No!”Aric and I yell in unison.

I scramble off him and gesture at myself. “See? Fully clothed. Nothing happened.” I hold up my hands. “Can I get some water and a ride back to campus?”

Reeve winks. “Didn’t you already get a ri—”

I bare my teeth. “Finish that sentence. I dare you.”

He’s smiling his ever-present casual grin, but today it doesn’t reach his eyes. I follow his gaze. Aric’s putting his shirt back on. Reeve focuses on the four runes before snapping his attention back to me. “Water’s in the fridge downstairs. Help yourself.”

I frown. Normally, Reeve is shoving us in the opposite direction and trying to fuel hate between us. “Is everything okay? You just went really pale.”

“Yeah. Uh, yeah.” He grabs his phone from his pocket and holds it up. “Need to make a quick call. Be ready in ten.” He’s already walking away.

“I’ll grab two waters,” I tell Aric. “You finish getting ready.” But when I head out into the hallway, I see Reeve going into what looks like an office. And before the door closes behind him, I catch a glimpse of Sigurd inside. He’s impossible to miss—for one, he’s tall, even taller than Reeve. And today, he’s not in his ever-present school spirit outfit but a full-on black suit that looks a hell of a lot like the armor CEOs and drug lords wear.

I tiptoe over and press my ear against the closed door in order to hear the muffled voices.

“Yes.” Reeve sounds different. Angry. “Yes, I’m sure. No, I don’t know exactly how it happened. Although I have suspicions. Either way, he needs to be careful—we all do.”

Sigurd curses. “We’ve been careful. And I trust your brother. He knows what he’s doing…this time.”

This time?

“Clearly not careful enough!” Reeve shouts, followed by the sound of something breaking. “You know what this means!”

“We can prevent it,” Sigurd says calmly. “We have so far. Everyone believes the lie, so let them continue to believe it while we keep the truth safe.”

“What if we can’t keep it safe anymore? What if we can’t keephimsafe?” Reeve swears. “I knew this alliance was a bad idea.”

Alliance? Every cell in my body is vibrating. With fear? Anger?

“You’ve played your part,” Sigurd continues. “Now trust your brother—you’ll see, all will be well.”

“We need to tell—”

“Even if the truth was laid out for all to see, it wouldn’t matter, son. Too many moves have already been made.”

Footsteps sound, but not near the door. Someone’s pacing, or maybe they both are.

They stop talking, and I see the doorknob begin to turn.

I rush downstairs to the kitchen, heart pounding, and quickly pull a water from the fridge, gulping from the bottle in hungry pulls.

Reeve’s at my side in an instant. His hand snaps out to grip my wrist. He flips it over and runs his thumb down the veins in my arm.

I laugh. “You reallyarestill drunk, aren’t you?”

But Reeve isn’t here to joke. He grips my wrist harder and presses his thumb against it, like he’s trying to count my heartbeat. I’ve been taught how to calm a racing heart. He’ll feel a completely normal pulse.