Page 37

KLEOS

I couldn’t stop looking at my neck—not even at the runes on my skin, but at the rows of diamonds sitting there like they belonged.

I didn’t even think about hiding under long sleeves today. I had no issues showing the new runes, and I doubted anyone would question them. It was fairly well known to anyone in my acquaintance that I was fond of rune magic. Plus, I was not ruining the effect of the necklace. Not for a kingdom.

It took a while to find the perfect one for it, but eventually, I settled on a cream dress with a high neck.

I would have preferred something to show off the diamonds on bare skin, but my selection of gowns was seriously limited.

On top of the fabric, the diamond necklace was certainly the star of the show.

I considered packing some of my stuff, given the fact that I’d be back at Lucian’s later, but honestly, his wardrobe was more than adequate, and there was nothing I truly needed.

Besides, it wouldn’t do to show up at the ball with a bulky backpack.

I could have reduced the size of whatever I needed, but an excessive amount of magic in my purse might have been noticeable to anyone who cared to check.

Lucian had said I should act normal, and I intended to.

After some reflection, I opted to only take a week’s worth of underwear. I had to handwash my bra twice. It’d be handy to have more around, and the minimal amount of magic it took to shrink them wouldn’t be noticeable.

Wrapped in my shawl, I was heading downstairs right before eight, to meet up with Gideon, when an unexpected voice called, "You haven't been home.”

I automatically straightened up, turning to face the last person I would have expected to see in this house, fifteen minutes before the start of a ball.

"Mother. I'm surprised you have,” I replied.

Perched on four-inch heels, she wore a white Grecian dress, draping gracaefully off her shoulders, and diamonds on her ears, throat, fingers, and wrists, though none were as bright as the ones under my shawl.

“I had to pick up a spell for my sister,” she replied with a slight grimace. “Nemea’s expecting again. The beast keeps impregnating her. She’s sick.”

I knew my mother didn’t get along with most of her family, her little sister especially. Nemea had married outside of the family’s wishes, choosing a shifter. But whether they got along or not, if her sister was sick, Zenya Pendros would take care of her. It was expected.

“Would you like me to give her the spell? If you have no time tonight.”

“Please.” She was quick to hand me a flask. “I would have had the housekeeper ask you if she’d seen you. Where were you, that girl’s hovel?”

That girl was Silver. The fact she’d left her foster parents’ stately home for a small house on the twenty-third circle was a constant source of scorn for my mother, never mind that Silver’s place was great. More importantly, it was hers.

I knew better to lie to my mother’s face.

I wasn’t great at it, and as a politician, she could spot it a mile away.

But I also knew she didn’t care, so I didn’t have to answer.

“Gideon’s picking me up now. Wouldn’t want to be late.

” I flashed the flask before sliding it in my purse. “I’ll find Nemea.”

“You do that. And I expect you to dance with the Valmont boy tonight. You were supposed to see him for drinks this week and never got back to him to schedule it.”

I tried not to groan, fleeing the house as fast as the stilettos could carry me. “See you there, Mother!”

And I was out.

Gideon’s taxi was in front of the door within minutes.

The Hall of Truce was close by, just a pleasant fifteen-minute walk across the park, but experience had taught me that saving my feet at the start of an event like tonight was wise.

No amount of spells to freeze the balls of my feet or heal my toes changed the fact that my feet were on fire by midnight.

“I know it’s no carriage,” he teased as I got in.

“I would take a musty farm tractor,” I replied. “Zenya was home.”

He gasped. “No! Whatever was she doing in her house?”

He was, of course, absolutely not kidding. “No clue. I need to move out.”

And I needed a cat. I had only been away a few hours, but it still felt strange to not have Zazel’s company.

“I mean, haven’t you?” My cousin grinned knowingly.

I rolled my eyes. His constant teasing about Lucian was losing its humor, fast—if it had ever been funny.

Lucian was simply not interested. He was a flirt, yes, but he’d never made a move in our entire acquaintance, including the better part of a week when I’d, for all intents and purposes, lived in his house.

He wanted to protect me, help me get to the bottom of this issue, but he did absolutely not want to get into my pants.

That fact was sad enough without the reminders.

Gideon might have the subtlety of a herd of elephants most of the time, but he occasionally surprised me. He dropped it. “So, we’re going to Greece, huh?”

“Yes, Monday.” I brightened up a little. “I mean, I’m not actually expecting anything to happen, you know?—”

“Yeah.” He frowned. “I don’t know, Kley. I feel like it’s not the worst idea, all things considered. This city isn’t normal. What happened to you isn’t normal.”

I wasn’t sure whether he meant last month or all those years ago in the library. Either way, he was right.

“I mean, I’m a half dragon. Who am I to say what normal is?” he grinned. “I guess my point is, keep an open mind. If you don’t expect help, you might not get it just based on that. Speaking to gods requires…you know. Faith.”

I ran his words through my mind. “You’re making far too much sense. We need to get some mead into you.”

“Yes, ma’am.”