Forged by Fate

hid the rest of her body from him. “But I wish I could speak otherwise, Athena. I wish I could offer you something better than this.”

She sat up, the sheet falling away, and brought her lips to his. He didn’t pull away, nor did he encourage her, and she sighed and turned away. “Perhaps the next time you join us, your heart will not be so unyielding.”

“Athena—”

He was stopped by a shake of her head. “You have given me no reason to hope, Thor. I know that. But let me pretend otherwise, just for this moment.”

He nodded, though her back was to him, and watched her in silence. He understood now, why she had invited him to her bed. Drunk as he had been, as she had ensured he would be, she had hoped he would turn to her for comfort. But the comfort she offered and desired was pain to him, his heart too sore still from Sif’s betrayal, and aching yet, for Eve. It had been, perhaps, an unsubtle test of his resolve, but between her sister Aphrodite, and her brother Dionysus, Athena could be sure that his refusal only came from his heart, and not some twisted sense of honor or allegiance. And she would know it applied to all, not just her, if he denied her sister as well.

It was a relief and a regret that it would come to this, and he hoped in her divine wisdom she would still be able to accept his friendship.

She dressed and when she turned to him again, her expression was pleasant. “Would you like to eat before you leave us?”

“If it would not be an imposition, I could use some food to sop up the last of the wine from my stomach.”

“Stay, I’ll find you fruit and bread. Perhaps this way my sister will not remember that you slipped away and take offense.” She smiled, and then left the room.

Alone, he dressed, wishing that his trouble could be as easily fixed as his hangover.

Chapter Twenty-five: Present

“Absolutely not!” Garrit had stopped pacing, and Eve would have been grateful if he weren’t glowering instead.

She sighed. Somehow, Garrit’s study always made her feel like an erring child, caught pulling hair on the playground. She stood up, hoping it would lessen the feeling if she weren’t sitting opposite his desk. She felt as though she was sacrificing Mia for the House of Lions. Or worse, for herself.

“If they’re here, we can keep an eye on both of them. I can make sure Mia is safe.”

He shook his head. “I don’t want him in my home, Abby. Not now, and certainly not more regularly. Mia makes you miserable, and it goes without saying how I feel about Adam. Our entire purpose as a family has been to keep him from you. To protect you from exactly this. You can’t expect me to believe that now he knows who he is, he’s given it all up and become content to be your brother-in-law.”

No, she didn’t expect anything of the sort. But she wanted to know if the person she knew Adam could be was still there, hidden somewhere. Paris might have been selfish and arrogant, but he hadn’t been a horrible human being. He had only wanted love. She wondered if that was what drove Adam now, too, buried beneath all the hubris. It wasn’t something Garrit would understand. She wasn’t even sure she did.

“I know what he’s capable of doing to her. You want me to just let her run off with him?”

Garrit ran his hand through his hair and took a deep breath, as if gathering his patience. “You said you weren’t going to police her. You said you didn’t want to mother her. That if this was what she wanted, you had no right to interfere. You said she loves him freely. Or has this changed?”

She knew where he was going, but she could hardly lie. “No, it hasn’t changed. He hasn’t influenced her.”

“Then they leave.” His voice was firm. “Mia’s made her bed, and you’ve already made your choice not to meddle.”

“But Garrit—”

“Non, Abby.”

She flinched at his tone, and looked away.

He sighed, framing her face in his hands and kissing her forehead. Eve stepped into his arms, accepting the apology his body offered and hid her face in the curve of his shoulder.

“This family would move mountains for you,” he murmured. “We would do anything you asked. Provide for you under any circumstances. But not this, Abby. I won’t let him close to you this way.”

There was so much of Ryam in him. And Ryam had never been swayed from any course once his mind had been made up. “You won’t, or the family won’t?”

“It’s the same, either way. This is just a new way for him to try to hurt you.” He stroked her hair. “Not all mind games are played telepathically. If he had really changed, he wouldn’t have forced himself on you this way. You wouldn’t have to worry about what he’ll do to Mia if you let him leave.”

She pulled away and went to the window. The sun was up and the sky was clear for the moment. Juliette and Rene were out at the stables, and Eve could see them laughing as Rene gave her a leg up onto one of the mares. He slapped the animal on the rump, and Juliette let the horse have its head, shouting back over her shoulder to Rene to keep up. There were no dark flecks of odd shaped birds. She’d had the nightmare again last night though, of the sword through her stomach. She couldn’t decide which was worse, the nightmares of the mental ward or Michael.

“Let him leave.” She pressed her palm to the glass and stared into her own eyes. “I’m not letting him do anything.”

“Except drive you crazy.” His voice was bitter, and she flinched at his casual use of the word.

Crazy. Maybe she was, to think Adam could be something more than this. It had taken much less influence than what Adam was capable of to send her to the mental ward in her last life. “How do you force a man to leave who can make you think you want him to stay as easily as breathing? How are you so sure he’ll go at all?”

“Because even a man like me knows when he’s been outmatched, sister.” She turned at his voice. Adam shut the door behind him and flashed a grin. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Garrit glared, his jaw tight. “If you hadn’t meant to interrupt, you wouldn’t have come. At all.”

“How can I resist when I’m given such a warm welcome?” Adam smirked.

“You have no business here,” Garrit snapped. “Not even as Mia’s husband.”

Adam’s eyes flashed. “You DeLeons are even more arrogant than I gave you credit for. You don’t tell the son of God what his business is.” His grin was feral, and his gaze slid to her. “But I forgot. You denied God generations ago when you started making alliances with pagans—”

Garrit lurched forward, but Eve caught him by the arm. “Get out of my house and off my land, Adam.”

“Stop. Both of you.” The room darkened as clouds drifted over the sun, and a chill went down her spine. She put a hand on Garrit’s chest and pushed him back a step before he could lunge at Adam’s throat. “This is ridiculous.”

Adam rolled his eyes. “And I thought Eve was easy to provoke.”

“Don’t bother stopping to collect your wife on your way out,” Garrit sneered.

“That isn’t playing fair, Monsieur DeLeon. What’s mine will come with me. If that means you have to wait another thirty minutes while she packs, that’s not my problem. What God has joined, and all that.” He glanced at Eve again. “What shall I tell Mia, then? Or would you prefer to explain why you’re casting us out yourself?”

Eve kept a hand on Garrit, just in case, though she wanted to slap him herself. Casting us out. That he would dare even use the expression after what he’d done—no. She wouldn’t let him upset her. Not now.

“You’re not doing yourself any favors, Adam. Garrit has been incredibly patient with you, all things