“She serves the god of thievery then?” Gemini muses out loud, seemingly connecting pieces that I know nothing about.
The woman gives another short nod. “Yes.” Her attention back on Gemini. “I can count on you to guide her through this new chapter. She’ll have quite a few questions, I gather.”
Gemini looks at me from the corner of his eye, his grin feral and cunning. “Of course.”
The woman turns to leave, but Gemini calls out to her, “Oh! And, Oracle?” His voice is far too amused, making my hackles rise.
Half turned, she waits for him to speak, her expression cold and stern.
“Is it true about the fornication rule? It no longer applies?”
“Correct,” she states before turning around without another glance.
It takes a few seconds after she disappears through the doors for Gemini to react.
But when he does, it sends a chill down the length of my body, rooting me to the spot.
He bursts out laughing, big belly laughs that have him doubling over.
Anger spikes through me like an iron rod, as I’m suddenly overwhelmed with the weight of what just transpired. How dare he find this amusing when my life has been anything but?
Without any rational thought, I shove him with all my strength. He stumbles but quickly regains his footing, which only makes him laugh even harder, the sound bubbling up and up and up, until I finallysnap.
The sound of my hand striking his left cheek detonates through the now-quiet hall, and the shock splashed across his face mirrors the shock twisting my insides into knots.
Although my small outburst has made him stop laughing, he hasn’t lost his mirth. It glimmers wildly behind his mismatched irises as he brings a palm to his reddening cheek.
“Oh,” he says much too calmly, a smirk slowly spreading across his face, his eyes shimmering with a wild glint, “this is going to beso muchfun.”
16
GEMINI
Veil pestered me all the way back across the harbor. I refused to answer any of her nagging questions until we were in the privacy of our own home, away from loose lips and prying eyes.
I have an insurmountable possessiveness smarting my chest; Veil being the long-lost seventh heir is quite the monumental secret to keep, and the urge to hide it from the other heirs—temporarily—is a primal need I can’t control. I can almost feel the influence of my dear god of trickery celebrating inside of me with gleeful pleasure.
Because for now?
Veil ismyperfect little thieving secret.
“Gemini,” Veil groans out exasperatingly when we step into the living room. Her tone tickles my ear like the fizz of champagne up the nose.
Ever since we spoke to the Oracle, she’s been acting bolder. She claims not to know what any of it means, but there’s no denying that having been told she’s the seventh heir of Pravitia has certainly emboldened her.
It’s a delectable change I plan on cultivating for months to come.
“Patience, love,” I respond with the same exasperation.
With a tired sigh, I tug my shirt out of my leather pants, pulling it over my head. I fling it onto the couch before making my way to the patio doors, sliding one open. “I’m in the mood to stargaze.”
Veil stands listlessly in the middle of the room, staring at me. She’s still in her baby-doll dress, and I consider changing her into something more relaxed, but decide against it. I enjoy drinking in her tattooed skin far too much to cover it up. Ethereal stars, clouds, and suns paint her skin, as if she’d wished she were part of the cosmos instead of being tethered to earth.
She doesn’t move, so I signal her with a tilt of the head to follow me onto the terrace.
“It’s cold out,” she says weakly.
I stifle an eye roll. “I have heaters. Now come,” I bite out impatiently. “You want answers, don’t you?”
