I squinted at him. “You’re scaring me.”
He tilted his head to the side, something about him suddenly feeling heavy and extra thoughtful. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
Yeah, that drop of sweat went straight down my spine. “I haven’t done anything to anyone. I don’t want to die,” I whispered.
That got me an instant eye roll. “Why would my grandmother want to kill you? She’s why we met. I told you that.”
“You literally just said you’d protect me…”
“I was trying to make you feel better,” he said in exasperation. “Anyway, I don’t think the three of us could stop her if we tried, but I still wouldn’t let anyone hurt you.” He picked up my hand and put it back on the crease of his elbow. “I promised.”
I was going to shit myself.
The Trinity wouldn’t be enough to stop her?
At the same time, I thought that was nearly the neatest, most amazing thing I’d ever heard. What was she capable of? How refined was her gift of knowing the future? Why didn’t Alex have it? Hadn’t my own supposed great-grandmother been able to do the same?
“She’s interested in you but not in a way you need to worry.”
Yeah, that wasn’t helping. I squeezed his inner arm. “I kind of want to ask her what else she knows about my family.”
“You want to talk to her more?”
“Yeah, unless you think she might be able to suck my soul out.”
His tiny smile got under my skin, especially when he was in that freaking tuxedo. It was too much, like looking at an eclipse. My retinas might burn off if I focused too long.
Fortunately, the waiter I’d been eyeing earlier happened to walk by right then, and I got his attention, snagging what looked like two crackers with stuff on them off the serving tray in his hand. “Thank you,” I told him before turning toward Alex. “What is this?”
He took one. “Caviar.”
I made a face and handed the other to him.
He took it and ate that one too. “I doubt anyone is passing around Cheetos tonight,” he said once he’d swallowed.
“You say that like you wouldn’t eat them if they had them,” I muttered. “I saw you had that microwave macaroni and cheese in your pantry, Chef Boyardee.”
That top lip disappeared into his mouth, but I saw the corners move.
“I’m still not sure I can trust your smiles, but I like your smirks,” I told him honestly.
His speed at scowling had to break some kind of record.
I laughed. “So who is Asami’s dad?”
“Achilles.”
I screwed up my face. She was so… sweet and cute, and he reminded me of sourdough bread.
The way he snickered told me he wasn’t surprised I couldn’t see it. Maybe she took after her mom.
“Did your parents like Greek legends?” I asked him.
He huffed. “I’m surprised it took you so long to figure it out. They named us all after legends and people they admired.”
“Are you Greek on your dad’s side, by any chance?” I dropped my voice. “Is he normal? I mean human.”
“No, he’s Japanese; his line is one of the stronger ones, so he’s more Atraxian than human.” He rolled his eyes. “They met in Greece. That was where our line settled when they arrived here.” Those medium-blue eyes moved toward me. “You’ll meet my dad soon. His sister had a stroke a few days ago, otherwise he would be here.”
I nodded, trying to picture how attractive he had to be.
“Twenty minutes and then we can leave.”
“Wink at me when you want me to faint,” I whispered, following after him as we moved through the loose crowd of people. There was no way all of them knew what they were. His mom had been wearing contacts. Were they just hiding in plain sight? I wondered.
There was a quartet playing in a corner, but no one was dancing. They were all just standing around, talking. I met a few people’s gazes, but mostly everyone stared at Alex from a distance.
“Why doesn’t anyone come say hi to you?” I asked.
“Because they know I don’t want to deal with their bullshit.”
I snorted, earning me a side-glance.
“Most of my brothers and sisters are good at dealing with these people, but I don’t have any patience for it. For them. They don’t ask questions because they care, they ask things for information. They’re bored and have nothing better to do.”
The nausea got a little worse, and I’d swear another drop of sweat rolled down my spine. “Are they family or family friends?” I made myself ask so that I wouldn’t focus on it.
“Both. Some business associates that my mom has known for a long time.” He glanced at me. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
He gave me a fucking look.
I don’t even know why I bothered. “My head hurts a little, and I think I might need to find a seat sooner than later, but I’m okay.”
He didn’t need to say he thought I was full of shit because his face said it all.
“Being here just feels like a bit… much. I’m not used to being around people. Much less, rich people. It’s just like the historical dramas I like to watch, except there aren’t wallflowers and people aren’t waltzing. There’s caviar. I think I’m fancy when I put my Pizza Bites into the oven instead of the microwave. I saw the price tag on the dress and the shoes, by the way. This whole thing feels like a dream, but that might be me feeling off because of your grandma. She made my heart start beating really fast. But I’m fine. No one here knows me or cares to, other than your grandma and Asami.” I pressed my lips together. “And your brother Leon.”
Someone didn’t like that joke.
All right, maybe I shouldn’t mess with him. “So, I keep trying to figure it out… how does no one know who you all are? It’s a well-kept secret, but it isn’t like any of you are hiding. At least you aren’t since you’re here, and neither are your siblings or your mom. How the hell is that possible?”
“We take an oath to never spread the secret. We all understand the responsibility of our heritage. We know why others can’t know—it would destroy all of our lives. It’s one of the first things we’re taught growing up, that you can never tell anyone.
“Our families are small, but second and third cousins would be kidnapped and experimented on. They’d be tortured. Their very normal kids would be hunted down. Extended family members don’t tell their spouses or their kids. The secret dies with them. It’s what happened with your family too, I’m guessing.” Those impressive shoulders rose beneath his beautiful jacket.
“I get that it’s dangerous, but I don’t know how that’s managed to be enough to keep people from talking. Not for so long. I mean, you said that old great-great-great-grammy was one of the first to get here. That’s a long time.”
“It was easier to keep things a secret before technology, but it is an oath.” He was watching me closely. “In each generation, there are family members who take the responsibility of making sure the secret is kept. In ours, it helps that they all get quarterly payments from the family’s businesses.”