“I know.” He didn’t move. “The ocean teaches patience, Andromeda. I have plenty.”
The wine was almost gone. The galley was warm and golden, lamplight catching the dark teak and the brass fittings. Outside the portholes, the last of the sunset was bleeding into the water. Orion was close, and the quiet between us felt almost too comfortable.
He reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. His fingers were light and careful, and they lingered at the curve of my jaw.
His thumb traced my cheekbone once, slowly, and then he leaned forward. The movement was unhurried and deliberate,giving me every opportunity to pull away. His eyes stayed on mine the entire time.
“You are remarkable,” he murmured. “Whatever you decide. Whatever happens after this. You are the most remarkable person I have ever met.”
My heart kicked hard against my sternum. It wasn’t anything biological. Just a woman’s heart, responding to a man who was looking at her like she mattered.
Did I want this? I wasn’t sure. Suddenly, I was terrified that if I let him kiss me, I’d be imagining Alexander the whole time.
The hatch behind us banged open.
“Lord Maris.” A crew member stood in the doorway, breathless and rigid. “I apologize for the interruption. We’ve just received word from the mainland. There’s a situation with our shore operations.”
Orion’s hand dropped from my face. His expression didn’t change, but something behind his eyes went flat and cold.
“What kind of situation?”
“House Zeus, my lord. They’re moving on our holdings.”
Orion set his wine glass down on the counter with a soft, precise click. He stood. The ease was still in his body, but ithad hardened into something with edges. He looked at me, and for the first time since I’d arrived, what I saw in his face wasn’t warmth.
“Excuse me.” He straightened his cuffs. “I need to handle this.”
He followed the crew member out of the galley. The hatch closed behind them, and I was alone with the empty wine glasses and the last of the copper light fading from the water.
Alexander.The whisper came before I could stop it.He’s coming for you.
I didn’t know if the thought was the curse or the truth. Or if there was any difference anymore.
The Poseidon shipping terminal in Catania occupied three square miles of reclaimed coastline. It was a sprawling complex of warehouses, dry docks, and container yards that processed roughly a quarter of all commercial traffic moving through the eastern Mediterranean. On paper, it was owned by a Sicilian holding company with no visible ties to any Olympian House. In practice, every foreman, dockworker, and security guard on the premises answered to Orion Maris.
Nikos straightened his tie in the side mirror of our car. “You realize that this is an act of economic warfare against a sovereign House.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, brother.” I opened my door and smiled tightly. “It’s a regulatory inspection.”
“Conducted by the head of House Zeus. Personally. At eleven o’clock at night.”
“I’m a hands-on leader, Nikos.”
He sighed, tucked the leather portfolio under his arm, and followed me out of the car.
The terminal was still operational at this hour. Floodlights turned the container yard into a white-lit maze of stacked metal, and the deep groan of crane mechanisms carried over the water. Two refrigerated cargo ships sat at berth, their hulls painted in the blue-green of Poseidon commercial livery. A smaller vessel was being loaded at the far dock, containers swinging overhead in the grip of a gantry crane. The air smelled of diesel, brine, and hot metal.
Nikos had spent the flight from Taormina assembling the paperwork on Orion’s illegal dealings. None of it was fabricated. Orion’s people had simply never expected anyone to look because, as Julian had said, the ocean was Orion’s domain. No House had ever been motivated enough to challenge Poseidon’s land-based operations. They’d never had reason to. Until me.
The security checkpoint was a reinforced gatehouse manned by two guards in civilian clothes who carried themselves like former military. One stepped forward with his palm raised.
“This is a private facility. No entry without authorization from the terminal director.”
“My name is Alexander Stormwright. I’m here to conduct a review of this terminal’s compliance with Mediterranean trade regulations.” I gestured toward Nikos. “My associate has the documentation.”
The guard didn’t look at Nikos. His gaze stayed on me, flat and professional. “I know who you and your brother are, Lord Stormwright. But we don’t listen to House Zeus here. This terminal operates under the protection of House Poseidon. You want access, you contact our legal office during business hours.”
“Business hours.” I smiled sharply, not bothering to hide my hostility. “I’ll keep that in mind.”