Read Online Aphrodite's Flame by Julie Kenner - Free Book Online

expect us to sit there and look friendly.”
    Her face shifted, taking on a determined yet embarrassed quality. “Well, the thing is—”
    Little Talia let out a piercing wail, and Zoë immediately started fussing with her, finally quieting the little girl.
“She’s
the thing,” Zoë said. “I just don’t feel right leaving her, especially not when the meetings are so erratically scheduled.”
    The import of her words hit him. “
Alone
?” It was bad enough wheeling and dealing with politicos, but to have to do it alone?
    She shook her head. “Zephron said he’d appoint another Halfling to replace me.”
    Small comfort, but Mordi couldn’t argue the point because Zoë lifted Talia out of the carrier, wrinkled her nose and sniffed in the general vicinity of the little girl’s bottom, then took off, leaving Mordi quite alone.
    Well, damn.
    He poked at the buffet, piling crackers and cheese on a plate while his thoughts drifted to what Hale had said.
Yes
, he was one of the good guys. But when, exactly, had that happened?
    When he’d first agreed to Zephron’s offer to be a mole, Mordi’s sole motivation had been self-preservation. In his mind, he hadn’t actually turned away from his father. How could he have? He’d spent his whole life trying to meet his father’s expectations, trying to wrest some hint of approval out of the man’s cold, hard eyes.
    It had never come.
    Hieronymous had been his father by birth, but that didn’t mean the man loved him. Mordi was a Halfling, and in Hieronymous’s view, that made him an object of contempt and derision—hardly someone worthy of inheriting Hieronymous’s empire, such that it was.
    Idly, Mordi looked around the room for his half brother. Jason was a full-fledged Protector, and Hieronymous had been more than willing to pour love and glory on that son.
    But Jason had wanted nothing to do with Hieronymous. Hieronymous had promised Jason everything that Mordi had ever wanted, and Jason had thrown it back in his face.
    Mordi had thought his brother a fool.
    Now, he saw Jason standing with his wife Lane, Taylor’s sister. Both were chatting with Tracy and the dark-haired woman.
    He inched toward Taylor, who, having been relieved of his infant burden, was sucking down a beer. “Who is that?”
    Taylor followed the direction of Mordi’s finger. “That’s Maggie. Nick’s wife.”
    That figured. As far as he could tell, everyone at the party was quite attached, bound to husbands and wives, starting families. They were each loved, and they each had someone to love.
    Mordi grimaced. He hated sappy sentimentality, and yet here he was, being all sappy and sentimental. But the truth was the truth, and he’d never known that kind of love. Never had another human being—mortal or Protector—who cared about him above all others. And how could he, with the stigma of his father hanging over his head? Even free of the man, Mordi was still haunted by his presence.
    “Mordi?”
    He jumped. Zoë had come back and now had a hand on his shoulder.
    “Are you okay?”
    He shrugged away from her touch. “I’m fine. I’m going to go talk to Jason.” He didn’t wait for her to answer, just headed across the room until he was standing outside the little circle of people, slightly behind Jason. After a second, his brother realized he was there and turned.
    “Well, well, the prodigal brother.”
    Mordi searched Jason’s face, looking for a hint of emotion. There wasn’t any, and he started to take a step backward. This was a mistake. After all, he and Jason had had the roughest patch of all, and if—
    “Where the hell are you going?” Jason’s fingers clamped down on Mordi’s shoulder.
    “Nowhere,” Mordi said.
    Jason studied him.
    Mordi stood a little straighter. Since the first moment he’d met Jason, his brother had intimidated the hell out of him. Well, no longer. “I’m leaving,” Mordi said. “Where in Hades did it look like I was going?”
    To his