A Slow Process

Chapter 7

It's been established throughout Olympus that Diana was not an idiot. The gods knew that they shouldn't mess with her.

Even before the incident.

The demigoddess sighed, running her hand through her hair as she scrunched her eyebrows.

"You know," a voice said, bringing her out of her thoughts. "Nothing in there will help you figure out what our parents are planning."

Diana turned around, already feeling the intense gaze of the god in front of the door. Every step he made echoed throughout her ears.

Before she could even blink, Orin was directly in front of her. She forced her head up, easily identifying the smirk the god wore on his face. He always did like to remind her of the height difference between them.

"What are you doing here?" Diana snapped, quickly looking away.

"You're in one of the Justice League headquarters." The words were uttered so gently that even Hermes would've believed the prince's intentions behind the sentence. Luckily enough for her, Diana wasn't her half-brother. "And I'm part of the Justice League... am I not?"

Her patience ran thin. She couldn't do this. Not now. Diana turned back around so she didn't get the urge to scratch Orin's pretty face open with her fingernails.

"I'm not in the mood for your games tonight."

She could feel his eyes narrow, "No one's playing any games with you." Orin stated, a corner of his lip tugging up. "Not anymore."

Diana didn't know what happened next. All she knows is that she has one hand wrapped around the god's throat and the other against the wall.

Orin only smirked. "If you wanted your body against mine, all you had to do was ask, princess."

Diana forced herself to calm down as she hesitantly removed her hand away from his throat. "There's nothing between us." she spat out. "Not anymore."

Orin tilted his head towards the side as he studied her. "I wonder why you're so worked up. You can usually handle my presence with a lot more grace than this."

Diana crossed her arms. "It's none of your business."

The god said nothing for a few seconds before he let out a cold laugh. The sound made the ichor in her blood shiver.

"But it involves my bastard of a sister, does it not?" When Diana didn't answer, he continued. "Well, sorry to burst your bubble, your highness, but my father made it clear that anything that involved that, involved me." His eyes narrowed, "So whatever you're doing is, in fact, my business."

Diana's eyes flashed in anger, "You do know that your sister saved Olympus right? The least you could do is say her name properly."

"Please." He scoffed. "So what if she saved Olympus? THAT'S THE PURPOSE OF ALL DEMIGODS! They're created to protect us gods! That was all they were good for then, that's all they're good for now!" He sneered at her. "But then again, that's why you're so desperate to find answers. Huh?"

Diana's eyes hardened. "Stop acting like you know what I'm thinking. You can't read my mind."

The not anymore went unsaid but she knew that the god heard it.

This time, the laugh he let out was full of amusement. "Pretend all you want, sweetheart. But out of all the gods, I was the one that knew you best. There's a reason that you were supposed to be my bride."

"There's also a reason that the wedding was canceled."

Orin's eyes grew darker at the reminder. "Yeah," he admitted, albeit softly. "There was."