CHAPTER 240: CHAPTER 240: PATIENCE OF A GOD

The suite was quiet when they returned, the kind of quiet that felt heavy rather than peaceful. The sea pressed faintly against the glass walls below, restless and whispering, the reflection of the city lights breaking across its dark surface.

Poseidon was gone.

Victor stood at the window, one hand in his pocket, the other wrapped around a crystal tumbler that caught the glow from the city below. The alcohol inside wasn’t just wine anymore; it was something stronger, a cognac that burned his worries down.

Behind him, Elias slipped out of his jacket, tossing it over one of the chairs before unbuttoning his cuffs. He didn’t say anything right away because he knew Victor’s mind worked when it became too still. The air between them was thick enough to hum, with a faint scent of salt and ozone, a remnant of godhood that never faded.

"You’re quiet," Elias said at last, his tone mild. "That’s not a good sign."

Victor didn’t turn. "You made a deal with a sea god using yourself as the lure," he said, his voice low and sharp. "You’ll forgive me if I need a drink before I find that funny."

Elias crossed the room and leaned against the edge of the desk, arms folded. "You agreed it was the only viable approach."

"I didn’t agree," Victor said, swirling the drink once before setting it down hard on the sill. "I didn’t stop you, which isn’t the same thing."

Elias’s brow arched slightly. "Semantics."

"Strategy," Victor corrected. "You think in probabilities, Elias. You like clean data sets, controlled variables, and predictable outcomes. But this isn’t one of your lab simulations. You’re gambling with something that doesn’t reset when it breaks."

Elias exhaled softly, half a sigh, half patience. "I’m not walking into the ocean, Victor. I am going to stay here, alive and human. He’s the one who’ll overreach. That’s what predators do when they think they’ve found a weakness."

Victor turned then, slowly, the faint red in his eyes catching the lamplight. "And what if you’re wrong?"

"I’m not."

"Say you are."

Elias met his gaze evenly. "Then you’ll kill him before he touches me. You’re not very subtle when you’re angry."

For a moment, Victor didn’t speak. The muscles in his jaw tightened, his restraint slipping in increments. "You think this is a joke," he said quietly. "You stand there and you act like your life is a theory to be proven."

"It’s not," Elias said softly. "It’s a boundary to be tested. There’s a difference."

Victor stepped closer, and the hum of power filled the space. "I could burn the ocean down before he ever finds you."

Elias tilted his head. "And prove him right? That you’d violate the Creator’s laws the second someone tested your control?"

The words hit their mark. Victor stopped, eyes narrowing, the red in them flaring brighter for just a second. "Careful."

"I’m just reminding you," Elias said, calm as ever. "He’s not only testing me. He’s testing you. He wants to see if the Executioner of Gods still kneels to rules he enforced."

Victor’s silence was answer enough. The air shimmered faintly between them, that familiar thread of tension winding tighter. Elias didn’t step back. He’d long learned not to.

"I trust you," Elias said finally, the words quiet but cutting through the static like light through mist. "That’s why this works. You’ll wait until the right moment. You’ll do what I can’t. And you won’t lose yourself in the process."

Victor’s voice was almost a whisper. "You have too much faith in me."

Elias smiled faintly. "No. I just understand you better than you think."

Victor looked at him for a long, still moment before turning back toward the window. He picked up the tumbler again, taking a slow sip before speaking. "You shouldn’t."

"Too late," Elias murmured.

A low crack of thunder rolled far out over the sea. The glass trembled faintly in Victor’s hand.

He set it down again, exhaling through his teeth. "When he comes for you, and he will, you don’t look at him. You don’t speak. You let me and Poseidon handle it."

Elias’s tone was dry. "Ah yes, my two favorite egos with a combined kill count higher than most pantheons. What could possibly go wrong?"

Victor shot him a warning look, but there was a flicker of reluctant amusement behind it. "You’re insufferable."

"Necessary," Elias corrected. "And you know it."

Victor didn’t deny it. Instead, he turned fully to face him, leaning one shoulder against the window frame. "The moment I sense him breach the surface, this ends. You run. I don’t care where... just not near the ocean."

"I won’t need to," Elias said. "He’ll come to me. That’s the whole point."

Victor’s eyes darkened. "You’re enjoying this too much."

Elias’s lips curved faintly, though his voice stayed even. "I like plans that make sense. And this one does. You’ll see."

Victor downed the last of his drink, the crystal clinking softly as he set it aside. "If this plan works, I’m banning you from thinking for a month."

Elias smirked, glancing over his shoulder as he moved toward the bedroom. "That’s not how my brain works, Victor. You’d have to sedate me."

Victor followed him with his gaze, the corner of his mouth twitching despite himself. "Don’t tempt me. You’d look better asleep than scheming your own near-death scenarios."

"That’s debatable," Elias replied dryly, kicking off his shoes near the bed. The city lights spilled in through the curtains, catching in the pale lines of his face. "But you might like me less if I stopped solving your problems."

Victor leaned back against the glass, his reflection framed by the skyline. "You are the problem right now," he muttered, voice low.

Elias stretched lazily across the edge of the bed, the kind of movement that looked far too calm for someone planning to bait an ancient parasite. "You worry too much."

"I don’t worry," Victor said. "I prepare."

"Same thing," Elias murmured, eyes half-lidded now, though the faintest smile tugged at his mouth. "You just use more expensive words."

For a few heartbeats, there was silence, the soft hum of the air conditioning and the faraway hiss of waves against the rocks below. It was too serene for what tomorrow promised.

Victor finally pushed off the window and crossed the room, stopping at the foot of the bed. "When this is over," he said quietly, "we’re leaving this place. No ether, no gods, no plans that end with you bleeding on the floor."

Elias opened one eye, amusement flickering there. "So... a vacation that doesn’t end in divine homicide? You’re evolving."

Victor exhaled, fighting the ghost of a smile. "You think I’m joking."

"I think you’re serious," Elias said. "Which is worse, because it means you’ve already imagined the scenarios where this doesn’t end well."

Victor didn’t deny it. His voice softened, almost tired. "I’ve lived through enough endings, Elias. I don’t want another one with your name on it."

Elias’s tone gentled in return, something quiet threading through the sarcasm. "Then make sure it’s Jonathan’s instead."

Victor studied him, the lines of tension easing just slightly. "You’re infuriating."

"I know," Elias said, a hint of laughter under his breath. "That’s why you keep me around. Someone has to remind you you’re not omnipotent."

Victor leaned forward, resting one hand on the edge of the bed. "Careful, or I’ll prove you wrong."