Jake sat in the villa's eastern pavilion watching afternoon light paint patterns across the garden stones when the air changed. He recognized the shift immediately—divine presence arriving without warning, the atmosphere thickening with power that didn't belong to the mortal world.
Asurani materialized above the pavilion's center, her pale gold form catching the sunlight in ways that made her look like she was made from the light itself. She smiled down at him with that characteristic amusement.
"Jake. We need to talk about your social calendar."
"I don't have a social calendar," Jake said.
"You do now." She settled into a cross-legged position in the air. "There's a feast in one week. Hosted by Artiemes—he's an agent of Olympos, the Sky God, and he throws these gatherings periodically to let the various covenants size each other up. Think of it as a tournament preview without the actual fighting."
Jake leaned forward. "What's the real purpose?"
