Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107826 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107826 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
If I could get Theseus out from under his thumb…
I’m moving before I can think of how flimsy that excuse is. The lobby is exactly how I remember it from the other day—just as soulless as the rest of downtown. I smooth down my shirt and walk to the desk with the snooty-looking white woman behind it. She eyes me as if I’m a piece of trash that blew in off the street, but her expression changes as recognition rolls over her pretty features. “You’re Pandora.”
This is something I’ll never get used to. I might not be in the spotlight as much as the rest of Minos’s household, but strangers are still starting to recognize me. I don’t like it, but I manage a smile all the same. “Is Aphrodite in?” It’s on the tip of my tongue to spin some lie about why I’m here to see her, but overexplaining won’t do me any favors. This woman isn’t the one I need to convince to help me.
“I can check. Just a moment.” She’s perfectly polite now, though I catch her watching me beneath her fringe of blond bangs. A few seconds of murmured conversation later, she carefully hangs up. “You can go on up. I’m assuming you know the floor number?”
“I do. Thanks.” Now’s the time to turn back, to put a stop to this impulsive urge to see her. Aphrodite is not my ally, and she’s all but admitted that she’s using me to hurt Theseus.
But… What if she could be an ally?
That’s the question that drives me to walk slowly to the elevator and take it up to her floor. Or that’s what I tell myself. The truth is far more tangled.
Aphrodite meets me at the door. She looks similar to how she did the morning after her wedding, her hair hanging in careless waves, her face with only the barest hint of makeup, her long legs in fitted lounge pants. Her sweater looks comfortable, thin and soft; I have to clench my fists to keep from testing it for myself.
I don’t understand the hold this woman has on me.
“Well, don’t just stand there. You look like you could use a drink. Tea or tequila?” She steps back and holds the door open for me.
“Um. Tea would be great.” I step into the penthouse and follow her into her kitchen. I fully expect her to launch into an interrogation as to why I’m here, but she busies herself getting an electric kettle going and pulling out a tray with the most bougie tea setup I’ve ever seen. I eye it. “No store-bought brands for you, I see.”
“I’m a spoiled brat.” She shrugs. “I like my indulgences, and tea should always be an indulgence.”
I slide onto one of the barstools and watch her brew the tea. She doesn’t ask me what kind I want, which is just as well. I’m more of a coffee drinker normally, but I can’t deny how relaxing it is to watch the almost ritualistic way Aphrodite moves through the process. By the time she slides a cute little cup and saucer in front of me, along with a tiny tray with milk and sugar, most of the tension has melted out of my body.
“How do you do that?” After the slightest hesitation, I dose the tea liberally with both milk and sugar.
“I find it calming.” She doesn’t add anything to her tea. She just picks up the cup and leans against the counter across from me. “Now, tell me what’s wrong.”
“Why would anything be wrong?” The words are too sloppy, too quick. “Maybe I came here to seduce you.”
Her smile is knife-sharp. “I’d love to be seduced by you, Pandora, but the fact remains that you seemed almost afraid when you showed up on my doorstep unexpectedly, and as much as I want you in my bed, I don’t want fear driving you there. So why don’t we try this again? What’s wrong?”
It’s so tempting to spill everything. There’s something about this woman, about the connection strumming between us even now, that makes me want to trust her. I’m not so foolish as that, though. “I don’t want Theseus hurt.”
She makes a face. “Oh. Him.”
“Yes. Him. He’s my best friend, Aphrodite. I love him, and I hate seeing him dragged through all this.” I take a cautious sip of my tea and am surprised to find that I like it. It’s not as bitter as coffee, but it’s got a delightful layering of flavors. “This is good.”
“You don’t have to sound so shocked. I made it; of course it’s good.” She sips her tea for several long seconds and finally sighs. “Look, I like you.”
“Yes, you’ve said that.”
“But it changes nothing. The man you came all this way to defend is a violent murderer. You can’t spin some tale about him being a good person who’s in over his head. He would have killed my sister in the Ares tournament without hesitation, and he did kill Hephaestus at that cursed house party. He’s been an active participant in Minos’s plans every step of the way, and if he has his way, he’ll destroy the city I love.” She sighs again. “I feel for you. Truly, I do. I know it’s not easy to be subject to a family ruled by a man who puts ambition above all else. But the fact remains that my husband has made his choices. I have to make mine, too.”