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)
I’ve seen the upper warehouse district and some of the more far-flung parts of the city where the Thirteen never roam. It’s not pretty. It’s also familiar. Aeaea is the same, at least in this. The rich control every aspect of their surroundings, and everyone else is left with the castoffs…if they’re lucky.
I make my way to the bench farthest from the windows, each step sending a hot poker of agony through my knee. My phone buzzes before I can attempt to make myself comfortable.
Minos: What the fuck happened last night?
My stomach takes an instinctive plunge in the face of his anger, but no one’s around to see it. Not that there’s anything to see. Showing hurt or guilt or anything other than stone-faced coldness is a good way to make Minos go nuclear. He prizes control over all things, and last night more than proved that I don’t have control of shit. Certainly not my wife.
Still, I’m not about to confess anything.
Me: What are you talking about?
A link appears. I already know what I’ll find before I click it. If someone’s always watching in Olympus, MuseWatch is always reporting. We knew that early on, of course, but even Minos underestimated its power initially.
The citizens of Olympus treat it as gospel, and they’re the ones we need on our side if we don’t want to get knifed as news of the assassination clause spreads like wildfire. Minos is riding that wave like he’s born to it, and why not? He’s the most charming motherfucker I’ve ever met. He could sell a drowning man water, and the public seems to adore him.
Unfortunately, manipulating public opinion isn’t a lesson Minos saw fit to teach me during all my training.
It’s even worse than I feared. The top headline splashed over the site screams:
HEPHAESTUS: DISAPPOINTING OLYMPUS AND HIS NEW WIFE.
“Fuck,” I breathe. It doesn’t get better as I read the actual text of the article.
Hephaestus and Aphrodite might have left their reception together, but they didn’t stay there. After what we can only assume was an underwhelming performance, Aphrodite was seen slipping into a certain club in the lower city. If you know, you know! Then this morning she posted a sultry pic with a mystery lover in the background who’s most assuredly not her husband. Can anyone blame her?
“Fuck,” I say again, this time with more force.
“She brings out that reaction in people.”
I don’t startle, but it’s a near thing. I glance up to find Adonis standing over me. This morning, he’s not dressed to perfection, wearing a plain white T-shirt and a pair of dark jeans. For all that, they’re clearly expensive. He’s the kind of man who clothes himself in wealth thoughtlessly because it’s all he’s ever known. He’s got nothing to compare it to. He’s never gone hungry, never gone without. His privilege is written all over his perfect features and easy smile.
It’s enough to make me hate him, except hating him is exactly what Aphrodite would want.
With that in mind, I try for a smile. “I didn’t realize it’d be like this.” There. That’s a nice neutral statement.
Adonis, of course, takes the bait. He sinks down gracefully next to me on the bench. “It was cruel of you to invite me to the wedding.”
I consider and discard several responses. After what Aphrodite pulled with Pandora, I want to strike back, to put her in her place. The one thing I’ve always been shit at is dancing the careful choreography of speaking in layers. It’s easier to scare people into doing what I want, and that won’t work with Adonis.
Instead, I tell the truth.
“Yeah, it was.” I lean back until our shoulders brush. “But I didn’t choose to get married and I wanted to hurt her.” My wife doesn’t have many obvious weaknesses, but this man is one of them. I learned that well enough at the house party Minos hosted a few weeks back; the one that ended in blood and death. During one of the headfuck games Minos played, Adonis won a “date” with me.
I never did get a chance to collect on that.
“It’s just like at the party,” he says, mirroring my thoughts. “You’re both using me as a bone to taunt the other with.” Adonis shakes his head. “I came here to check on her, to make sure she’s okay. But after seeing that social media post, I feel naive. It’s not a comfortable feeling.”
I eye him. “You just called me cruel and now you’re oversharing.”
“I guess I am.” His smile is bright and as false as fool’s gold. “I’m very angry with her right now, and I suppose I’d like to give her a taste of her own medicine.”
Surely he’s not playing right into my hands and calling it his own idea? I’ve never been lucky, and it seems to defy belief that he’d present me with such an opportunity. I hold perfectly still. “Meaning?”