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)
“Told you so.” Ariadne twists her hair around her fingers. “I saw her leave with Eurydice Dimitriou.” She worries her bottom lip. “Honestly, I was a little jealous. Father had us herded directly back here as soon as the reception was over.”
“Gods forbid we do something further to embarrass him.” Icarus rolls his eyes. “I want to see the kink club.”
Ariadne blushes a bit and looks away. “I’d like to see it, too. I’d like to see anything that isn’t these four walls.”
Guilt sparks. I might resent Minos in more ways than I can count, but his apathy for me translates to freedom these two don’t have. We’ve snuck out together before, back on Aeaea. There was a little bar Theseus introduced me to, and I would bring Icarus and Ariadne there whenever Minos was away on business. Everyone was afraid of Theseus, so they never messed with me, even if he wasn’t there every time I was.
There isn’t anywhere like that in Olympus.
“Maybe we could—” I start.
“We don’t need you to babysit us. If I want to see the kink club, I’ll see the kink club.” He flops back against the couch. “Maybe I’ll ask Aphrodite. She seems to enjoy sowing discord, so she’d probably say yes.”
“Icarus. You can’t!”
I cross to Ariadne and cover her hand with mine. It’s been years since she was in danger of ripping out her own hair because of anxiety, but seeing her twist her curls makes my scalp twinge in sympathy. “Don’t let him get to you.” I shoot a look at Icarus. “And you. Behave.”
“Many have tried to get me to behave; all have failed.” He grins suddenly, the expression is pure delight. This right here is why I can never hate Icarus. As sharp as he is, he’s just as quick to trade insults for a mischievous invitation to get into trouble. He proves me right when he leans in. “You went to an infamous kink club with Eurydice Dimitriou last night. Did you seduce Demeter’s youngest daughter? Tell us all the details.”
I smile and lean forward, enjoying the way they both mirror my movement. I wait until they’re practically quivering with anticipation to say, “A lady never tells.”
He groans. “That’s no fun. Eurydice is pretty, but her shadow is even prettier. I don’t suppose Charon joined in the fun?”
Ariadne covers her face with her hands. “For gods’ sake, Icarus, can you just be normal for two minutes.”
She doesn’t see his flinch in response to her words. His family never seems to. He catches me looking and we share a heartbeat of commiseration. I, at least, have a reason to be on the outside of this fucked-up little family unit. Icarus is Minos’s biological son. I can’t imagine how it must have felt for his father to go seeking two more and then turn around and show them such blatant favoritism.
So, yeah, I don’t love Icarus’s cutting remarks, but I don’t hate him for them.
“I didn’t sleep with Eurydice or Charon. And I have to question your taste if you call him pretty.” Like so many people in the upper tiers of Olympus, Charon is attractive, but it’s a more salt-of-the-earth attractiveness than some of the peacocks who strut around the upper city.
Best I can tell, Eurydice is oblivious to the way he looks at her even as she watches him when she thinks no one is paying attention. I don’t really know her, but it makes me want to give her a sharp elbow and sharper words. Life is too short to pass up something that’s obviously founded in more than pure lust.
It’s not my business.
Frankly, nothing in this city is my business. The whole thing exhausts me, especially after yesterday, last night, and this morning. “I’m going out tonight.”
Icarus perks up. “Out? Where?”
“I have an invitation—and it’s exclusive.” I can’t stand the way he wilts the tiniest bit. “I hear there are some lovely shows in the theater district. Why don’t you two try to check one of those out? Surely Minos can’t object to that activity.”
“He objects to all activities right now. We’re under strict instructions to stay here and out of trouble.” Ariadne won’t quite meet my gaze. “But have fun tonight.”
Gods save me, but I almost offer to take them with me right then and there. Only the knowledge of their reaction to it being Aphrodite issuing the invitation stops me… That, and the fact that I kind of want her all to myself tonight.
I refuse to think too closely about that.
Still, I hesitate. “Let me check this place out. If it’s on the up-and-up, I’ll see who I have to talk to in order to convince them to issue you invitations, too.” It’s not, strictly speaking, a lie. But it’s not quite honest, either. I feel a little bit of a monster for the way they both beam at me.