Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89763 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89763 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
I bite back my impatience. “Minos, that’s impossible. It’s not easy to bring down a building.”
“Sure it is. Go in there. Kill everyone. Set explosives and get the fuck out.”
If I do that—and it’s a big if because at the first sign of attack, those blast doors are coming down and it will take more explosives than we have to get through them—then Hera will hurt Ariadne. She might do more than hurt her. “I’m telling you, it’s impossible.”
“And I’m telling you that I don’t give a fuck. I’m calling Aeacus now. Figure it out, Minotaur. That’s an order.” He hangs up.
Fuck. “Fuck.”
“Rough day?”
I throw myself back, pulling my gun on instinct. I didn’t realize I wasn’t alone, and it takes several long beats…and Hermes’s wicked laughter…for me to register who has broken into my house. “What the fuck?”
“Got to keep you on your toes.” She steps out of the shadows in a completely different place than I expected. I don’t know how she managed that trick, but even if I’d started shooting, I wouldn’t have hit her. There’s no such thing as magic, but this woman makes me doubt that. She’s so damn sneaky.
My adrenaline is rushing in my ears and my body is tense with the need to attack after being startled so thoroughly. I have to spend a few seconds breathing steadily before I can slip my gun back into its holster. “What are you doing here?”
“Just checking on you.” She bounces on her toes and then she’s off, skipping the short distance to my kitchen and rooting around in my fridge. She shuts it and sends me a disgusted look. “I know you’re out here living the bachelor life, but you’re in serious danger of becoming a stereotype with that fridge. Don’t you eat?”
“When I want to eat, I go out.” I don’t move from my spot. “Answer the question, Hermes.”
“I did. I’m checking on you.” She leans her elbows on the kitchen counter. “You’re bringing down Dodona Tower.”
There’s no point in pretending otherwise. She’ll have heard the entire conversation with Minos, and there’s a decent chance she knew what the plan was even before that. The woman deals in secrets and has an uncanny knack of sourcing them. “The only thing you need to worry about is bringing down the barrier.”
“On the contrary, my dear Minotaur, I worry about all manner of things.” She examines her nails, and I catch a glint of glitter. “Like the fact that our very own Hera is instigating a rebellion when we’re on the verge of a siege—if not an all-out war.”
I lift my brows. “Neither of those things are my responsibility or my problem.”
“No, I don’t suppose you’d see it that way.” She sighs. “Truly, it’s like herding cats. Just when I get a few of you in order, half a dozen others start getting wild ideas about mutiny.”
“Mutiny is only for ships.”
“That’s not actually true, but same difference.” She flicks her fingers at me. “What terms did Hera give you?”
I start to feel foolish for standing across the apartment from her and slowly approach the other side of the kitchen peninsula. “If you know so much, I’m surprised you don’t know that.”
“Gods, Minotaur, I expected better of you.” She rolls her eyes. “I don’t know everything, but all you have to do is act like you know everything and people tell you all sorts of delicious details. It works on most.”
Damn it. “Did you know for sure that Hera was instigating a rebellion before I confirmed it?”
She smiles serenely. “You’ll never know.”
It really isn’t my problem, and I just need to remember that. I need Hermes more than I need Hera, but fuck, that’s not exactly true. Hera is the key to Ariadne’s safety. Shit. I can’t think. I scrub a hand over my face. “Are you going to stop Hera?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
I look at her over my hand. “What do you mean, you haven’t decided yet?”
“Exactly what I said. Now, what are Hera’s terms?”
No point in pussyfooting around it. She’s not going to leave until I tell her, and more than that, I need her help to bring the barrier down. “Hera will keep Ariadne safe—and Icarus, too—in exchange for me not killing anyone but Zeus when we bring down the building.”
Hermes whistles. “So it’s gotten that extreme. That’s unfortunate.”
Unfortunate is one way to put it. I study her. “Now what?”
“Now nothing. Minos doesn’t care what Hera wants.” She suddenly looks tired. “This is a gargantuan mess. I can’t let you—or him—kill hundreds of people who work in that tower. They haven’t done anything wrong, and while there are plenty of sins to go around this city, the problems start at the top.”
Considering Ariadne will feel similarly about a bunch of people dying for no fucking reason, I’m not about to let Minos bully us into making a shitty decision—that won’t even work. “And Zeus?”