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 will.”
I really am going soft, because I don’t leave it at that. “And, Theseus? Stay away from the city center for the next week or so. Especially Dodona Tower.”
The dark amusement is gone from his tone. “What do you know?”
I hang up without answering. With the Thirteen fracturing, there are clear lines forming. Zeus’s siblings will fall in with him. Hera only seems to want Zeus dead, but she doesn’t seem like the type to let a little collateral damage get in the way of her desires, especially if she sees them as the enemy too. Theseus’s wife is in nearly as much danger as Zeus himself.
Ideally, the Olympians will keep chasing their tails until the barrier comes down and they have bigger enemies to worry about. But nothing has gone to plan to date, so I won’t place any bets on it.
There’s nothing else to do but walk through the door.
Or at least I try. My key doesn’t work. I stare down at the lock, my brain struggling to catch up with reality. “Well, fuck. It’s a trap.” My time of playing both sides against the middle is over. It was inevitable, but it’s fucking inconvenient.
I almost turn around right then and there. Minos has no reason to take me alive. If he knows I betrayed him—and all evidence points to exactly that—then he’s going to attempt to kill me when I walk through the door upstairs. The smart thing would be to turn around and get out of here. Ariadne isn’t safe with Dionysus. If I could get to her, whoever he sends to replace me will be able to as well, even with the increased security.
But there’s Icarus to consider. He called me, which means he’s with Minos now. Ariadne won’t leave without her brother, and this might be my only chance to get him out. “Fuck. Fuck.”
There’s no choice. I head upstairs to the penthouse that Minos keeps with what’s left of his family. It’s almost humiliating to have to knock on the door and wait for entry. Or it would be if I gave a shit what he thought of me.
It’s Icarus who opens the door, and he looks even worse than the last time I saw him. The bones in his face stand out starkly, and if he’s still beautiful, it’s tempered with his obvious despair. He looks me up and down without much interest. “So the dog still comes when he’s called.”
I stare. I know Ariadne wants to bring him with us when we leave, but I doubt he’s going to come peacefully. It seems far more likely that he’s going to make our lives miserable, intentionally or not. But leaving him behind will hurt her. That I won’t allow.
I grab the front of his shirt and pull him close enough to smell the alcohol on his breath. It’s a layered scent, both stale and fresh, which indicates he’s been drinking long enough for it to start seeping out of his pores. Damn it. It’s going to be a nightmare getting him out of here. “I need you to sober up, and do it quickly.”
Icarus’s head lolls on his shoulders. He blinks at me blearily. “What are you up to?”
I don’t care if he loves his sister or if she loves him right back. Icarus is weak—a liability. But I love Ariadne and she loves him, so I’ll make it work. “We’re leaving.”
“The fuck we are.” He tries to pull away but only succeeds in swaying in my grip. “Let go.”
“Your sister needs you.” I give him a shake, my frustration causing me to be a little too rough. Or his drunkenness causing him to be too boneless. “Prove that you’re worth something and sober the fuck up. If you don’t, she’s going to get hurt, and it will be your fault.” It’s not the truth, but I don’t fucking care.
After this morning, it feels like the damned walls of the city are closing in around us. There’s not enough time and too many things to do… Too many things that could go wrong.
Icarus shoves ineffectively at my chest. He’s like a child throwing a fit. “You don’t get to talk to me about my sister. Not when you want her dead.”
I shoot a look around the penthouse, but Minos is nowhere to be found. That won’t last long. We’re wasting valuable time, but I need Icarus to cooperate if I’m going to get him out of here. I fight to keep my voice even. It would be so much easier if I just knocked him out and hauled him from the building, but I need my hands free to ensure we make it out. “If I wanted her dead, she would be dead.”
I feel the air change in the room before Minos steps around the corner. The last time I spoke to him, he seemed to be unraveling, but there’s no evidence of it now. He stands tall and proud—and absolutely furious. He looks at me just like he did that first day when he brought me into his household—as if I’m shit on the bottom of his shoe.