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)
He raises his brows. “You have a problem with that?”
“No, of course not.” I flush. “I just didn’t expect to see it in the contract itself.” A contract that, if violated, results in a massive amount of money being deposited into the victim’s account—and the termination of the marriage. If this contract is binding—and all signs point to it being binding—he’s not bluffing. Which means Hera was telling the truth when she said I wouldn’t be expected to participate in marital privileges.
“Of course, I don’t expect you to go without if that’s something you require. Should you want to take a lover, all I ask is that you communicate with me so we can ensure a unified front for the public.”
I understand how important it is to go into a negotiation from a position of strength, but I feel like the ground is crumbling beneath my feet. Nothing about this is what I expected, and certainly not from a member of the Thirteen. To hear my father—to hear Circe—speak of it, they are the worst of the worst. People completely corrupted by the power they wield. Monsters willing to crush anyone who gets in their way. By all rights, they should have thrown me into a cell and forgotten about me for the next several decades.
They should’ve killed me. My death would hurt my father. I’m not foolish enough to think it would stop his plans; things have gone too far to stop now.
“Reread the contract all you want, but ultimately you don’t have much choice.” Aphrodite still sounds pissed about Hera backing them into a corner.
They’re right, though. This contract could have required any number of things from me and I would still agree to it. I’m out of options. “How do I sign this?”
“Give me two minutes to print it out.” They grab the phone from my hands and walk out of the room, leaving me and Dionysus in awkward silence. He doesn’t seem keen to break it, so I stay still with my hands clasped and wait for the other shoe to drop.
Aphrodite returns with the contract and an expensive fountain pen and passes both to me. The pen feels strange in my hand. I sign my name on the dotted line before I can think better of it. Maybe after this, I can rest. From the moment I found out I was pregnant, I’ve been in a state of panic, rushing through the motions with no thought for the long-term future. I am tired. Really, really tired.
Dionysus gives me a long look, but he accepts the pen from me and signs his name as well. Aphrodite snatches the contract from the table as if they think one of us will set it aflame. They glance over our signatures and nod. “While I understand that you plan to live in separate residences, you know how this works, Dionysus. I need you together up until the wedding, at least.”
He looks like he wants to argue but finally shrugs. “Very well.” He stands and extends a hand, his fingers covered in rings. “Shall we?”
No choice. No choice. No choice. I was never going to be happy. I’ve known that from a very young age. Ultimately, this man seems preferable to anyone my father would’ve chosen. He might not be who I would choose, but… No use thinking about that now. I just hope whatever fondness Asterion had for me is enough to keep him from hunting me down and cutting out my heart.
At this point, I’d almost welcome it.
At least then maybe I would stop hurting from the loss of him.
4
The Minotaur
“That little bitch!”
I don’t flinch as Minos grabs the nearest lamp and hurls it across the room. Icarus, on the other hand, looks like he’s about to bolt. His narrow shoulders are hunched and his skin has gone gray with fear. All these years, and he’s never learned to hide his terror of his father. He should know by now that fear only incites Minos to further violence.
I’m feeling pretty violent myself currently.
She left me. Not so she could leave this cursed city. That, at least, I could forgive. I know how Ariadne longs for freedom, that her dreams have always gone far beyond her current circumstances. Back in Aeaea, she’d had a secret notebook filled with magazine clippings of all the places she wants to visit. She’d even gone so far as to create itineraries. It made my fucking head hurt, but she’d get this dreamy look on her face when she’d walk me through the fantasy trips.
Except she didn’t run away to live out those dreams. If she had, I would have finished my tasks here in Olympus and then gone to find her. She never explicitly invited me along, but what are all those damned itineraries if not an invitation?