Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 92659 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92659 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
I knew there was a barrier between the upper city and the lower city, but like everyone else in Olympus, I assumed it was a lesser barrier. Less powerful because it was less visual. I was wrong. The curtain of shimmering…whatever it is…descending from the sky to the ground is identical to the barrier around the entire city. Except that’s not quite right, is it? Ten years ago, the external barrier was patchy and inconsistent. This one isn’t. It’s seamless and appears strong enough to bounce off. “Wow.”
“It’s so beautiful.” Eurydice’s hand finds mine as we stare up at it together.
“More like terrifying,” Calypso murmurs. She shifts closer to Medusa. “No going back after this.”
“That’s for sure.” Eurydice looks worried. “This is going to cause a lot of problems. I’m not exactly sad that I’m not the one who has to deal with them. Let’s get going.”
We have an entirely uneventful ride back to the house. It’s almost anticlimactic. But after the day we’ve had, I’m not about to complain. Especially when we take the stairs down to the room where we left Charon. He’s awake this time.
“Charon!” Eurydice releases me and rushes to his bed. He still looks like shit, and he’s propped on his side instead of sitting up, which seems to suggest the burns on his back are just as bad as I feared.
But he’s awake. That, in and of itself, is miracle enough.
Eurydice carefully holds one of his hands, but she doesn’t hesitate to slip to the side a little bit to make room for me. Charon looks up at me with a question in his eyes. “Heard Hades lowered the full barrier between the upper city and lower city.”
“He did. It went down just a little while ago.”
“You’re still here.” Is that relief in his voice? I’m not entirely sure. And then I am, when he keeps speaking. “I’m glad.”
I slowly, almost tentatively slip my hand into his free one. Then it’s the most natural thing in the world to wrap my arm around Eurydice’s waist. A closed triangle. It feels so fucking right, I can barely stand it. “I know I just said last night that I don’t love you yet, but I’m sure as fuck falling. Really, really hard.”
“Yeah.” Charon’s eyes drift close. “Me too.”
“How bad is it?” Eurydice asks softly.
Charon opens his eyes and gives a faint smile. “Not as bad as it looks. Burns hurt like a bitch, but they should heal up just fine without too much scarring. I’m not the one who got the worst of it.”
She strokes his knuckles. “In that case, I suppose Orpheus and I get to play nursemaid.” Her smile goes impish, though her eyes remain worried. “He’d look stunning in a sexy nurse outfit, don’t you think?”
Charon rasps out a chuckle. “Don’t make me laugh, baby. It hurts.” He smiles at me. “But she’s right. We should look into about getting you one of those costumes. Make sure there are thigh highs involved.”
I stroke my hand down Eurydice’s back. “I can’t decide if you’re joking or not.”
“You should know better. I never joke about sexy nurses.” His lips quirk. I can tell he’s in a lot of pain and trying to put on a brave face. Charon exhales slowly. “Things are going to get uncomfortable for a while. Maybe it’s selfish to be grateful that you’re both here on this side of the river, but fuck it, I’ll be selfish. I’m glad you’re here with me.”
“Of course we are. There’s no place we’d rather be.” Eurydice lifts his hand to her lips to press a kiss to his knuckles, and then she guides his hand to my face so I can do the same. “I love you, and Orpheus is falling for you. You’re stuck with us, Charon.”
“By stuck with you, you mean I’m the luckiest son of a bitch in Olympus.” His eyes start to drift closed. “Will you stay with me for a while?”
Eurydice and I exchange a look. I smile. “Yeah, Charon. But not just a little while—we’ll stay with you forever.”