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)
Each of my sisters went about survival a little differently. Callisto was in so many fights that first month that her knuckles still bear the scars. Psyche let their shitty comments roll right off her like water off a duck’s back, and then she turned around and played the game better than any of them. Persephone crafted a sunshine persona that was impenetrable.
And all three of my sisters stood between me and everyone else. Or at least they tried. The thing is, there are more than a few years between each of us, and so I spent plenty of time without them playing the part of my protectors. I learned my own lessons during those times. I’m not fierce like Callisto, or cunning like Psyche, or untouchable like Persephone.
In the end, I leaned into the parts of me that everyone around me saw. Fragile. Delicate. In need of protection. To some people, that made me a victim in waiting. But there were plenty of others who stepped into the gaps left by my sisters’ absence. They were always louder and stronger than I was, and that’s how I know Orpheus never actually saw me. I was always standing in the shadows of others. It was the only way I knew how to protect myself.
I’m not content to stand in the shadows of others any longer. “If you’re done interrogating me, I’m famished.”
My sister shakes her head. “Let’s go.”
The trip into the upper city isn’t comfortable in the least. I sit between my sister and Orpheus, feeling like I’m being ripped in two by the silence. It’s a relief when we pull up in front of the Dryad and Persephone climbs out of the car. I reach over and pull the door shut to give me a moment alone with Orpheus. “Are you okay waiting here?”
“You’re asking me now?” He smiles as he says it. “It’s fine. I don’t want to ruin your lunch.”
I don’t know what to do with this new Orpheus. Without thinking, I take his hand. “Look, I get that you made a mistake last year, but that doesn’t mean that you need to have an entire personality transplant. You’re kind of freaking me out.”
“I’m sorry.” He turns his hand over and laces his fingers through mine. With our palms pressed together, I feel the fine shudder that moves through his body. He leans back against the seat and closes his eyes. “I understand what you’re saying, but you have no idea what it’s been like since we saw each other last. I’m not the same person I was, just like you’re not quite the same woman you were. Part of that is because of what happened with you, and part of that is other shit going on that has nothing to do with you.”
“You mean like Apollo cutting you off?”
He opens one eye and looks at me. “Yeah, that’s part of it.”
I have no business pressing him, and now isn’t the time to do it, but I can’t help asking, “And the rest of it?”
He squeezes my hand and gently slips free. “If you really want to know, ask your questions tonight. I don’t think right now is the time for that conversation. Persephone is waiting for you.”
He’s right, but I still have to fight against the urge to lift my voice and tell Medusa to take us back to the lower city. Only the fact that I have other things I need to accomplish today keep me silent. “Very well. I’ll ask my questions tonight.” I lean forward until my breasts press against his arm. “And if you’re a very, very good boy today, you’ll get a reward.”
“Fuck, Eurydice.” He makes a helpless little sound that goes straight to my pussy. “You sure know how to motivate a man to be on his best behavior.”
I catch his chin the same way Charon caught mine last night and tilt his face to mine. That delicious surge of power goes through me when his eyes flutter shut. I don’t know that I want his submission in every area of life, but I can’t deny that I love it right here, right now. I press my thumbnail to his lip, earning another of those sounds that make me clench my thighs together. “Think of me while I’m gone.”
“I don’t have a chance of doing anything else.”
14
CHARON
I seek Hades out in the room that’s become his formal meeting place in the months since he married Persephone. I don’t think he consciously made the choice to move; more that this room has a couch that Persephone likes to frequent while she watches Hades work. He does that sort of thing a lot, making space in his life for her to be at his side.
This room is significantly brighter than his old office. The windows at his back overlook the street below and allow him to survey the foot traffic. He’s never said as much aloud, but I know he finds watching his people live their happy, healthy lives comforting. There are two bookshelves built into the walls on either side of the window, and they used to house some dusty old editions. These days, Persephone has been slowly filtering them out as she finishes books while she lounges on the luxurious green couch. The couch itself has acquired a knitted throw blanket from…somewhere. Pregnancy seems to come with a lot of naps, and Hades has ensured she’s comfortable and close to him during those times.