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)
“We have scouts monitoring the perimeter. There hasn’t been any movement on that front.” The words sound like he doesn’t believe me, but his tone isn’t dismissive. More like he’s musing to himself, mulling over the information I brought him. “That doesn’t mean Ariadne’s lying though. Just that Circe is smart enough not to show her hand before she’s ready to strike.”
“What do we do?”
He gives himself a shake and finally focuses on me. “Leave that up to us, Eurydice. You did a fine job getting that information. We’ll hold up our end of the bargain with Ariadne, but for now it’s time for you to go home.”
It’s not until I’m walking out the front door that I realize he didn’t tell me to go to the room that I usually keep in this house. He told me to go home, and there’s no way he meant the upper city.
He meant Charon’s town house.
I’m not even surprised when Minthe pulls up in one of Hades’s nondescript black sedans. I climb into the passenger seat and sit back with a sigh. I don’t mean to speak, but I have too many emotions tangled up inside me, and Minthe will understand. I hope. “I thought the information would fix things, but it only made them worse. We are in a lot of trouble.”
“Welcome to the lower city.” She laughs a little. “But seriously, you did good work today. You handled her perfectly and got every bit of information that she had. It was well done.”
Warmth takes up residence in my chest. It’s one thing to think that I might have something to offer, but it’s entirely another to have it confirmed by someone who has no reason to lie to me. Minthe isn’t related to me, even by marriage. She’s not interested in getting in my pants. She’s essentially a coworker who’s giving me a pat on the back for a job well done, and that feels so damn valuable. “Thanks.”
“Now that we have that out of the way, I have something you need to hear.”
The warmth in my chest dims. “Okay.”
“We didn’t get a chance to talk about it this morning, but I’d like to make one thing clear.” She weaves through the light traffic with an ease I envy. “Medusa is still adjusting to how we do things in the lower city. She sees things in a very black-and-white way, which means your previous role as honored guest who isn’t technically a citizen of the lower city created a gray area you were able to manipulate her through. Don’t think that I will allow you to do the same to me.”
I jerk back. “I never manipulated her.” That sounds insidious. Evil, even.
“How many times have you slipped her security detail? No, you don’t have to answer, because I already know. Seven times in the last year. That shit won’t fly with me.”
“I had my reasons.”
“I literally do not care.” She glances at me. Considering her words, I expect to see anger on her face, but there’s just a calm resolve. “You’re on the staff now, and you’re officially a citizen of the lower city. If you try to slip my security detail, I will track you down and drag you back to Hades and Charon by your hair. No hard feelings; it’s just business. You want to go somewhere, you talk to me about it, and we figure out a way to do it safely. If we can’t do it safely, then we go to Charon and see if he has extra resources to lend. There’s a proper way to do things, Eurydice, and I expect you to hold the line.”
I swallow my instinctive angry response and force myself to really think about the words she saying. She’s not treating me like a child. She’s laying out clear boundaries and expecting me to hold them. I can do that. “I understand. You have my word that I’ll talk to you before doing anything that might be dangerous.”
It’s not until she stops at the curb in front of the town house that the events of the afternoon catch up to me. Events of the last couple days, really. I haven’t gotten a good night’s sleep in days. The stress feels like it’s wearing me down to a single thread that might snap at any moment. Ariadne’s words keep circling around in my head. They all add up to one conclusion. War. The one thing that we thought we were all safe from, and it’s coming knocking on our door, sooner rather than later.
I don’t know how we’re going to survive it.
25
ORPHEUS
I know something’s wrong the moment Eurydice walks through the door. There’s a slant to her shoulders that I don’t like, as if she’s carrying the world on them. I rush to her but stop before making contact. We might have shared a bed last night, but that doesn’t mean that she’ll welcome comfort from me. “Eurydice?”