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)
Despite my unease, I make it back to my apartment without issue. That doesn’t stop me from throwing the deadbolt as soon as I’m through the door. I also can’t quite stop myself from doing a quick circuit of the small space.
It doesn’t take long. I downgraded from a large penthouse suite to a studio apartment. I look behind the couch and check the bathroom, finding nothing. Of course I find nothing. I can’t help feeling like a fool for even considering someone might be lying in wait, but that feeling of being watched is still riding me hard.
I scrub the back of my neck. “What the fuck?”
A knock on my door makes me curse and flinch. I stare at the door for a long moment, half-sure I imagined it. There’s no reason for anyone to be visiting me right now. I lost pretty much every “friend” I had when Apollo cut me off and I stopped being the life of the party.
The knock comes again, a quiet, forceful sound that makes my skin prickle. The foreboding that rode me so hard on my way here comes back with interest. I really, truly do not want to open that door. It doesn’t matter. They obviously aren’t going away until I answer. I walk to the door, take a fortifying breath, and open it.
Only to freeze. “What are you doing here?”
Charon Ariti stands there, his shoulders taking up the narrow hallway, his expression carefully blank. We’ve never met in an official capacity, but one of the side effects of Hades coming to light—and marrying society darling Persephone—was that MuseWatch turned their hungry gaze on those around him. They ran articles on all of his subordinates they could divine, and Charon was top of the list.
He’s a big white man with a handsome face that feels kind of timeless, like he might be found in the back alleys of the lower city, or perhaps bashing his shield into some guy’s face back in the Middle Ages. Dude has soldier basically tattooed on his forehead.
I step back instinctively, and he moves into my apartment without hesitation. He takes in the place with an unreadable look and waits for me to close the door.
I don’t move. “If you’re here to beat the shit out of me, just know I’m partial to my good looks and I’ll fold immediately.”
Charon exhales harshly. “If I was going to beat the shit out of you, I would have done it back in December.”
Back when Eurydice was hurt because of my selfishness.
I shut the door. “I deserve it.”
“I’m aware.” He looks around the room again. “Seems you’re paying penance all the same.”
What’s that supposed to mean? I laugh without any humor. “Yes, absolutely. Living in a nice apartment with a steady job is penance. Sure.”
He seems to be studying the paintings I’ve stacked haphazardly against the wall. I can’t bear to throw them away, but treating them with care feels like…too much. “So. She’s haunting you the same way you’re haunting her.”
Haunted. Yes, that’s exactly how I feel. My sins dog my steps, a shadow I can never escape. Guilt is a nettle cloak I can’t shrug out of. I’ve convinced myself that talking to Eurydice, apologizing to her, will be enough to bury my demons, but the longer this goes on, the less sure I am. “It doesn’t really matter who’s haunting who. If you haven’t come to beat the shit out of me…why are you here?”
Charon turns back to face me, his blue eyes cold. “I meant what I said about you haunting her. She can’t move on until she makes peace with you.”
“Move on?” I stare. Why the fuck does he care if she…? Oh. Oh. Pain lashes me, hot and furious. I want to be jealous, to be angry, but all I get is a crushing force that makes me weave on my feet. “She wants to move on with you.”
“If you really want what’s best for her, that wouldn’t bother you.” He holds my gaze. “You held her carelessly and shattered her. I won’t make the same mistake.”
I want to rail at him. To tell him to fuck right off and never return. I don’t move, don’t speak. He’s not saying anything I haven’t thought myself. Oh, I never imagined Eurydice moving on with someone like him, but eventually she had to move on, and it was never going to be with me. I had my chance with her, had the opportunity to treat her the way she deserved, and I fucked it up.
I take a breath that feels like knives in my lungs. “Let me apologize. I know it doesn’t mean much, but maybe it will put things to rest once and for all.”
“It’s not safe for her in the upper city. Find your way to the lower city and make it right. You owe her that much.” He turns toward the door.