Page 24 of Dark Restraint
“Three days,” Hera says slowly. “That fucks our timeline.”
“It will still work. We’ll miss the scheduled sweep of the building, but we can come up with another reason to get everyone out.” Poseidon shoves to his feet, nearly taking out the table in the process. “Are we done here?”
Hera’s gaze sharpens and she lifts her face slowly until he wilts in response. “We’re done when I say we’re done, Poseidon. But yes, scurry off to your shipyards for now. Just be ready to move as soon as he’s dead.”
“I’ve got it. You’ll have your way.” He turns and stalks out of the restaurant, but I don’t miss the fact that he pauses just long enough to make sure he says goodbye to Dolores. He might be scary, but apparently he does have some manners.
I turn back to find Hera watching me. It’s easy enough to connect the dots. Zeus dies, Hera declares her unborn child the next Zeus and herself regent, and Poseidon steps up as one-third of the legacy roles to take over leadership. “Is Hades also in on this?”
“No. My brother-in-law has enough to worry about with Persephone pregnant.”
Dionysus snorts and pours enough syrup on his waffles to drown them. “Not to mention he’s too nice to plot cold-blooded murder. Otherwise, he would’ve taken care of the last Zeus years ago. Then maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess to begin with.”
Hera shakes her head. “He doesn’t need to be part of the initial planning because he’ll do the right thing once Zeus falls. For the first time in Olympian history, the three legacy titles will be in agreement. With us standing together, we have a decent chance of not crumbling the moment Circe knocks at our door.”
I don’t like the idea of cold-blooded murder, either. But knowing what I do of Olympus and the Thirteen, I can’t say she’s wrong. The rest of the Thirteen might indulge in petty conflicts and social backstabbing, but they take their guidance from the three legacy titles. With Hades essentially a boogeyman until recently and Poseidon having chosen to abstain from any kind of politics, that only left Zeus. And the last Zeus was heavily invested in the Thirteen being as fractured as possible so as to not challenge his personal power.
This Zeus, however, seems interested in unification. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the charisma to pull it off. The fault lines go too deep. But Hera? Along with Hades and Poseidon? She might actually make it happen.
I just don’t have the heart to tell her that it might not be enough to save them from Circe.
13
The Minotaur
Minos isn’t around when I stop by the apartment that afternoon. It’s just as well. I don’t have anything to report, and he’s not likely to take that kindly. Since I’m not in the mood to kiss ass, it would be a confrontation I don’t want to deal with.
Unfortunately, it seems I don’t get a choice in avoiding confrontation entirely. I’m in the middle of throwing clothes into a bag when I hear movement behind me. I turn to find Icarus standing in my doorway. I’ve never had much use for him, but Ariadne cares about him, so I don’t go out of my way to make his life more miserable than it already is.
He doesn’t quite tremble as he forces himself to meet my gaze. He’s learning. Not fast enough, but I guess it’s better than nothing. “Leave my sister alone.”
“You heard my orders.” I say it mostly because I’m curious about what he’ll do. How far he’ll push this.
“Yeah, I did.” He actually steps into my room and closes the door behind him. He’s a slight guy, almost delicate. I could crush him with one hand tied behind my back. The fact that he’s willingly shutting us in a room together is mildly impressive. He leans against the door, but his posture is too tense to quite pull off the intimidation he’s attempting. He lifts his chin. “But I also know your little secret. I know that you had sex with her in the maze at the party. Just like I know that she ended up pregnant as a result. What do you think my father will do if he finds out?”
Despite everything, my reluctant admiration for him grows a little. I cross my arms. “If Minos finds out, he’ll punish me and kill her. She’s dead either way.” Or at least she is if I let him have his way. I don’t intend to give him a chance. Fuck, now that I’m thinking about it, it would be smart to take Minos out before we leave the city. Circe will be too busy bringing Olympus to its knees to worry about us. Minos is a different story. He has a vested interest in removing evidence of Ariadne’s disobedience. In this case, that means removing Ariadne—and me—if he finds out the truth. It’s a complication I don’t want to deal with.
“Maybe. Or maybe he can be convinced that the only reason she betrayed him is because she’s afraid of you.”
It’s a bold move. If I was anyone else, it would even work. I’m not interested in bringing Icarus into my confidence. The only allegiance he holds is to Ariadne, but that doesn’t mean he won’t buckle and break under his father’s pressure. He wants to be strong, but he’s not. He never has been.
I cross the room slowly and get right into his space. “That’s a risk, and not one you’re going to take.”
“Oh?” He swallows hard. “What makes you so sure I won’t?”
This is a bit of a gamble on my part but one that needs to pay off. I lean down, and I’m just asshole enough to enjoy the way he flinches back against the door. “Because your father definitely wants your sister dead. No amount of manipulation will make him retract that order. Not when he thinks doing so will make him look weak. Me, on the other hand? You don’t know where I stand. Yet.”
“Don’t I? You’re a fucking monster. A murderer. A brutal beast. You might want my sister, but you’re not a complete fool. You have to know that claiming her will break something in her forever. She wants to be free. That’s all she’s ever wanted. Being with you is a chain closed around her throat. She’ll suffocate.” He shoves me, and it’s surprise more than strength that has me taking two steps back and allowing him to leave my room.
He’s wrong. I think. If Ariadne knew me, trusted me, the way I do her, she never would’ve doubted for a second that I mean her no harm. She wouldn’t have run from me in the first place. She would’ve come to me and asked me to help her get out of the mess it took both of us to get into. She wouldn’t melt in my arms with a submission that feels like giving up.
I don’t like the direction my thoughts have taken. I don’t like the implications of their potential truth. Most of all, I don’t like the fact that it changes nothing.
I leave my room without my change of clothes. I don’t have any specific plan on where I’m going, but I find myself outside Dionysus’s building just as Ariadne walks out the door with Hera and Psyche in tow. The Dimitriou sisters couldn’t look more different, for all that they share the same dark hair and pale skin. Hera is a weapon. Psyche? Well, her weapon is walking two paces behind her and surveying the street as if he expects a threat to pop out at any moment. I step back into a doorway before he looks in my direction.
I have no desire to tango with Eros.
Ariadne is fine. Following her is a risk at this point, and even as I tell myself not to, my body moves without permission. I shadow them for several blocks until they slip into a boutique with a bunch of frilly clothes in the window.