Cruel Seduction (Dark Olympus, #5) (24)

“But not murder.”

“Oh, please.” I wave that away. “If you came here to be self-righteous, we can end this right now.”

She glares, but gives herself a bit of a shake. “I got Ariadne’s number out of Pandora’s phone. I’ll reach out later today. I plan to take the commiserating approach—both of us younger daughters who have been locked away by our families.”

“Smart.” I cross my arms over my chest. “Though she’s not a fool. She won’t respond.”

“Yes, she will.” Eurydice lifts her chin. “I know you had your own trials growing up the way you did, but what she and I have experienced is unique enough that I would bet good money she’s climbing the walls right about now. She was flourishing at that house party with so many people around, and now her father has essentially locked her up and thrown away the key, all in the name of her safety and his ambition. She’ll respond, even if it’s to get some interaction with someone who isn’t family.”

If she’s wrong, then we’ll try something else…but I don’t think she’s wrong. I nod. “Keep me updated. If you need anything, I’ll provide it.”

Eurydice pauses, shoots a glance at Charon again, and blurts, “Why me?”

“What?”

“Why did you ask me for help with Pandora?” She speaks quickly, words tumbling over each other. “And then again with Ariadne? Surely you have people on staff who could do this sort of thing. You could have picked someone else to avoid pissing off my sisters and mother.”

She’s not wrong. The Dimitriou women were formidable when they were just daughters of Demeter. Now Psyche and Persephone are both married to dangerous men, and Callisto has become Hera. Even without that, Demeter is one of the most terrifying people I’ve ever met, and I take great pains not to cross her.

Or I did until now.

Should she find out about this little scheme Eurydice and I are running, she would undoubtedly consider it a betrayal that needs to be punished. Her daughter Psyche took down the last person to hold the Aphrodite title, after all.

But I grew up in Zeus’s household, and frankly all four of those women do Eurydice a disservice by trying to swaddle her up to protect her. The woman I interacted with at Minos’s party—the one standing before me now—has a backbone.

She deserves a chance to use it.

I shrug. “You’re smart, beautiful, and perfectly placed for this kind of thing. I think we can both agree that you’re being underutilized at the moment, and you’re obviously itching to do more or you wouldn’t have been so receptive to my offer.” I jerk my chin at Charon. “And you’re hardly unprotected.”

She smiles slowly. “You know, I think you’re the first person to see me as valuable instead of just a pretty thing to be admired.”

I glance over her shoulder to where Charon watches her with molten eyes. He catches me looking and shutters the expression quickly, but not quickly enough. I don’t think I am the first person to see you as valuable.

I pat Eurydice on the shoulder. “Keep me in the loop.” I pause. “Oh, and stay out of the club tonight. I’m bringing Pandora and I don’t want her thinking about anything but me and the show.”

“Okay.” She turns toward the door, but pauses. “Thanks for this. I mean it. Olympus is my home, too, no matter how flawed, and I want to help.”

“You are helping, and I appreciate it.” I inject warmness into my tone, but for once I’m not lying. Not really, anyway. I like Eurydice, and she’s useful. Win, win from where I’m sitting.

Everything is going according to plan.





9


PANDORA





I almost don’t go back to Minos’s home. Returning there always feels like stepping into a cloud of noxious gas, except the very air has weight. Minos mostly ignores me, which means the Minotaur mostly ignores me as well, and I prefer it that way. But that doesn’t change the fact that I can’t ignore either of them. I learned early on that knowing the most dangerous people in the room might save my life one day, and they are both dangerous.

There’s nowhere else to go, though.

For all Minos’s show of buying a house outside the city proper, it’s not convenient for day-to-day life, so he’s rented a penthouse a few blocks away from the city center. I think he tried to get closer, but all those buildings are owned by families that can trace their origins back to Olympus’s conception. They might not be giving him the cut direct currently, but none of them wanted a new, ambitious stranger living so close.

I bet they’re all happy about that after what went down two weeks ago.

I push the thought away, just like I have every day since the house party ended in violence and death. I know what Theseus is capable of. I’ve always known it.

That doesn’t make it easier to stomach.

It’s not the death that bothers me. Death is a part of life, and murder is far more common among the powerful than anyone wants to admit.

What bothers me is the fantasy Minos spun for Theseus. The one where doing this would fulfill all his dreams of stability and power. Judging by the last two weeks, all of that is one big lie. He’s got power, but stability is in short supply, and he certainly doesn’t have the freedom he craves.