Shattered Gods (Dark Olympus, #10)(15)

Callisto squeezes my hand, but her eyes are hard as she surveys those gathered. “It’s too late for assassination to work. You’ll just make her a martyr. The violence will last longer, and the destruction will be greater.”

“I know you’re not suggesting we retreat and give her the city.” I don’t like the way Athena watches my wife, as if she might become an obstacle to be removed.

“Athena,” I say quietly. “That video rattled us all. Who is left in the upper city?”

“Apollo and his girlfriend. Hephaestus and xyr team.” She counts them off on her fingers, her expression disgusted. “Artemis and most of her team. Dionysus, though if we can’t find him, I don’t know how Circe can. And the Carras, Gabris, and Kamber families.”

“That’s a lot of executions,” Callisto murmurs. The statement lacks her usual bite. In fact, she’s paler than normal, the dark circles beneath her eyes standing out starkly.

Hades’s phone buzzes, and he curses softly as he reads the incoming text. “There are crowds gathering on their side of the bridges. They will make extraction all but impossible going forward.” He sighs, the sound weary. “I can key the remaining Thirteen and legacy families into the barrier so they will have entry if they reach it, but I don’t think it’s wise to continue to send people into the upper city. You’ve spoken with all of them?”

Athena nods. “With the exception of Dionysus, I’ve issued the offer of sanctuary either directly or through my teams. They are aware of the risk of staying behind, even if they don’t believe it. Short of kidnapping them, that’s all we could do.”

He turns to me. “And Ares? Has she seen reason when it comes to her soldiers?”

I thumb through my texts with my free hand even though I know nothing new has come through. It was sheer luck that she got my text before she returned to the camp to report to Demeter. Was that only a couple days ago? It feels like a lifetime. We’ve been in regular contact since then, though. “Helen and her people returned to the countryside to contact the legacy families there. Those that were willing to come are with her, and they expect to make it to the city in the next few hours.” I look up. “She’s willing to compromise. Allow the team with her across the barrier. She’s already ordered the rest to scatter until they’re called in.”

I won’t breathe easy until both she and Eris are at my side again. At least Eris is in the lower city, though Persephone flatly refused to allow her in the room to discuss next steps. Apparently she isn’t interested in forgiving Eris for looping Eurydice into her plotting.

“They should avoid the bridges,” Persephone murmurs. “A boat?”

“Yes.” Hades nods. “We’ll have a team meet them in the upper warehouse district. I’ll send you the coordinates.”

Relief nearly makes my shoulders sag. “Thank you.”

Athena pushes to her feet. “Most of my people are here, so if you want some supplemental support, I’m happy to provide it.”

“I’ll take that into consideration.” His tone says he’ll do anything but, and I can’t quite blame him no matter how dire the circumstances. Up until a few days ago, he viewed us as standing on opposite sides of an ongoing confrontation. He wasn’t wrong, and allowing Athena’s people such close access to his operations requires a level of trust we just don’t have. “Please talk with Charon on how to best be utilized.”

“You mean on how to be best babysat.” She gives a grim nod. “I hope we stop wasting time before Circe gets bored fucking around in the upper city and turns her sights here. This division is what allowed her to get this far in the first place.” She turns on her heel and walks out of the room without another word.

If I were alone, I would slump back in my seat. I’m not. Hades is here and he’s watching me just as closely as he watched Athena.

“She’s not wrong,” I say.

“She’s not,” he agrees. “But some scars can’t be smoothed over, no matter how dire the circumstances.”

My wife huffs out a breath. “Which, for the hundredth time, is why we’re in this circumstance to begin with.” Really, it’s a miracle she managed to hold her tongue as long as she did. She doesn’t yank her hand from mine, though; she just leans forward and pins her brother-in-law with a harsh look. “You have two choices, Hades. We all have two choices. We leave or we fight. The time for pussyfooting around and politicking has passed. Circe literally executed Peitho, and the city cheered while she did it. No matter how beloved you are in the lower city, the rest of Olympus will celebrate if she puts a bullet between your eyes.”

“I know.” He tugs Persephone into his lap and rests his chin on her shoulder and his hands on her round belly. It’s a show of trust that he lets down his mask even that much. “But I’m only human. I’ve spent my entire life protecting the lower city. I owe it to the people here to do more than simply hand them over to Circe to save myself.”

Callisto shoots to her feet, nearly yanking my arm out of its socket in the process. “What about your wife? Your children?”

“Callisto.” Persephone’s tone is the deceptive calm before a hurricane. “I am sitting right here and more than capable of advocating for myself.”