Shattered Gods (Dark Olympus, #10)(24)

“That doesn’t make your way better!” I’ve done what I can to ensure justice finds its way to the predators in this city, but I’ve had to move cautiously because I couldn’t risk losing the Hermes title. The secrets of the barrier were hidden too well. It took me years to sift through the spotty information about what really kept the barrier up all these generations. Years of searching Olympus’s secrets, of honing my skills to break into more and more complicated locks. Imagine my surprise when it all led to a bunker on the outskirts of the upper city. Somewhere I’d walked past hundreds of times over the years. “At least my way isn’t going to be wholesale slaughter.”

“Which is why your way isn’t making any progress at all.” She carefully drags her fingers through her short hair, refreshing the style. “I know how good you are, but you won’t make it out of this room. I’m too close, Hecate. I can’t have anyone interfering—even you.”

She’s not lying. I’m trapped. Panic flutters in the base of my throat. I always have a way out. It doesn’t matter where I’ve wandered over the years; I always have an exit strategy. Until today. Until I let my emotions get the best of me. For nothing. Eros is still dead, and now Atalanta is on her own. I suspect Circe’s plan for the lower city’s barrier is the same as mine for the upper city.

She’ll find the location of the main hub and blow it up, bringing down the barrier. She has a small number of soldiers, yes, but clearly her plan hinges on the civilian population doing her dirty work.

Which is a fucking problem. I glare up at her. “If you send that mob to the lower city, it will be a bloodbath. There have been tensions between the upper city and the lower city since the founding of Olympus, and the events of the last year haven’t helped.”

“Especially because Hades brought up the secondary barrier, choosing to protect his own people and leave the rest of Olympus to rot,” Circe counters coolly. “Whatever is coming for the lower city, he put it into motion when he made that choice.”

I grit my teeth. “Whatever is coming. Interesting use of passive voice there, Circe. You’re setting this up. You don’t get to wash your hands of the blood that will inevitably follow.”

She walks slowly to the door, pauses, and looks over her shoulder. “That’s the difference between us, Hecate. You always assume I’m trying to keep my hands clean because that’s what you do. When the barrier falls, I’ll be the first across the river.”





10

Atalanta




“This is a damned mess.” I scrub my face, trying to keep my frustration locked down. “We’re wasting time.”

Apollo makes a sound like he’s going to argue, but Cassandra cuts in before he can get a word out. “We have eyes and ears all around the university. That’s not nothing. We know Circe has incited a mob and they’re frothing at the mouth for a target. She doesn’t seem to plan to offer Hermes up to them, which is also not nothing. She hasn’t been spotted leaving the campus yet, so we know she’s still there.”

“Circe has already proven she can manipulate the camera network in Olympus,” I snap. I shouldn’t have come here. It was the smart, logical thing to do, but there’s no outlet for the restless energy demanding I act.

“She’s not bothering to do it now.” Apollo runs a hand down Cassandra’s arm, expression contemplative. “She has no reason to hide any longer. She holds most of the cards.”

I mutter a curse and push to my feet. I’m no closer to finding exactly where Hermes is—or prying her out of that bitch’s hands. She’s got to be suffering, even if Circe hasn’t laid a finger on her.

What if she’s not?

I shove the nasty little voice away. Of everyone in this cursed city, I know how much Hermes loves Circe, even after all these years. I thought I had to compete with a ghost, but now there’s a real, live woman bursting back into our lives, and that means a different kind of battle—even if she wasn’t trying to kill dozens of people.

At least Hector is gone. He went to retrieve his wife and daughter and seek refuge in the lower city. I hope he makes it. The streets were safe enough with most of the civilian population evacuated to the countryside. Now that they’re back, I can’t guarantee what they’ll do if they see a legacy scion wandering about.

I take a breath and try to focus. Cassandra’s parents were killed years ago, but she and her sister are still technically legacy scions. If something happens to Cassandra, Hermes will whoop my ass, and Cassandra won’t leave without her sister. “Where is your sister?”

Apollo is the one to answer. “I sent two of my people to escort her to the Juniper Bridge. She passed over to the lower city early this morning.”

Cassandra seems a little paler than normal. “She’s not happy about it, but she’s as safe as anyone can currently be in Olympus. I would have preferred she leave entirely, but that’s not a fight I was going to win.” She smiles wanly. “My sister has developed a stubborn streak, and she loves this city, gods alone know why.”

That’s something, at least. I roll my head on my shoulders. “Thank you for your assistance, but we’re done here. It’s time for you to leave the upper city.” I hold up a hand when they both rush to argue. “That’s not a suggestion. Every minute you stay here increases the danger you’re both in.”