Shattered Gods (Dark Olympus, #10)(52)

I blink. “But why? They have no reason to help me. None of you do.”

“We competed together. You helped Helen when you didn’t have to. If you hadn’t allied with her to get through the first trial, maybe things would have turned out differently and the three of us wouldn’t have ended up together.” He shrugs again. “The why doesn’t matter. We’re wasting time. I’m your escort back to the upper city. Take this.” He presses something into my hand.

I look down and frown. It’s a key. “What is this?”

“You fought Circe. She’s smart enough to have figured out who you are—if she didn’t already know—and she’ll be watching your place to snatch you up if you are fool enough to try to go home.”

“I don’t understand,” I say slowly. My brain feels like it’s turned to taffy. I shake my head sharply. “It’s a nice thought, but I don’t see how offering me a place to stay helps. She’ll have people watching all of the residences of the Thirteen and legacy families. Going to your place is as dangerous as going to mine.”

“I know.” He grins suddenly. “It’s not my place. It belongs to a friend, but she won’t be using it. She got the fuck out of Olympus the day after the barrier fell. She’s also not a legacy family, so no reason for anyone to pay attention to her place.”

A…friend. Athena’s intelligence on the Ares trio mentioned they were in an open relationship, but they’ve been very careful to keep it out of MuseWatch. “Is she one of your lovers?”

Achilles laughs. “A friend who I also fuck on occasion, yeah. Are you done asking questions? We need to leave.”

“Almost.” I heft myself off the bed. As I stand, there isn’t even a hint of dizziness. Good. I’m still going to be off while I heal, and I’ll have to be careful not to tear my stitches, but this is the best-case scenario after being stabbed. “You might as well toss me in the River Styx as escort me to one of the bridges. There’s a crowd on the Juniper Bridge, and they were rapidly whipping themselves into a mob when I came through before. They busted up my windshield. I’m sure that hasn’t calmed down in the last few days.”

“It’s gotten worse,” he says simply. “There’s also one on the Cypress Bridge. It’s a mess.” He moves to the door and pulls it open. “That’s why we’re not taking a bridge.”

My stomach drops out. “Achilles…”

But he’s already on the move, exiting the room in long strides and leaving me to scramble after him. We walk downstairs to the garage. Within a few minutes, we’re in an SUV and driving toward the river. He ignores every attempt I make to get more details about the plan, and the asshole is clearly enjoying my agitation.

That agitation reaches its peak when he pulls into a dirt parking lot down by the bank and I follow him to a small building that houses—

“Absolutely not.” The boat is barely large enough for three people with a single motor. That’s not the problem, though. The barrier is.

“It’s this or the crowd of angry people.”

I have to close my eyes and count to ten to keep from punching him in his perfect face. “A boat is not going to be able to cross the barrier any more than a car can. You want me to swim in the River Styx in late October with a stab wound? Might as well put a bullet in my brain right now. At least it will be a fast death.”

“So dramatic.” His dark-brown eyes are alight with amusement. “I’m not tossing you in the river, Atalanta. I’m taking you to the underside of Cypress Bridge. There’s a walkway under there. It’s only for maintenance, and it’s not like crossing the river has been a regular occurrence even before the barrier solidified, so no one should know about it to watch for you. Follow it to the other side of the river and you’ll find a path up. It’s a little tricky, but nothing you can’t handle.”

I’m not sure I believe him, and it’s a testament to just what a dick he is that he didn’t tell me the plan before letting me jump to conclusions, but I don’t have any other options.

I help him launch the boat and climb in. I wasn’t given a coat after they bandaged me up again, and the wind feels like shards of ice slicing into me. I huddle in an effort to escape it. “You know, this season always makes me wish I lived somewhere warm all year round. Fuck the cold.”

“I find it invigorating.” He seems like it, too, his cheeks pinked in the cold, his eyes bright. “Keeps me sharp.”

“If you say so.”

He cuts through the water, the motor damn near silent. It’s hard to gauge the time of day with the cloud cover, but I think it’s nearing dark. There’s no one around to see us as we veer up the river toward Cypress Bridge.

Despite my doubts, there actually is a small, grated platform with a ladder leading up to a walkway that runs the length of the bridge. It’s rusted and looks less than sturdy, but it’s better than the alternative.

Achilles shrugs out of his coat and tosses it to me. “You won’t find a stash of weapons in Briseis’s place, but it should be safe enough.” He rattles off an address on the outskirts of the upper warehouse district. “Good luck.”

“Thanks.” I pull the coat on, the leftover warmth from his body already beating back the worst of the chill. The insulation will do the rest. I step carefully onto the platform and pause. “Achilles?”