The small hairs on the back of my neck raise. Is he threatening Cassandra? I can’t tell. He’s got his genial mask in place, all concerned kindness. The desire to shove to my feet and rush out of the room to ensure she’s safe is nearly overwhelming. “I’m Apollo. No matter what my parents think of my partners, they won’t risk alienating me.” I don’t like that he looked into her. I don’t like it at all.
“Perhaps.” Minos nods easily. “But what about Zeus and the rest of the Thirteen? They aren’t bound the same way the rest of us are.”
Zeus knows what this really is, but if one of the others thought Cassandra was trying to follow in her parents’ footprints? “That won’t happen.”
“So you say. That girl has worked hard to avoid the limelight, and there have been more articles written about her since your date a few days ago than in the last five years combined. People are talking, Apollo. If you care so much about her, you never should have brought her here.”
No reason for guilt to prick me. We knew what going public would do. Cassandra is getting paid well and she has no plans to stick around after this task is finished. I can’t quite unclench my jaw. “I’m honored, Minos. I had no idea you were so interested in my love life and the welfare of my girlfriend.” I honestly can’t tell if he’s threatening her or not. It feels like he is, but he hasn’t said anything overt that I can call him on.
“As I said, I like you.” He swirls the whiskey in his glass, expression contemplative. “You’re an asset and you’re wasted on this place. I’d like to have you in the family.”
I blink. “Excuse me?”
“Take your pick of my children.” He waves a casual hand toward the door. “Icarus might be a bit flighty for your tastes, but Ariadne is a good girl. She’d make a lovely wife to you.”
His boldness leaves me at a loss for words. Arranged marriages are hardly uncommon in Olympus, but people tend to go about it in a subtler way. I look away. “I’m not in the market for a marriage at this point.” Under no circumstances will I allow myself to think of Cassandra, dressed in white and walking down the aisle to me.
“Pity.” He shrugs easily. “I had thought you too smart to be swayed by your emotions, but it’s clear that as long as Cassandra is by your side, you won’t see things my way.”
I send him a sharp look. “If something happens to her, I won’t see things your way, either.”
He holds up his hands. “Whoa, whoa, no one is making threats, Apollo. You wanted me to speak plainly, so I’m just doing what you requested.”
For him to speak plainly about his motivations. Surely there’s more to this party than a marriage mart? I barely resist the urge to look at my watch. How long has it been? How much longer do I need to keep him talking? Maybe someone else could sit here while he threatened someone they cared about, but that’s not me. It never has been. “Why are you here, Minos?”
“I already told you.” He laughs. “Do you think asking a few dozen more times will result in a different answer?”
This whole thing feels like he just threw a handful of sand into an already murky pool. I can’t tell if he’s being honest about wanting to match me with one of his children, but surely it’s not that simple. He must be holding something back. “If you’d be transparent, we wouldn’t have to do this song and dance.”
“There you go, talking frankly again.” He hefts himself to his feet. It’s rather dramatic, considering I watched him bound down the steps at the Dryad less than a week ago. Minos obviously wants to be underestimated. It’s a familiar ploy—a lot of people in Olympus use it, including myself—but it irks me all the same. “Truly, you stand out among the others. It’s a wonder someone hasn’t taken issue with your honesty.”
Another threat that isn’t quite a threat. I follow him to my feet. “Thanks for the drink.” Hopefully Hector had enough time to hack the cameras.
“Anytime, Apollo. And I do mean that.”
I follow him back down the hall and into yet another large room, this one designed for entertaining. It’s divided into smaller spaces by the way the furniture is arranged. The group has fractured as a result. I catch Aphrodite and Adonis sharing a love seat, though all her attention is focused on Theseus sprawled across from them, smirking at her. If looks could kill, he’d be broken and bloodied on the floor. It’s an unwise move to antagonize that woman. Aphrodite might not be cutting down people in battle, but she’s more than a formidable opponent to those she considers enemies.
Eurydice, Charon, Hermes, and Dionysus have joined Ariadne on a trio of couches and are having what appears to be an animated conversation. Pan and Icarus are perched on chairs on either side of a small round table holding a chessboard while Atalanta watches with interest, a glass dangling from her fingertips. At first glance, Icarus appears to be winning.
I don’t see Cassandra.
I also don’t see the Minotaur.
Minos seems to come to the same conclusion as he surveys the room. “How will you keep her safe when she’s obviously so prone to wandering?” He chuckles. “Best of luck with that.”
Surely he’s too savvy to hurt Cassandra in order to get to me?
That’s the problem, though. I don’t know what Minos will or won’t do. I didn’t expect the direction of our conversation, and I can’t speak to what lengths he’ll go to achieve his goals. He’s obviously targeting her, and that’s enough to have my instincts screaming at me to act, to do whatever it takes to keep her safe.
I turn for the door. “I’ll just go see what’s keeping them.”
His chuckle follows me out of the room.
13
Cassandra
I don’t mean to get separated from the group. I was walking next to Dionysus and realized my shoe strap was coming undone. In the fifteen seconds it took me to fix it, the rest of the group cleared out, leaving only the hulking Minotaur behind. I don’t know why it surprises me that he keeps his deep-red hair long enough to brush his shoulders, but it does. It’s startlingly beautiful, glossy and thick, and only contrasts with his harsh features and the scars that cover his face. There’s a new one healing from where Helen—Ares—cut him in the last trial.
I tense, waiting for him to say something biting, but he just looks up and eyes the clear night sky. “Walk with me.”
Under any other circumstances, I would decline. He’s a strange man and obviously dangerous, and I have no intention of getting murdered before Zeus can pay me. If I do, he’s likely to say my side of the bargain isn’t fulfilled and then Alexandra gets nothing.
But he can make the same argument if he finds out I turned down a prime opportunity to get close to one of Minos’s family members.
Really, I only have one option. “Sure.” I can’t make myself sound happy about it, but I turn and head back toward the maze. The Minotaur is huge—he’s got to be nearly a foot taller than me, if not more—but he matches his stride to mine without any apparent effort.
I have absolutely no interest in entering the confined quarters of the maze, so I veer when the path branches, walking farther away from the house. I keep waiting for him to say something, since he’s the reason we’re out here, but he doesn’t speak.