I will never forget Apollo, but will I always remember the feeling of his fingers imprinted on my hips? Will time eventually smudge the exact way he looks at me, as if the sun rises and sets at my pleasure?
I’m terrified of the answer.
He presses a kiss to the back of my neck and disappears just long enough to take care of the condom. He gathers me in his arms the moment he returns to bed. All I want to do is accept the comfort of his presence, his body, his control. The world seems so far away right now, and a selfish part of me wants to keep it that way.
We can’t keep doing this, though. We have to talk about the party. About Pan. “Of everyone here, why attack Pan? Or make Atalanta go missing, if that’s what has actually happened. Or threaten me? Why target the plus-ones? That’s what I can’t make sense of.”
“I can’t make sense of it, either. Pan is well-liked and there’s no strategic reason to attack him. It’s possible he has dangerous secrets, but I don’t know why the attack would happen here, of all places.”
That’s the kicker. The probability of Pan’s attacker not being a guest is so low as to be nonexistent. Looking at it from that angle is the wrong choice; I’m sure of it. “It has to be someone here. Maybe Minos wants the Dryad?”
“Everyone wants the Dryad.” Apollo sounds so frustrated, I want to hug him. “It seems heavy-handed, but I suppose that could be part of it. Pan has no family, so if he dies without a will, the Dryad will go up for auction. But that’s a lot of ifs, and even if it went to auction, there are people with much deeper pockets in this city. Dionysus, for one, would be the first in line and he can afford it.”
I think about how sick he looked after the attack. Surely… I sit up. “Do you think Minos is offering to get his hands dirty so the party guests don’t have to?” It seems a reach when the Thirteen are more than capable of murder on their own, but this Zeus is not the same as the last one. This Zeus wants stability, and you don’t get stability in a time like this by murdering for profit.
I don’t like thinking about Dionysus agreeing to that sort of bargain, but he’s one of the Thirteen. I can’t afford to assume anything.
“It’s…possible. Gods, I hadn’t even considered that it might be an option.” Apollo frowns, obviously thinking hard. “But that doesn’t explain the threats against you.”
“Right, but you’re not here to bargain with Minos. You’re here to investigate him.” The more I talk my way through it, the more sense it starts to make. “Maybe he thought if he threatened me, it would distract you from your task.”
He glares at the ceiling. “He wasn’t entirely wrong, if that’s the case.” He pinches the bridge of his nose. “But what about Atalanta? She’s from a powerful family, but she doesn’t have any holdings like the Dryad.”
I sigh. “I don’t know. Maybe she does have something Artemis wants, but we just don’t know about it.” That’s the problem. Even with the progress we’ve made, we just don’t know enough. “But that would at least explain why none of them are worried about being targeted—because they brought the targets with them.” This theory doesn’t apply to Charon and Eurydice, but they’re here for the same reason we are. To find answers.
I wish I could say the same for Aphrodite and Adonis, but as much as I like her, the fact remains that she’s a Kasios, and that family has more than proven that they will trample people to reach their aims. I’m not entirely certain what purpose removing Adonis would serve, but I can’t ignore the possibility that she’s more than ruthless enough to make that call.
I drag my fingers through my hair. “I need to try to talk to Hermes again. Out of everyone here, she seems to have some idea of what’s actually going on. I don’t know if she’ll tell me the truth, but I have a better shot than anyone else.” I’m nearly certain Tyche never actually arrived at this party. I don’t know her well, but she’s the mischievous youngest daughter of one of the legacy families. She’s not in line to inherit and she’s well-liked by most everyone.
Except Tyche’s parents, who don’t like that she spends time with Hermes.
Surely Hermes wouldn’t hurt the woman to punish her parents?
No. I’m right. I know I am. Hermes can be just as ruthless as the rest of the Thirteen, and even cruel when it suits her, but she wouldn’t hurt a friend just to punish an enemy.
Would she?
“You have a better chance at getting information out of her than I do.” He makes a face. “Though after yesterday, I don’t like the idea of letting you out of my sight.”
I don’t really relish the idea of wandering this house without him at my side, either. “It’s the only way. She won’t talk to me frankly if you’re there.” She might not even do it if we’re alone, but…I have to try. And not only to fulfill my side of the bargain with Zeus. What happened with Pan yesterday more than proved that Hermes’s warning has merit. Even if we don’t fully understand why Pan was attacked, we don’t know who did it or if they intend to strike again. That means Apollo is potentially in danger as well.
I have to keep reminding myself that he was moving through Olympus’s shark-infested waters years before I ever came into his life, and no one stuck a literal knife in his ribs during that time. That they’re unlikely to do it now, even if Minos is an unknown factor. Apollo doesn’t actually need me to watch his back. The only real value I have is that I’ve spent so much time on the sidelines, studying the powerful in order to escape their wrath, that I have insight into people’s motivations that he doesn’t. If it comes down to a fight of any sort, I’m worse than useless.
Apollo does not need me.
The thought should reassure me, but it feels strangely like a lie. “Please be careful,” I blurt out.
His dark brows draw together. “I won’t be reckless, but I don’t know that I can promise to be careful. If an opportunity comes to get the information we need, then I have to take it.”
I know that. Of course I know that. But the panic bleating inside me won’t listen. “Is Olympus really worth your life?”
He smooths my hair back. Anyone else would attempt to soothe me with meaningless reassurances. Not Apollo. He’s oh so serious as he holds my gaze. “You don’t think highly of the Thirteen, and with good reason. But the fact remains that we work for Olympus’s benefit.” He clears his throat at my look of disbelief. “Some of us work for Olympus’s benefit. You might not like the method, but the people of this city are protected, both upper city and lower. No one goes hungry. Our crime rates are lower than any city of comparable size.”
“Those things might be true, but it’s not the full picture.” I shake my head. “We both know that crimes committed by the powerful get swept under the rug.”
He opens his mouth, seems to reconsider, and finally nods. “Fair point. It’s not a perfect system, and I’d be lying if I said it was.” He sighs. “I didn’t take the title of Apollo to make a grab for power. That may have been what my family wanted, but I knew there might be sacrifices involved with being a member of the Thirteen. I will do whatever is required to keep this city and all the people in it safe.”