Aphrodite laughs lightly. “I would know that smile anywhere, Adonis.” She leans up and presses a kiss to his lips.
Then she moves on. She’s better at the game than I would have reckoned. She mixes up the Minotaur and Theseus, but that may be because she seems reluctant to touch both. She also mistakes Eurydice for Artemis, which has Artemis glaring holes in her back. The rest of us, she guesses correctly, working her way around the circle until she stands before Pandora, who’s on my other side.
Though no one has confirmed or denied the guesses, she must know who it is she touches as she ghosts her fingers over the other woman’s arms and cups her face in surprisingly gentle hands. Aphrodite gives a wicked smile. “Only one way to say for certain.”
Then she kisses Pandora.
Without thinking, I look to Theseus. This is just another power play between him and Aphrodite, but I can’t help a shudder at the sheer fury in his eyes as he watches them. I hadn’t pegged his relationship with Pandora to be overly romantic, but they’re obviously close, and he’s undeniably enraged to see Aphrodite kissing her.
Aphrodite lifts her head, smiling. “Hello, Pandora.”
“Hi.” For her part, Pandora’s a little breathless.
And so it goes.
Each turn, Minos spins the blindfolded person and the rest of the guests rearrange themselves. I give up trying to stay next to Cassandra after the second round. There’s no reason to. She never leaves my sight.
The Minotaur does horridly, only guessing Theseus, Icarus, and Pandora correctly. Charon and Hephaestus only do slightly better. Dionysus seems to do poorly on purpose, though with him it’s impossible to say if that’s feigned or no. Adonis doesn’t seem to care at all, rattling off names the moment he touches a person, usually guessing incorrectly. Artemis does nearly as well as Aphrodite. Cassandra gets everyone but the Minotaur correct.
Hermes, of course, has a perfect round. She tweaks Theseus’s beard, plants a kiss on Dionysus’s forehead, flirts shamelessly with everyone she touches, and kisses Cassandra with a little too much gusto for my peace of mind.
My jealousy has faded, though, nowhere near as pointed as it was yesterday. It helps that a blushing Cassandra sends me an apologetic look the moment Hermes moves on, that her gaze lingers on me even as we move on to Eurydice, who gets about half her guesses correct.
Then it’s finally my turn.
While watching everyone else, I underestimated how disorienting it would be to be blindfolded. I try to listen for the movements of the others, but with Minos spinning me, it’s an impossible task. When he finally releases me, I haven’t the slightest clue where everyone has relocated to.
I hate this game.
I feel like an absolute fool as I stretch out my hands and move directly forward. I dislike having my senses distorted, and the sensation only gets worse when I gingerly touch a man. He’s built lean, and the moment I reach his beard, I know. “Dionysus.”
I move around the circle slowly. Most of these people, I would not consider friends, let alone someone I’d intentionally touch like this. I try to keep my hands up high enough that I don’t accidentally brush against something I shouldn’t, but it means that I end up bumping into Hermes’s forehead instead of her shoulder when I reach her. “Sorry, Hermes.”
I fumble my way through the rest of the guests. Though it’s tempting to rush, my pride won’t allow it. I guess as well as I can, finally ending on Cassandra. I know her the moment my hand closes on her soft shoulder. Still, I coast my touch up to cup her jaw and feel for her distinctive lips.
I smile. “Hello, Cassandra.”
She’s the one to remove the blindfold from my eyes, and she smiles up at me as I blink at the abrupt change. There’s no time to say anything—I’m not even sure what I would say, since this is just a silly game—because Minos steps into the circle. “We have a clear winner! Hermes, congratulations.”
Hermes grins and winks at Icarus. “We’ll have some fun.” In the face of her unrelenting cheerfulness, even Icarus manages a smile.
Minos laughs. “Without a doubt. Now, I do believe tea is ready to be served. I’ll go check on the status of that. Please make yourselves comfortable.” He strides out the door without looking back.
“Teatime. Of course. Why not?” Eurydice shakes her head and sinks down onto the love seat next to Charon. They’re sitting slightly angled toward each other so their knees touch, and the careful way he holds himself at a respectful distance while maintaining that not-so-casual touch makes me both glad for Eurydice and sad for my foolish brother.
Charon gives a faint smile. “You like tea.”
“Yes, I do. I’m also ready to go home. This wasn’t fun before Pan got hurt, and now I’m jumping at every sound. I thought staying was the right thing to do, but that was obviously the wrong call. We’re wasting our time here.”
Charon takes her hand and lowers his head, speaking softly enough that I can’t hear what he’s saying. By my best guess, they’ll be gone before dinnertime. Whatever Charon came here to find, if he hasn’t found it by now, I doubt an extra day or two would change that.
Speaking of…
I turn to suggest Cassandra take the opportunity to speak with Hermes, but she’s nowhere in sight. Both women are gone.
30
Cassandra
Hermes slips through the door as people start settling in for the coming tea, and I don’t pause to think. I go after her. I step into the hallway and find Hermes’s dark hair and bright yellow sweater disappearing around the corner.
Where is she going?
She’s already bypassed the bathroom conveniently located halfway down the hall, and she’s not heading in the direction of the stairs to the second floor. I frown and start after her. I reach the corner in time to see her duck into what appears to be a random door. Strange.
I glance back toward the living room. The temptation to check in with Apollo before going farther is nearly overwhelming, but I already told him I planned to talk to Hermes. This might not be going like I expected, but everyone in the house is in that living room and I hardly think one of the staff is going to harm me. Probably.
I really hope that isn’t the last thought Pan had, too.
Worry pricks me as I hurry down the hall to the door Hermes went through. I step inside and pause.
The room is empty.
“Hermes?” Her name comes out in a whisper, but I can’t make myself raise my voice. I look around the room slowly. It’s a mundane-looking bedroom, nowhere near as elegant as the guest rooms upstairs. The king-size bed is as simple as the dresser and nightstands. There’s not even a door to a bathroom. There’s also nowhere for Hermes to be hiding unless she’s under the bed.
I shudder, but I make myself cross over and crouch down to check. Nothing. No matter what her reputation, Hermes is flesh and blood. If she’s not in this room, there’s another exit. A secret door. I’m sure of it.
I straighten and examine the walls more closely. There’s no way she could have moved the dresser, so I bypass that and examine the mirror across from the bed. It’s not as ornate as the one in Ariadne’s room, but it’s still on a hefty frame and stretches a good seven feet from floor nearly to the ceiling. The perfect size for a door. I feel a little silly, but I hold my breath as I touch the frame.