She presses her fingers to her temples. “Right. I’ll face the press and send that little cockroach outside scurrying. Patroclus will help you with all this.” She casts a furious look at Theseus. “Enjoy your time as Hephaestus. It won’t last long.”
He smirks. “This title suits me better than Ares anyways.”
“Keep telling yourself that. At least I won my title honestly.”
Theseus shrugs. “I didn’t make the Olympian laws. Take it up with the founders.”
“You son of a—”
“Ares,” I cut in. “We don’t have time for this.”
She spins on her heel and stalks toward the door without another word. I take Cassandra’s elbow, steering her deeper into the garage. “I’m sorry.”
“You keep saying that.” Her voice is wrong: strained and hollow. “We witnessed a murder, Pan almost died, and you were beaten badly enough that I thought he might kill you, too. Is this what your life is like, Apollo? You hardly seemed fazed.”
I want nothing more than to whisk her away from this place, but Theseus has made sure that’s impossible. By Cassandra being his witness, he’s effectively chained her to Olympus until this is resolved. “Sometimes being one of the Thirteen means bumping up against violence and doing things I’m not proud of. I knew that when I accepted the title. I’m sorry you were drawn into this.”
“Swimming in waters deep enough to drown me,” Cassandra murmurs. She presses her fingertips to my jaw. “We really are different people.”
I hate the reminder. I hate that she’s shaking and there’s nothing I can do to go back in time and spare her from this. “I brought you here. I know apologizing doesn’t help, but I can’t seem to stop doing it.”
“I brought myself here.” She shakes her head, her gaze clearing a little. “Stop trying to take responsibility for me, Apollo. I might be drowning a bit right now, but I jumped in knowing that was a possibility.”
“I won’t let you drown, love.” I tug her closer and she comes willingly, slipping into my arms. It feels like I breathe a little easier as soon as I have my arms around her, even with my ribs screaming at me. “You shoulder too much. You never ask for help. I want to help you carry your burdens, Cassandra. Not because I feel an obligation but because it means I’m standing at your side and there’s nowhere else in this world I’d rather be.”
She buries her face against my chest and gives a broken laugh. “Only you could be romantic standing a few yards from a murder scene.”
She’s right. It’s the wrong time, but it’s always been the wrong time with us. Even if I’d never hired her, never brought her here, never known how good it could be between us…I move through a world she wants nothing to do with. I can’t leave and she can’t stay. Not if she doesn’t want to drown. “If I don’t say things now, I’ll likely never get another chance.”
Cassandra tightens her grip around my waist. When she speaks, her voice is muffled against my shirt. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”
“I know.”
She lifts her head. “I love you.” A broken laugh escapes. “Gods, I’m so pathetic. Now I have to apologize, too. I—”
I cover her lips with my fingers. “No. Don’t take it back.” I lean down and press my forehead to hers. “I love you, too. I have for a very long time.”
“We’re a mess.”
“The messiest.”
“I can’t stay.”
My chest goes hollow. “I know.”
She takes a shuddering breath. “I… We can’t do this right now. I’m stuck here until the tribunal of the Thirteen.” She tenses. “Oh gods, I forgot about Atalanta.”
“What about Atalanta?”
She looks up at me. “Minos has her tied up in the basement. He wanted her out of the way so he could…” She shudders. “Do what he did.”
“Patroclus.” I quickly relay the information she gave me.
Patroclus nods, but his gaze is on the scene before us. “Okay. I’ll send people to retrieve her.”
Cassandra starts to twist to look at the body, but I turn us away. “Don’t. It won’t help.” It won’t be long now. Patroclus instructs Ares’s people to move the body into the back of one of the SUVs. They’ll transport Hephaestus back into the city center where he’ll undergo a quick examination, and then his body will be delivered to his family.
Somehow, I don’t think Artemis will forgive me for failing to save her cousin.
I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive myself either.
Things happen quickly after that. Patroclus sends two of his people to find Atalanta and another pair to ensure Pan actually reached the hospital. Another two are tasked with transporting Hephaestus’s body back to the city. Patroclus approaches us. “It’s time to leave. I’ll be driving you personally.” I start to protest, but he holds up a hand. “You can’t go out in front of the press looking like that without giving rise to the kind of questions we’re not ready to answer.”
He’s right. I hate that he’s right. There’s little I can do to fix this situation currently—or potentially at all—but there’s plenty I can do to make it worse. If the press thinks I have something to do with the Hephaestus changeover, it’ll be like throwing chum to a group of sharks. They’ll go into a frenzy.
I glance at the doorway. Ares will have them well in hand, but… “They went after Artemis, too. No matter how capable she is, we shouldn’t leave Ares alone with Minos and his people.”
Patroclus’s jaw goes tight. “Achilles will be here shortly, but Ares can take care of herself. The only reason they got the jump on Artemis is because she didn’t see them coming.” He casts one last look at the doorway and motions for me and Cassandra to get into the car.
If I were alone, I might argue, but Cassandra needs to get out of here and she won’t leave if I don’t. I can see it in the stubborn look in her eyes. “Fine.” I open the back door for her and then follow her in.
Patroclus wastes no time getting behind the wheel. He presses the garage door and barely waits for it to rise completely before he backs out. The other SUV follows. I catch sight of several vans in the driveway and a cluster of people and cameras around Ares as we drive away at a perfectly reasonable speed. Our departure turns some heads, but Ares smiles and says something that makes everyone shift their attention back to her.
She’s good at her job. The title of Ares has never been more beloved than it is now. And bringing in Achilles and Patroclus as her seconds-in-command has ensured that she has no weak points to speak of. It was truly well done.
Easier to think about that than what comes next. I squeeze Cassandra’s hand. “I need you to know—”
“I have to stand in front of the tribunal and testify that Theseus successfully pulled off the assassination clause. Murder committed with his own hands, and the proper words spoken afterward in front of a witness.” She’s half-twisted away from me, staring out the window. “I’m aware of the steps.”