At that, her smile dies. “What are you talking about? I just named a good number of the major players in this city, and I imagine Poseidon will throw his support behind them as well since he seems to hate all the jockeying for position. That’s all three of the legacy titles. Surely your mother is smart enough to know when she’s been outmaneuvered. Surely you are. No logical person would continue down this path against these odds.”
I bite back a sigh. That’s the crux of it, isn’t it? “Bold of you to assume my mother and logic have ever been on speaking terms. Do you know her at all?”
She opens her mouth, seems to reconsider whatever she was about to say, and finally frowns harder. “I thought the petty, vengeful thing was an act.”
My life would be so much simpler if it were, if my mother didn’t live to see the downfall of anyone who crosses her, even in passing. “She’s more than capable of dealing with the fallout.” One way or another. I don’t know how she’ll manage it, but I already know what she’d say if I brought this to her.
Your job isn’t to think, Son; it’s to punish who I tell you to punish.
Kill the girl and carve out Demeter’s heart in the process.
Psyche goes even paler. “You really mean that.”
“I do.”
“I just came here and told you that I can marshal a good number of the Thirteen against you, and it doesn’t matter how many moves I make because the person giving you orders cares more about her personal vengeance than she does about her son’s life.” She stares up at me, searching my face for something that she’ll never find. “She’s the reason you were hurrying to the party, isn’t she? That you didn’t go to a doctor first? I bet she was furious you were late.”
Psyche’s hitting a little too close to the truth. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it matters. You were hurt. Even my mother, with all her machinations and ruthlessness, would care if one of us were injured.”
I give her the look that statement deserves. “I would say that supports my point, not yours. But it doesn’t matter, because no one will pin this on me. You made sure of that.” I pull my phone out, find the app I want, and open it. Then I set it on the table between us. Psyche leans over and scrolls through a few posts, going paler and paler. I already know what she’ll see. Hermes and Dionysus and a curvy brunette apparently having the time of their lives on the town. The brunette’s face is never quite in the picture, but she’s close enough to Psyche’s body type and hair style that everyone will believe it’s her. “These photos are all tagged and time stamped. No one even knows you’re here.”
“Hermes does.”
“Hermes is playing her own game. She’s not on your side. She’s not on anyone’s side but her own.” I reclaim my phone. “And she won’t come forward with the truth for the very reasons you just listed. She’s as invested in stability as Zeus and the rest. She won’t give up any information that will start a war.” Hermes is chaotic enough that normally I wouldn’t pretend I could guess which way she’d jump, but I know this is the truth.
Ultimately, she serves Olympus just like the rest of the Thirteen.
Psyche’s bottom lip quivers a little, but she makes a blatant attempt to firm it. “You deserve better than to simply be your mother’s weapon, Eros.”
“Don’t bother trying to appeal to my humanity. I have none.”
She leans forward and lowers her voice, hazel eyes pleading. “I helped you two weeks ago. I didn’t have to and we both know it. Maybe you don’t have humanity, but surely you believe in the scales being balanced. Are you really willing to repay my help with violence simply because it made your mother mad?”
“Psyche.” Damn it, I shouldn’t have said her name. It feels too good to do it, makes me want things not meant for me. “Stop. Nothing you say will make a difference.”
For the first time since she sat down, true fear comes to life in her eyes. She came here ready to help the son of her mother’s enemy and pivoted into a truly spectacular argument that would have worked if I were anyone else, if she hadn’t already been the instrument of her downfall because she trusted me enough to create an alibi for her location. It’s been so long since I’ve been challenged, so long since someone has even tried to fight back, to outmaneuver me.
So long since someone showed me even a shred of kindness.