揂re you gonna cry about it??Marie asked suddenly. She was fully awake and fully over listening to Hermes.
Hermes angled his head to look at her, too.
She marched up to him with no hint of hesitation. 揑 don抰 appreciate you hypnotizing me or whatever it was you did. Keep that staff out my face. Got it, Jafar??
A smile crept across Hermes抯 lips. He was either about to snatch Marie out of her skin or he understood her Aladdin reference. I wasn抰 sure which was more terrifying.
揥e need a boat,?Marie said. 揂nd some help figuring out which way to sail it. That would be helpful for what we抮e tryna do right now. You抳e been around forever, you抮e sad about it. Got it. Completely understandable. Have you tried therapy in the last couple hundred years? It might help.?
Persephone tilted her head back and looked up at the strobing light. 揌e抯 going to kill us all.?
Hermes flicked his hand at her dismissively. 揑抣l do no such thing. You抣l have a boat.?He stood and marched up the spiral staircase until I couldn抰 see him anymore. 揝leep. Set sail in the morning,?he called from somewhere above.
Circe rushed to Persephone抯 side and examined her arm. Marie was suddenly standing next to me.
揧ou were scared, huh??she asked.
揂re you serious right now? I thought he was gonna end us. So yeah, I was scared.?
揝orry,?Marie said. 揃ut we don抰 have time for his pouting. We needed to know if he was going to help us or not so we could figure out what to do next.?She shook her head. 揑 don抰 get it. All these gods do is sit around and be angry and jealous. Like damn. You could do something useful. Cure cancer or something. Instead, he抯 in here doing what? Playing lighthouse keeper??
揧ou抮e not wrong,?I said. 揃ut they抮e playing by rules we don抰 know anything about. And honestly? I don抰 even care. He says he抣l get us a boat. That抯 enough for now.?
Marie sighed. 揧ou抮e right, but I really wanna know where he got those fancy sandals. Where do you get gold sandals with wings??
I laughed. 揧ou were talking to him like he抯 not the god of梬hat does he do again??
揗essenger god,?Circe said. 揋uardian of travelers. Did you see that sword??
Persephone held up her arm. 揑 got a good look at it.?
Circe winced. 揘o桰 know it抯 just梤emember the story, Seph.?
Persephone went very still suddenly.
揧抋ll are gonna have to clue me in,?I said.
We huddled around the small table.
揟hat sword? Hermes lent it to Perseus to slay Medusa,?Circe said. 揟he shoes, too.?She squeezed her eyes shut and took off her glasses. 揑抦 losing my mind here. Is this really happening??She was so knowledgeable, but it was one thing to know the stories and another to have their participants standing right in front of you. 揥e just have to keep it together. He said he抣l get a boat in the morning, and we抮e just going to have to go with that because we don抰 have a choice.?
I pulled Circe抯 moon clock out of my pocket and flipped it open. 揥e have five days left. Is that enough time??
揥e抮e close,?Marie said, trying to reassure me. 揥e抣l leave in the morning. We抣l do what we came here to do and then we抣l go home.?
揇id you give her the information??Persephone asked.
I looked to Marie. 揥hat information??
揑t抯 just a backup plan,?Marie said. 揑n case something happens I got all the paperwork together. All you have to do is show up at the airstrip at the time and date I tell you and you抣l be able to get home. Alec will have something for you, too. Just check in with him. And Nyx will stay with you as long as you want her to.?
I looked at each of them, waiting for someone to explain. 揧抋ll are planning for me to go home ?alone??
Circe avoided my gaze. 揥e have to plan for the worst even if we抮e hoping for the best. If something should happen, if you find yourself alone, you have to get home to Mo. I left very clear instructions with Khadijah. You抣l have everything you need.?
揈xcuse me, but what am I missing??I asked.
揑t抯 just in case,?Marie said.
Persephone turned and walked toward the fireplace. 揥e need to rest,?she said. 揅irce and Bri can take the bed, me and Marie will keep watch. I don抰 trust Hermes to take our safety into consideration. He抯 a little too reckless for me, and we don抰 know where Karter and the people he抯 with actually are or what they抮e capable of.?
Marie put her hand over mine and kissed me gently on the cheek before nodding to Persephone. They went out the front door, and Circe began to pull the covers back from the bed.
Above me, I heard Hermes抯 heavy footsteps pacing the floor. He said we would have a ship, and I assumed that meant he was going to help us know which way to go. I couldn抰 help but picture us boarding a boat and Hermes taking off on his little golden sandals, laughing at how dumb we all were. I didn抰 want to take that chance. As Circe slipped into the bathroom, I quickly climbed the stairs.