“You really aren’t a fan of his, are you?”
“That is severely understating things.”
I almost offer to set her up in her own place, but that’s too much, too soon. She’s not even sure if she wants to watch a movie with me, and I’m standing here wondering if she’ll let me pay for her rent. I give myself a mental shake. “Let’s see what’s streaming.”
In the end, I let Pandora pick, though I have cause to regret it when she lands on a horror movie about a haunted house. I don’t mind gore and I’ve sat through more thrillers with Perseus than I care to admit, but there’s something about ghosts that gets beneath my skin.
Maybe because I have my own haunting me. Some living, like my little brother. Some dead and gone, like my mother. I don’t think of her most days, but when the old grief rises, dull and throbbing like a poorly healed wound, it always catches me unaware.
And my father? He haunts me in an entirely different way. The longer I hold the Aphrodite title, the more I see why he did some of the things he did. When you have so much power at your disposal, it’s so easy to trample those around you. My aims might be slightly more noble than his—protection of this city, rather than personal gain—but that doesn’t change the outcome.
I’ve hurt people, just like he hurt people. Without hesitation. Without regret. I’d do it again if the situation required it.
Growing up, I never thought I’d be in danger of becoming the monster who terrorized my childhood, and yet it’s a future that feels inescapable now.
“Eris?”
I glance down to find Pandora watching me with a worried expression on her face. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” It’s even the truth. I am fine. My heart hurts over losing Adonis, but not enough to change my path. I’d probably shed a tear if I had cause to trample Pandora, but I’d do it without blinking if Olympus required it.
Gods, I really am a monster.
“Do you have a blanket around here? It’s a little cold.”
I’m pathetically grateful to get up and pull out one of the throw blankets I keep in the chest under the television. I pause to flip off the overhead light and then walk back to the couch.
Pandora takes the blanket from me and shakes it out. “This will work.” I barely have a chance to sit down before she’s cuddling up against me and tossing the blanket over us both. She exhales gustily. “Perfect.”
The comforting weight of her stills the worst of my circling thoughts. There’s no point in worrying about what cruelties I’ll be required to enact in the future. It’s not right now.
Right now, I have a beautiful woman half-draped over me. I relax by inches. Pandora smells lovely, and she snuggles more firmly against me when I drag my fingers lightly through her hair.
I’ve just decided that maybe I should seduce Pandora properly when she gives a light snore. I shift back enough to see her face. Sure enough, she’s sleeping. I’m not prepared for the protective urge that surges up inside me with enough strength to steal my breath. She trusts me enough to sleep on me. Not because she’s drunk, but because I’m here and she feels safe.
I settle back against the couch and tuck her more tightly against me. “I’ll keep you safe, Pandora. I promise.” I hope to the gods I’m not going to make a liar out of myself.
The movie ends with everyone dying in increasingly horrific ways, and I switch on a sweeping period piece that I like to watch when my mind needs a break. Occasionally, it’s even enough to coax me to sleep, but after a full eight hours last night, my tiredness doesn’t evolve into anything other than gritty eyes and a cranky temperament.
Morning comes far too soon and Pandora shifts against me and lifts her head. She blinks those big, dark eyes at me. “I fell asleep.”
“You seemed to need the rest.” I ease to my feet. My arm is asleep and my hips feel a little wonky, but it’s worth it. “You’re more than welcome to stay, but I need to go in to work today.”
She yawns, as cute as a kitten. “I won’t overstay my welcome. I should check on Ariadne and make sure she’s left her room sometime in the last twenty-four hours. Sometimes she gets hyperfocused on a project and forgets little things like food and showering.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask what kind of projects, but I just got done promising to keep prying questions away from this relationship. “You like her.”
“She’s a good girl.” Pandora stands and stretches. “Sheltered and a bit spoiled, but it hasn’t soured her. Minos mostly ignores her and I think she prefers it that way.”