As bad as things are now, they could be so much worse.
“Yeah, I guess that’s true, isn’t it?” She holds out a hand. “I’m glad you’re okay, Eris. You scared the shit out of me. Let’s get you home and—”
“No.”
“What?”
“No, I’m not going home.” I rise without taking her hand. I love my sister, and I mean it when I say she’s a great Ares, but sometimes she still lets her emotions get the better of her. Right now, she’s like our brother and only thinking of keeping me safe, rather than of the implications of running home like I’m scared. “I’ll finish out the day here and then go home.”
To dinner with my husband.
I don’t know how to feel about that, so I put it out of my head. “I have appointments today that can’t be moved. There are three arrangements on the cusp of engagement, and we can’t afford to let them lapse. If we lose support of the legacy families right now…”
She curses. “I hate it, but you’re right. Fine. But you will keep my squad on you at all times.”
“Not in my home.”
Helen props her hands on her hips and glares at me. “So if an assassin bursts through the window—”
“I’m on the fortieth floor. If they’re coming through the window, they’re probably better than your team and it’s a moot point. This isn’t going away anytime soon. We have to find a way forward that doesn’t strip the Thirteen of all agency or they won’t agree to the extra security.” Not that she and my brother could strip the Thirteen of their agency, even if they wanted to.
It takes another fifteen minutes of arguing before my sister leaves, trailing dire promises of what she’ll do if I get hurt because of my hardheadedness. I check in with Sele, who’s already ordered a cleanup crew for the lobby, and then walk slowly back to my office and lock the door.
“Fuck,” I whisper. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
The shakes return with interest. I take a step toward the chairs, but my legs give out and I sink to the floor. “This is ridiculous.” My voice sounds halfway normal even though my bones are currently trying to detach themselves and rattle right out of the room. “I am Eris Kasios and I do not panic over…over…” A pathetic little sob erupts from my lips. “Godsdamn it.”
I pull my legs to my chest and drop my forehead to my knees. It doesn’t help the shakes, but at least I feel the tiniest bit in control like this. I can’t afford to lose it. There’s too much hanging in the balance, and even if my part in the fight might not be vital enough to sink Olympus as a whole… I don’t actually know that for certain. I can’t take it for granted.
I have to stay ten steps ahead of my husband and his family.
I have to.
I will…when I regain the strength to stand…in just a few minutes.
21
HEPHAESTUS
I spend the day dodging calls from Adonis and texts from Pandora. If I talk to them, I have to tell them what happened with Aphrodite, and if I do that, then there will be separate fallout to deal with.
In between those times, I try to escape the inexplicable guilt saying I shouldn’t have left her alone. It doesn’t make a damn bit of sense. She’s fine. A few cuts and probably some bruises, but we gave each other worse while fucking. Yes, she was still a little unsteady on her feet when I left, but I’m sure she figured it out fast enough.
Probably.
Then comes the call I was expecting. The one I can’t avoid. I stare at Minos’s name on my phone for several beats and then accept the call. “Yeah?”
“Update me.”
I’ve never been one to crave a softer touch of parental love—how can you want something you don’t even know the shape of?—but there are days when Minos treating me like a soldier wears on me. They come more and more often since my failure during the Ares tournament.
I bite back a curse of frustration. Instead, a question bursts free that I had no intention of asking. “Are you responsible for the attack on my wife?”
He pauses. “Would it matter if I was?”
Yes. No. I don’t fucking know. “Answer the question.”
“Very well.” Minos sighs as if I’ve disappointed him. “I’m not behind any of the attacks on the Thirteen. They’re in a situation of their own making, spurred on by the public that loves them and hates them in equal measure.”
“What about the Minotaur?”