Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 101264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
“Something like that.”
Demeter sits on the other side of Poseidon. She has the look of her elder three daughters, a white woman in her fifties who projects the persona that she’s all too ready to step in as a mother figure for anyone she comes across. Only a fool would underestimate her.
For once Dionysus looks entirely sober, and he’s inched his chair away from Hermes. She doesn’t appear concerned, though. She’s got her chair balanced on the back two legs, her hands behind her head and her gaze on the ceiling. Personally, if Artemis was looking at me with that expression on her face, I wouldn’t be so relaxed.
Hades and Hera occupy the end of the table opposite Zeus. They’ve become another pair that’s a large pain in Zeus’s ass, though they’re usually subtle in how they dig in their heels and fight him. Hades is a brooding white man with dark hair and a neatly trimmed dark beard who favors black on black suits, like he’s wearing today. Nothing shows on either of their faces.
Zeus clears his throat. “I had hoped to get ahead of this, but there’s no help for it. Theseus has killed Hephaestus and claimed right of might. The title is his.”
“The fuck it is.” Artemis shoves to her feet. “Being a member of the Thirteen doesn’t make him untouchable. I’ll kill him myself for what he did to my cousin.”
“You will do no such thing.” Zeus doesn’t raise his voice, but the bite in it cuts her legs out from beneath her and she drops back into her chair. “The press has picked up the story.”
“How strange,” Hermes mutters.
I had assumed Minos was responsible for the leak, but… “Do we have you to thank for that as well?”
“Who, me?” She rights her chair and gives me a long look. “Everything I do, I do for Olympus.”
“I find that hard to believe,” Artemis spits out. She’s so furious, she’s practically vibrating. “I know you told that bastard about the assassination clause. How does that help Olympus?”
Hermes looks around the table. “Minos didn’t come here on his own. He’s answering to someone more powerful.”
Zeus looks like he wants to press his fingers to his temples but manages to resist the motion. “That information would have been helpful several weeks ago. Why not speak up before we instated him as an Olympian citizen? Why pass him information that allowed his son to infiltrate our highest body of power?” His voice is so cold, the temperature in the room seems to drop several degrees.
“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”
“That’s bullshit, Hermes.” Ares twists to pin her with a look. “With one move, he’s effectively destabilized the entire city.”
“That remains to be seen.” Hermes shrugs. “Maybe we need to crack a few eggs to make an omelet.”
“Hermes.” This from Hades. His voice is low with a faint rasp. He rarely speaks in these meetings, but I’ve seen how he runs his territory. He’s a good leader. The lower city is arguably better off than the upper city when it comes to its citizens’ individual lives. “You know I have no love lost for the rest of the Thirteen.” He looks around the table. “But this is impulsive, even for you.”
“If you say so.”
Zeus sits back slowly, drawing the attention back to him. “No laws were broken, so there’s no recourse to be had. We move forward with this because we have no choice, but we need to leash our new Hephaestus and do damage control. If the city has something else to talk about, we might be able to turn the tide away from speculation on how best to murder everyone in this room.”
Artemis is still shaking. “And how, pray tell, do you plan to do that?”
“I am open to suggestions.”
“A wedding.” This from Aphrodite. “We’ve seen it before: nothing distracts the good people of Olympus more than a scandalous match.”
Ares’s spine snaps straight. “Oh, fuck no. Not this again. I already won in the arena; I am not marrying that murderous bastard.”
“Not you.” Aphrodite gives a thin smile, though her eyes are chips of ice. “Me.”
36
Cassandra
I take my time packing a suitcase. There’s no rush, though I don’t intend to stay in my apartment overnight. It feels strange to be back here after the ridiculous luxury of the last few days, to pack my nice serviceable clothing instead of the high-end things I’d been wearing recently.
If I do this, my life is going to change dramatically.
It was always going to change dramatically, but this was never part of the plan. I’d been prepared to have to learn the way things worked outside Olympus and to be there to play support while Alexandra did the same.
Staying means learning to move through the very circles I’ve set myself apart from. It means learning to swim among them instead of watching from the outside. It means opening myself up to the potential of more pain.