Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 83786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
“Couldn’t risk it,” she calls back. “Not until we’re safely back in the city.”
I glare at the back of her head. That’s not how phone taps work, at least not to my knowledge, but it’s possible there’s tech I’m not aware of. It’s happened before. Even so…I don’t trust Hermes. I doubt I ever will.
I’m actually surprised when the lights of Olympus appear in front of us, backlit by the rising sun. Hermes doesn’t bother to stop at the city limits. She just drives us right in, cruising through the eerily empty streets to the Juniper Bridge. She pulls to a stop in the middle of the street and unbuckles herself. “Might as well walk from here. We can’t get through without Hades’s permission.”
“Not even you?”
She glances over her shoulder at me. “Not this time.”
It’s only in the growing light of the early morning that I realize how tired she looks. Or maybe sick. I frown. “What’s wrong with you? Is it still the poison?”
“Nothing so mundane. I’m suffering from a broken heart.” She says it blithely but doesn’t quite manage to pull off an unbothered tone.
For the first time, I wonder who Circe was to Hermes. At one point, I thought they were working together, but I was clearly wrong. Even so, there’s history there. The way she spoke about what the last Zeus did… There was too much in her tone. It’s personal, not a theoretical tragedy that happened to someone else.
Perseus takes my hand as I climb out of the back seat and we turn as one to face the bridge. “Now what?” I ask.
“Just a moment. She should be here any…” She visibly brightens. “There you are.”
Atalanta walks around the corner of a nearby building and crosses to us with long strides. She’s wearing her customary cargo pants and fitted long-sleeved shirt with heavy boots. Her face is a mask of concern. “Where were you? I couldn’t get ahold of you, and when I went to the house—”
“Long story, no time.” Hermes doesn’t glance at us, but there’s new tension in her spine. She’s hiding something. The fact that she’s not doing it well is more a testament to how off she is right now, like an instrument slightly out of tune. “I need your phone. The spare.”
Atalanta hesitates. She clearly wants to question Hermes more fully but finally fishes a phone out of her pocket and passes it over. Hermes turns to us. “Call Helen after you talk to Hades. You’ll only get one shot at this. By now, Circe knows you’re gone, and she’ll send her hunters after you. If you don’t manage to convince Hades to let you into the lower city, you’ll die.”
I notice what she’s very carefully not saying. Perseus does, too. He says, “You’re not coming with us.”
“Even if I were welcome there, I can’t do what’s necessary if I’m hiding behind a barrier destined to fall. It won’t protect you forever, but it will slow Circe down enough for you to have a chance to come up with a plan. I highly suggest you stop fucking around and actually make one. I won’t be able to haul your asses out of the fire next time.” She turns back to Atalanta. “Let’s go.”
Atalanta nods and looks over her head at me. “Good luck. You’re going to need it.” She turns and they walk away together, leaving us and the off-roader behind.
“I don’t understand her,” Perseus mutters. “Working to the same end goal, except for a singular difference, doesn’t exactly exempt her from being on Circe’s side.”
Once again I’m struck by the realization that there’s history there—potent history. “She helped us this time, so it doesn’t really matter what her goals are, does it?”
He makes a face like he wants to argue but finally shrugs. “Do you want to call Hades or should I? We can’t stay out in the open for long.”
Considering the last time I was on the River Styx I ended up getting shot, I’m inclined to agree. I look down at the phone. “Did you mean it? You’d actually walk away from the title?”
“Callisto.” He presses his fingertips to my chin, lifting my face to his. For once, my husband is not a mask of ice, giving away nothing. His eyes are warm and worried and filled with so much love it takes my breath away. “I don’t know if Hermes’s plan is the right one, but I almost lost you yesterday. If Circe has her way, I will lose you.” He caresses my cheek with his thumb. “I don’t know who I am if I’m not Zeus. That much is true. But I’d like to survive this, to have a chance to find out—with you, if you’re willing.”
A few days ago, I would have laughed in his face. It’s stunning how quickly things have changed between us. My lungs feel too big for my chest. I lean in to his touch. “I’m willing. More than willing.”