12 Ariadne

12

Ariadne

I wake up feeling like the night before was a fever dream. Surely that didn't happen. Surely Asterion didn't spend hours worshipping me with his mouth. I failed to get him the blueprints. That should have made him finally fulfill my father's command to kill me.

It's almost enough to make my foolish heart believe that he cares about me more than he cares about my father's approval. Almost. Too bad that sort of thing—the monstrous hero falling in love with the sheltered, nerdy heroine—only happens in fan fiction. If this were one of my favorite fics, he'd scale the building to get to me, whisper some sweet nothings in my ear, and then spirit me away to his penthouse, courtesy of some independent wealth I never knew about. We'd live happily ever after.

I laugh bitterly. That's how I know it's fiction. There's no such thing as happily ever after. We're all just struggling through this life as best we can with the tools allotted to us. I may be sheltered, but I'm as much a monster as my father. How else to explain my changing sides with so little hesitation? I may not have been able to hand the Olympians every detail of my father's plans, but I gave them enough for them to prepare for the coming attack. It means more Aeaean people will die. It might even mean my father will die. I knew that, and I didn't let the knowledge stop me.

How else to describe that but monstrous?

But…Asterion didn't do the expected. I'm still nearly certain he avoided using his fingers or cock because he was worried about hurting me. That level of care doesn't align with him wanting me dead. Nothing about what happened last night does.

I still don't have any answers by the time Dionysus swans into the living room. I feel like an absolute disaster compared to his pristine appearance. He's wearing a remarkably mundane gray suit with a purple pin-striped shirt beneath it, but then I see that his glasses have jewels encrusted on the frames and I almost laugh. "Good morning."

"Almost afternoon. Hence why I enjoy brunch so much. Shall we?"

I keep waiting for the silence between us to grow uncomfortable as we take the elevator down to the parking garage and climb into the back seat of a nondescript black town car. It doesn't. Dionysus seems lost in his own world, which allows me space for my own thoughts without having to worry about missing something important. It's…nice.

Even so, I fight not to think about Asterion. The knowledge that I'll be seeing him soon makes my stomach erupt into butterflies. It doesn't matter that I know he's no good for me. Being around him makes me feel like I'm in bloom. Like I'm more than the daughter who never measures up or the traitor who doesn't have enough information to actually make my betrayal worthwhile. When Asterion looks at me, I can almost believe that he thinks I'm perfect.

But then, I've already made peace with my rose-tinted glasses. They won't be enough to save me when reality comes calling.

We stop in front of a charming little shop on the outskirts of the upper warehouse district. I shoot Dionysus a questioning look and he shrugs. "There will be plenty of time for fanfare and playing to the public later. Brunch should be enjoyed, and Dolores has the best around. There's also the benefit of privacy. We won't be bothered here."

I examine his words for some kind of insinuation, but as best I can tell, he's being honest. Truth be told, I wouldn't mind getting to know him a little better. He's made it abundantly clear that he has no intention of being a true spouse to me, but if we get married, we'll still be partners of a sort. It doesn't hurt to make sure we're on the same page.

Though I can't be entirely honest, can I? Not when I'm actively betraying him…

I shove the thought away. The place is entirely empty as we walk through the front doors and are greeted by a petite woman with light-brown skin who looks to be approximately a hundred years old. Her white hair is almost completely gone, and her face is covered with age spots and wrinkles that indicate a life well lived. She smiles brightly when she sees Dionysus. "Hello, stranger. I thought you were getting too important to come visit little old me."

"I'll never be too important for you, Dolores." He takes her hand, bowing over it as if he's some kind of royalty, pressing a perfectly polite kiss to her knuckles. "You're looking as beautiful as ever. Is your husband treating you right? If not, I may have to marry you and take you away from all this drudgery. You'll cook only for me, and I'll treat you like a queen."

Her laughter fills the room. "You're a lovely boy, but you don't hold a candle to my Rufus. Besides, I hear you already have a wife, or near enough." She turns that happy smile on me, and I can't help grinning right back. There's something about her that's so warm and welcoming that I want to just stand here and soak up her presence. "Come, come, let's get a look at you."

I should probably feel like a horse at auction as she circles me, clucking her tongue and muttering under her breath. But her examination is so obviously done out of love for Dionysus that I can't quite hold it against her. Especially when she stops in front of me and smiles even wider. "Aren't you the loveliest little thing. Treat my boy right. He's a terrible flirt, but there's no harm in it."

"I'll keep that in mind."

She turns back to Dionysus. "Sit, sit. Food will be ready shortly."

It takes another fifteen minutes to get settled and served, and then I'm left staring at a table piled high with more food than two people could ever possibly eat in a single meal. And that's not even getting into the flight of mimosas for each of us. I glance at Dionysus, only to find him blushing.

"Dolores means well, but she's certain I'm starving myself whenever I'm not here. Don't worry about the food going to waste. She's got seven children and more grandchildren than I can count. On any given day, there's at least half a dozen teenagers passing through here, looking for food. They'll make short work of any leftovers."

I almost comment on the fact that he knows this family so well, which is similar to how Hades runs his territory in the lower city. It's not how the rest of the Thirteen have historically operated. I guess that's changing now. By all accounts, Ares runs a tight but respectful unit. The current Poseidon keeps his head down and seems beloved by the people under his command. People fear Demeter, but she takes care of her own. The list goes on.

I take a long sip of the first mimosa. Pomegranate, I think. "I still don't fully understand why you said yes to this marriage, but I'm beginning to realize I've gotten incredibly lucky."

"I wouldn't go counting your luck just yet." He picks up one of his drinks but sets it down without taking a sip. "I don't know how to tell you this, love, but you have a stalker."

Of all the things I expected him to say, that wasn't on the list. "Excuse me?"

"The Minotaur. He's got quite the fascination with you, bordering on obsession. He spent all of yesterday following me around, so I thought it important that he and I have a chat."

None of those words makes sense in the order that he put them in. "He doesn't chat." At least not with anyone who isn't me.

"Yes, well, I may or may not have dosed him with a little something to loosen his tongue."

I blink. "You drugged him?"

"Only a smidge." He holds up his thumb and forefinger with the barest width between them. "It wore off within an hour, with no long-term side effects. I can't speak for his blood pressure, though. He wasn't very happy with me when he realized what I'd done."

I can only imagine. Asterion doesn't like to be out of control. He drinks, but never to excess. I don't think he's ever done drugs in his life, or at least not in the time I've known him. "I'm surprised he didn't kill you."

"He thought about it." Dionysus sounds entirely too gleeful. "Despite all appearances to the contrary, I'm not a fool, so I didn't give him a chance to act on his more violent impulses. But we're getting away from the point. While he's still appearing to dance to your father's tune, he has an unhealthy obsession with you ."

There's a part of me that knew that to be true. Don't I feel exactly the same way? From the moment I saw him, I felt an instant and unexplainable connection. I still don't know how to define it. It's as if there's a vibrating cord that connects my heart to his, and every time I see him, it thrums in my chest. I knew he wanted me. But he owes everything to my father. More importantly, I betrayed Asterion. If there was ever a chance of him choosing me over my father, I killed it with my own choices.

I clear my throat. "My father commanded him to kill me."

"I see." Dionysus finally picks up his mimosa and drains the first glass. I'm not quite sure how he manages that with the bubbles. I'd be impressed if I didn't feel so twisted up inside. He nudges a plate piled high with pancakes toward me. "I won't pretend there's nothing to fear. We're experiencing a scary moment as a city, and it's only going to get scarier as time goes on. But I'll protect you from him."

It's sweet that he offers, but it's an impossible task. Asterion proved on the first night that he can get to me anytime he wants to. The only reason I'm alive is probably because he still needs those blueprints.

I don't know if Dionysus knows about the blueprints, though. So instead of answering, I just smile and take a bite of my pancakes. They're the best pancakes I've ever eaten, but I can't really enjoy them because it feels like they turn to lead in my stomach. I feel pulled in a thousand different directions. No, that's a lie. The only pull I feel is for a man I can never have. One who's dangerous, not just to other people but to me .

"I have to be honest with you, Ariadne. While I did want to chat about your stalker problem, this is a bit of an ambush." He must see the panic on my face because he holds up both hands. "That was a poor choice of words. You're not in any danger. I promise. But it's been brought to my attention that you were tasked with providing the Minotaur with something specific. Since Hera has chosen to intervene, that means you've been co-opted into our little…"

"The word you're looking for is coup ."

For the second time in as many days, Hera's appearance startles the shit out of me. This time, I can't keep my reaction locked down. I slide all the way to the end of the booth and nearly hit the wall. Because she's not alone.

At her shoulder stands a massive white man with a shock of red hair and shoulders even wider than Asterion's. Poseidon . I recognize him from my father's files; he looks even bigger in person, as if he could cart around shipping containers with his bare hands. He doesn't seem particularly happy to be here.

Hera flicks her wrist, and Dionysus slides farther into the booth to make room for her. Unfortunately, that leaves Poseidon to sit next to me. I can't help cowering a little. He looks different from his pictures, more worn down and haggard. He's attractive enough in an earthy kind of way, but everything I read about this man says that he prefers to keep to his shipyard and avoid politics. As one of the legacy titles, he never had to jockey for a position. He might have inherited it unexpectedly when his uncle and cousins died from some kind of sickness—the details escape me—but he was always part of that family. He always had power. The fact that he's here doesn't bode well.

Hera, of course, looks immaculate. She's wearing tailored slacks and a lace top that's just shy of inappropriate. Both in black, of course. She eyes the spread of food before us and then plucks an untouched mimosa from Dionysus's flight. "You've brought her up to speed. Good."

The shock of their appearance slowed me down, but I'm just beginning to register what she said. Coup . I already knew she wanted her husband dead. But for her to be saying as much here, in the presence of two other members of the Thirteen? They have to be in on it.

Guess I'm not betraying Dionysus after all.

"I was just getting to the important part." Some of Dionysus's glow seems to dim, and he turns serious dark eyes on me. "You see, for the moment it appears that your father's aims and ours are in alignment. While we have no intention of telling him that, there's no reason not to use it to our advantage."

I glance at Poseidon again, but he's glowering at my stack of pancakes as if it insulted him personally. I clear my throat. "You as well?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you."

"Poseidon." Hera's tone is almost cheerful…as long as you don't notice the sharp edge beneath it. "Play nice."

He sighs and his big shoulders drop. "This mess isn't figuring itself out. Following Zeus has gotten us to this point. It's time to make some changes."

"You met with the Minotaur last night."

I search Hera's face for some indication that she knows exactly what I spent hours doing with Asterion in that apartment. If she's aware of how quickly I folded without any kind of actual pressure from him. If she is, she keeps it to herself. I lift my mimosa with a shaking hand and take a quick sip. The bubbles burn my throat. "Yes."

"Did you convey my message?"

Shit. I completely forgot. I want to say it was panic that made it happen, but the truth is that as soon as Asterion touched me, I wasn't thinking about anything but him. I take another hasty sip. My head feels just as full of bubbles as my stomach. "No. I wasn't able to get the blueprints. It was a rookie mistake, but I was looking for them in the wrong place." I debate leaving it there, but if she's following me, then she'll figure it out anyway. "I have a meeting with him in three days—two now, actually. I'll have the blueprints by then and be able to deliver them with your message."

"Three days," Hera says slowly. "That fucks our timeline."

"It will still work. We'll miss the scheduled sweep of the building, but we can come up with another reason to get everyone out." Poseidon shoves to his feet, nearly taking out the table in the process. "Are we done here?"

Hera's gaze sharpens and she lifts her face slowly until he wilts in response. "We're done when I say we're done, Poseidon. But yes, scurry off to your shipyards for now. Just be ready to move as soon as he's dead."

"I've got it. You'll have your way." He turns and stalks out of the restaurant, but I don't miss the fact that he pauses just long enough to make sure he says goodbye to Dolores. He might be scary, but apparently he does have some manners.

I turn back to find Hera watching me. It's easy enough to connect the dots. Zeus dies, Hera declares her unborn child the next Zeus and herself regent, and Poseidon steps up as one-third of the legacy roles to take over leadership. "Is Hades also in on this?"

"No. My brother-in-law has enough to worry about with Persephone pregnant."

Dionysus snorts and pours enough syrup on his waffles to drown them. "Not to mention he's too nice to plot cold-blooded murder. Otherwise, he would've taken care of the last Zeus years ago. Then maybe we wouldn't be in this mess to begin with."

Hera shakes her head. "He doesn't need to be part of the initial planning because he'll do the right thing once Zeus falls. For the first time in Olympian history, the three legacy titles will be in agreement. With us standing together, we have a decent chance of not crumbling the moment Circe knocks at our door."

I don't like the idea of cold-blooded murder, either. But knowing what I do of Olympus and the Thirteen, I can't say she's wrong. The rest of the Thirteen might indulge in petty conflicts and social backstabbing, but they take their guidance from the three legacy titles. With Hades essentially a boogeyman until recently and Poseidon having chosen to abstain from any kind of politics, that only left Zeus. And the last Zeus was heavily invested in the Thirteen being as fractured as possible so as to not challenge his personal power.

This Zeus, however, seems interested in unification. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the charisma to pull it off. The fault lines go too deep. But Hera? Along with Hades and Poseidon? She might actually make it happen.

I just don't have the heart to tell her that it might not be enough to save them from Circe.