13 The Minotaur

13

The Minotaur

Minos isn't around when I stop by the apartment that afternoon. It's just as well. I don't have anything to report, and he's not likely to take that kindly. Since I'm not in the mood to kiss ass, it would be a confrontation I don't want to deal with.

Unfortunately, it seems I don't get a choice in avoiding confrontation entirely. I'm in the middle of throwing clothes into a bag when I hear movement behind me. I turn to find Icarus standing in my doorway. I've never had much use for him, but Ariadne cares about him, so I don't go out of my way to make his life more miserable than it already is.

He doesn't quite tremble as he forces himself to meet my gaze. He's learning. Not fast enough, but I guess it's better than nothing. "Leave my sister alone."

"You heard my orders." I say it mostly because I'm curious about what he'll do. How far he'll push this.

"Yeah, I did." He actually steps into my room and closes the door behind him. He's a slight guy, almost delicate. I could crush him with one hand tied behind my back. The fact that he's willingly shutting us in a room together is mildly impressive. He leans against the door, but his posture is too tense to quite pull off the intimidation he's attempting. He lifts his chin. "But I also know your little secret. I know that you had sex with her in the maze at the party. Just like I know that she ended up pregnant as a result. What do you think my father will do if he finds out?"

Despite everything, my reluctant admiration for him grows a little. I cross my arms. "If Minos finds out, he'll punish me and kill her. She's dead either way." Or at least she is if I let him have his way. I don't intend to give him a chance. Fuck, now that I'm thinking about it, it would be smart to take Minos out before we leave the city. Circe will be too busy bringing Olympus to its knees to worry about us. Minos is a different story. He has a vested interest in removing evidence of Ariadne's disobedience. In this case, that means removing Ariadne—and me—if he finds out the truth. It's a complication I don't want to deal with.

"Maybe. Or maybe he can be convinced that the only reason she betrayed him is because she's afraid of you."

It's a bold move. If I was anyone else, it would even work. I'm not interested in bringing Icarus into my confidence. The only allegiance he holds is to Ariadne, but that doesn't mean he won't buckle and break under his father's pressure. He wants to be strong, but he's not. He never has been.

I cross the room slowly and get right into his space. "That's a risk, and not one you're going to take."

"Oh?" He swallows hard. "What makes you so sure I won't?"

This is a bit of a gamble on my part but one that needs to pay off. I lean down, and I'm just asshole enough to enjoy the way he flinches back against the door. "Because your father definitely wants your sister dead. No amount of manipulation will make him retract that order. Not when he thinks doing so will make him look weak. Me, on the other hand? You don't know where I stand. Yet."

"Don't I? You're a fucking monster. A murderer. A brutal beast. You might want my sister, but you're not a complete fool. You have to know that claiming her will break something in her forever. She wants to be free . That's all she's ever wanted. Being with you is a chain closed around her throat. She'll suffocate." He shoves me, and it's surprise more than strength that has me taking two steps back and allowing him to leave my room.

He's wrong. I think. If Ariadne knew me, trusted me, the way I do her, she never would've doubted for a second that I mean her no harm. She wouldn't have run from me in the first place. She would've come to me and asked me to help her get out of the mess it took both of us to get into. She wouldn't melt in my arms with a submission that feels like giving up.

I don't like the direction my thoughts have taken. I don't like the implications of their potential truth. Most of all, I don't like the fact that it changes nothing.

I leave my room without my change of clothes. I don't have any specific plan on where I'm going, but I find myself outside Dionysus's building just as Ariadne walks out the door with Hera and Psyche in tow. The Dimitriou sisters couldn't look more different, for all that they share the same dark hair and pale skin. Hera is a weapon. Psyche? Well, her weapon is walking two paces behind her and surveying the street as if he expects a threat to pop out at any moment. I step back into a doorway before he looks in my direction.

I have no desire to tango with Eros.

Ariadne is fine. Following her is a risk at this point, and even as I tell myself not to, my body moves without permission. I shadow them for several blocks until they slip into a boutique with a bunch of frilly clothes in the window.

I almost follow them right inside before my common sense takes hold and I turn into the bar and bistro next door. It's barely open, the place empty this early in the day. It's not positioned properly to see the entrance of the boutique, but stepping inside feels like waking up from a strange waking nightmare.

What the fuck am I doing? I have shit to take care of. At the very least, I should be going through the motions to ensure Minos doesn't decide to micromanage me. If he realizes he no longer holds my leash, it will…complicate things.

"Can I help you?"

I look down at the little server, and I have to fight the urge to growl. No one can help me right now. I need to get out of here. I start to turn for the door when a voice stops me in my tracks.

"I know you take your reputation seriously, but maybe we could draw the line at terrorizing the staff?"

I twist to watch Hera walk through the door. I check the space behind her, but she appears to be alone. Not that I trust the appearance. I thought Dionysus was alone, and look how that mess ended up. I take one step back, putting the wall behind me. If Eros is coming in the back door…

"The big, bad Minotaur, skittish around little old me? What a compliment." She turns to the server and her smile becomes slightly less sharp. "We'll have two beers."

"I'm not drinking." I snap out the words before I can think better of it. I regret them instantly. The last thing I want is these Olympians to think that I'm scared of them. They should be scared of me . I could snap Hera's neck in an instant, and there's not anyone close enough to stop me.

"Thinking about murdering me?" She laughs softly and walks right past me to take a seat on one of the barstools. "Maybe you could toss my body on the ground at Ariadne's feet like a cat displaying its hunting skills—the same way you did with Dionysus's guards."

So she knows about that and doesn't seem bothered. Despite myself, I follow her. Curiosity really is a bitch. "The thought did cross my mind."

"I'll just bet it did." She grabs a beer and takes a sip and then slides it over to me. If I needed confirmation that she knows what happened with Dionysus, there it is right in my face. She seems to know a lot of shit she shouldn't. Hera snorts. "See. Not drugged. Feel better?"

"Hardly." But I take a seat and take a long drag of the beer. It's another of Dionysus's brews, and while I'm not an IPA guy, even I can appreciate the way the taste brings to mind a crisp fall day. "You want something. Let's hear it."

She takes a long drink of her beer. "You're going to attack Dodona Tower."

I shutter my expression. "What makes you say that?"

"You asked Ariadne to get you the blueprints. I may not be someone with active combat experience, but I know how to draw a straight line between one point and another." She cuts me a look. "And no, Ariadne didn't tell me. I watched that cozy little meeting you had the other day in the coffee shop. Honestly, it was very shortsighted of you to do that right out in the open where anyone could eavesdrop."

There hasn't been any one close enough to eavesdrop…or so I thought.

I glance over my shoulder at the door, but there is no security waiting to snatch me up the moment I walk out. Which begs the question—why? What does she want from me? "If you knew this a couple days ago, then you know where I've been in the meantime. Easy enough to snatch me up."

"Yes, it would be—if I wanted you to fail." She traces the rim of her glass with a sharp nail. "I'm willing to offer you a deal, Minotaur."

Now this is interesting. "I'm listening."

"I won't stand in the way—of any of your plans—as long as the only person you kill in Dodona Tower is Zeus himself."

The high lady of the upper city, intent on the murder of her husband? This is the kind of information Minos would kill for. This is the potential ally Circe dreams of.

Too bad I'm not going to get her in touch with either of them. "I'm not the one you should be making deals with."

"And yet I think you're exactly that person. Everyone believes it's Minos who holds your leash, but that isn't the truth, is it?" She finishes her beer and pushes it gently away. "She's made her own bargain, you know. She will ensure you get the blueprints without any interference from me, in exchange for the safety of her brother. Isn't that sweet?"

I'm not remotely surprised Ariadne would make a deal like that. She knows her brother's weaknesses just as well as I do. Without a strong protector, his chances of surviving what comes next are minuscule. Before today, I would've said Hera doesn't fit the definition of a strong protector. Now, I wonder.

"That's what you offered her . What motivation do I have to do what you want?"

"Beyond your life?" I'm sure she doesn't move, but she seems closer. Menacing. "Who do you think arranged for her marriage to Dionysus? Who could just as easily pressure your precious little Ariadne into a marriage with someone less…safe?"

I clench my fists and then force myself to loosen them. "It won't matter who she's married to when they're dead."

Her laugh is downright musical. "You Aeaeans love your threats of violence."

"And you Olympians love your little power plays that ultimately do nothing."

"Not this time."

No. Apparently not this time. If this is legit and she really means to kill Zeus, that will do more to further Circe's goals than anything else we've done so far. The city's already destabilized. Bringing down Dodona Tower is as much about symbolism as anything else. To then kill Zeus in the process? Minos will be beside himself with joy.

"Why tell me any of this? You could've just sat back and let me do what I intend to do."

"Because I don't want anyone dead except my husband. I want your word." She flicks her hair over one shoulder and stands. "Do this for me, and Ariadne is yours. As long as she'll have you."

I watch her walk to the front door. She glances over her shoulder, her expression once again blank, the way it is in every photo of her. "In fact, if you want a little taste…Eros is quite distracted right now with my sister. It would be nothing to slip in and have a little chat ."

I don't like her offering up Ariadne as a prize. It's exactly what Minos did to win my loyalty as a teenager. But I'm not a teenager anymore. Despite myself, I can't stop Icarus's words from ringing in my ears. He's wrong. He has to be. I will not be the death of the very thing that's kept me going all these years. There's only one way to be sure, though. One way to guarantee that he's wrong and I'm right. That she's mine and I'm hers.

Ariadne has to choose me.

And the only way for that to happen is for me to ensure she remains safe to make that decision. "You have yourself a deal, Hera."

"I thought I might." She holds open the door for me. "You have fifteen minutes. Make them count."