26 Ariadne

26

Ariadne

Too much is happening too fast. I've been known to pivot in my time, but going from planning to bring down the tower to flat out abandoning Olympus and fleeing for our lives… It's a lot. Steam swirls around us as I stare at Asterion. "So you're just going to, what? Sneak into the shipyard and steal a private vessel? Do they even have private vessels in the shipyard?"

"The shipyard is only for commercial shit. There's a marina right next to it. I think most of the fuckers in the upper circles have boats there, but you never hear about them using them."

I seem to remember reading something about the marina, but it never came into play for anything we were doing in Olympus, so I didn't bother worrying about it. I suspect that most of the people who own boats in Olympus do so simply for the sake of owning them, not to spend time on the water. The barrier cuts across the bay, so theoretically there's enough room for water sports, but if you misjudge your location, you could be in for a world of hurt.

Which also applies to us.

But we can't move forward until we address what he initially said. "Hermes? The woman who betrayed her city and people? The one who will betray us too if given half a chance?"

Water runs down his scarred face, and he's never looked more beautiful to me—or more intense. "I'm not looking for her loyalty, sweetheart. She wants the same thing I do right now, and that's enough for me. That barrier is coming down. When it does, we're going to be ready to get the fuck out of here."

He keeps saying that. And maybe he's right. Maybe it'll go exactly like he plans. The barrier will come down, and we will escape before any of the enemies on either side of the line make a move. But what then?

I don't want to ask the question. I don't know if the answer even matters. Except…it does matter. To me. "What happens after that, Asterion?"

I half expect him to brush me off, but he just strokes his thumbs over my shoulders. "I have some money stashed away. Some connections that can get us new papers. I don't expect that anyone is going to be looking for us at first—or maybe even at all—but there's no reason not to cover our trail as soon as we possibly can."

Hope flickers to life in my chest, but I stomp it down. "And then?"

He curses. "We talked about this. If you don't want to drive south to Brazil, we can do whatever the fuck we feel like. You have a whole room papered with dreams of traveling. I know you don't like hearing it, but I have a skill set that can keep us in good finances for a long time. Maybe forever."

I shiver despite the heat of the water hitting my body. I know what he's talking about. Doing the same job he did for my father: murder, wet work, a whole host of sins. I've never shied away from what Asterion is capable of, but…

Maybe I'm being too precious. I can do the backflips of logic necessary to justify the violence he's committed in service of my father. But can it truly be justified? No, probably not. Which means it's not that much of a reach to commit violence for other people, to put money in our pockets and ensure that we can live the life we desire.

But I'm so tired of living in the shadows. I've been aware of the consequences since I was a small child. Isn't that why I ended my pregnancy, at least in part?

I don't want that life. Not for me. Not for him, either. Not for any children we might one day have.

"Asterion." I gently place my hands on his scarred chest. "If we're leaving this all behind, then I want us to leave it all behind . The violence. The danger. The strings that come attached to every action and word. I'm so tired of being afraid. I know it won't be glamorous to live a normal life, but the price of all this is just too high. I don't want it anymore."

"You say that while standing in a penthouse that costs an unimaginable amount, after going on a shopping spree and eating in a fine dining establishment that we could never hope to afford on normal wages."

I can't tell if he honestly doesn't get it or if he's being intentionally difficult. "Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying. I realize it'll take some adjustment, but I'm game to make those adjustments if you are." Truth be told, Icarus might have more difficulty with it than either of us, but he'll have to deal with it. At least we'll be alive.

Asterion seems like he's about to keep arguing. I shake my head sharply before he can. "I want to travel with you. But eventually I want to settle down somewhere—with you. Have a life. Have a family. We can't do that if we're constantly looking over our shoulders because you still deal in the shadows." I look up at him pleadingly. "Isn't that what you want, too? Isn't that why you're going through all this to get me out of this city and away from my father?"

"Yes." The word sounds like it's ripped out of his chest. "Fuck, sweetheart, but this is going to be harder than either of us realize."

"I don't care. As long as we're together. As long as we're safe."

He nods slowly. "If I trust you on this, then you need to trust me to get us out of here. That means no trip to the countryside. You need to stay out of trouble and stay safe until the barrier comes down."

I don't know how I'm supposed to do that when Hera seems one step away from violence. Our time is disappearing, slipping through our fingers like sand. We can only delay so long, but… "The tower. You can't let it happen. Hera thinks she can stop them, but I know you can. Please, Asterion."

He slides his hands down my arms and then takes my waist, pulling me back to tuck me against his body. "Ariadne, I know you. You were never going to be able to live with those kinds of losses. I'll take care of it."

I recognize the hypocrisy in telling him that I want us to leave the violence behind, then asking him to do violence in the next breath. This is how it works, though. You make deals with yourself, consider what losses are acceptable and what aren't. This is the life we're living currently. The one I want to leave behind. I don't want to have to weigh a handful of lives against thousands. I don't want that decision to be in my control.

"I love you."

He goes so still that I'm not certain he's breathing. We stare at each other, the only movement the water cascading around us. Asterion's fingers flex on my hips. "Say it again," he whispers.

"I love you." Speaking those three words feels a little like throwing myself off a cliff and waiting for gravity to take hold. Inevitable. I don't need to tell him that it's been true for years. There are no secrets between us. Not anymore.

He strokes my hips like he can't quite stop himself. His frown is downright fearsome. "I'll be a shit dad, Ariadne. I might be a shit husband, too. I don't know what the fuck I'm doing. You deserve better."

I slide my hands up to cup his square jaw. "We'll figure it out. We'll figure all of it out. Together. I'm hardly a paragon of, well, literally anything. We'll fuck it up and we'll make it right and we'll learn and do better." I smile a little, though it doesn't feel happy. "We can't do any worse than my father."

"When you say it like that, the bar is on the floor." He exhales slowly. "Okay, sweetheart. We'll do it your way. I'll play hero long enough to get us out of here, and we'll only keep our connections to the shadows until we get those papers and disappear properly. Deal?"

I should have learned a long time ago not to lean on hope. The world has a way of kicking you in the teeth when you least expect it. I may have been protected from some of those consequences by virtue of my birth, but that doesn't mean I am fully immune. The challenges before us are astronomical. Asterion is the most fearsome and capable man I know. But with both my father's team and the Olympians working against him…

I don't know. I just don't know. We're so close to getting something I barely allowed myself to dream of, and we've never been more in danger of having it snatched away. "Be careful. If anything happens to you—"

"Don't worry, sweetheart. This is what I do." He presses a kiss to my forehead, the bridge of my nose, my lips. "I love you, too. It feels like I've spent my entire life doing nothing but loving you."

I'm not sure which one of us moves first. He tenses, I go up on my toes, and then I'm kissing him properly. We don't have time for this, and yet we've never had time for this. Our entire relationship has been stolen moments. What's one more?

Asterion lifts me, and I barely have a chance to worry about slippery bodies in the shower before he pins my back to the cool tile wall and steps between my thighs. Did I really think there was even the slightest chance I would fall? Silly me.

He'll never let me fall.

His hard cock presses directly to my center. I tangle my fingers in his hair and kiss him with everything I have, letting my desperation take hold and drive me. It's nothing so simple as lust between us now. It never has been. I just want us to be okay. To make it through and have a chance at the life I've barely allowed myself to dream about. I never thought I'd get it. I still might not. So many things can go wrong.

But we have right now. And we have each other.

He rolls his hips, dragging the length of his cock up and down my center, through the wetness of my desire and over my clit. It's perfect and nowhere near enough, both at the same time.

He thrusts into me slowly, the angle absolutely perfect, each stroke winding me tighter and tighter. "When we're out of here. When we're safe. I'm going to put a ring on your finger and a baby in your belly. We're going to have that family, Ariadne. But not till we're ready. No more regrets between us."

My head falls back against the tile, and I'm helpless to do anything but take what he gives me. Pleasure, yes, but it's so much more than that. He's taking care of me in his own way. He always has. "Promise me."

"I'll promise you anything."

I tug on his hair, pulling him back to me. I speak my next words against his lips even as my orgasm starts to pull me under. "I want that, Asterion. The ring. The baby. All of it. Promise me. Promise me we're going to get through this and we'll have that one day." I know I'm asking for the moon, but I don't care. If he makes a promise, then I'll believe him.

"I promise, Ariadne." He keeps fucking me as I orgasm, as I pull him tighter against me, as he loses control and grinds into me, driving me to new heights and coming deep inside me. Asterion rests his forehead against mine, both of our chests heaving. "I'm not going to let anything get in our way, sweetheart. Not Hera. Not Circe. Not even the gods themselves."

"I believe you. I love you."

"I love you, too." He eases me back to my feet, and a comfortable silence falls between us as he grabs some soap and washes the mess away from our bodies. Everything is changing and yet nothing has changed. The future may be promised, but it's still far too nebulous to bet on.

There are so many barriers in our way, from the mess with the tower to the barrier coming down. As fear tries to take hold, I draw forth Asterion's promise and hold it close to my heart.

We'll get through this. We have to.