27 The Minotaur

27

The Minotaur

I don't want to leave Ariadne alone, but at this point, standing by her side will do more harm than good. Knowing that doesn't stop dread from taking root inside me as we dress after the shower. Too many things can go wrong. Too many things already are going wrong.

"Stay in the penthouse today." I hesitate. "Please."

Ariadne looks like she wants to argue but finally nods. "I already planned on staying here and seeing what I can find on my computer. That's where I'm the most useful right now. It also can't hurt to be out of sight, out of mind, for my father."

I don't tell her that that sort of thing only works when she's playing the obedient daughter. Over the years, Minos only pulled her out when he wanted to use her to make an impression on someone. When it comes to punishments? He knows how to hold a grudge; he seems to love them more than he loves his children.

Saying as much will only hurt her. Besides, she already knows. She's a smart woman, even if she has a hard time acknowledging just what a monster her father is.

I brush a kiss to her lips. "I'll update you as soon as I have information."

"I'll do the same for you."

I don't want to leave her alone, but there's nothing else to do. I have to see what Aeacus is planning, and the fact that Minos has left me alone overnight instead of demanding more answers has me fucking worried. As I step out onto the sidewalk, I weigh which route is the better option.

In the end, it's decided for me.

My phone pings with a text from Icarus, of all people.

Icarus: You better get back here. It's bad.

It must be for him to reach out to me for… Is this a plea for help? I don't fucking know. And I can't forget that he might want Ariadne out of the city and free, but in his perfect vision of the future, I'm not involved. That fucker wants me dead. Which means this could be a trap.

But I don't think so. It doesn't feel like a trap that he's put together, at least. It takes me barely ten minutes to walk to Minos's apartment building. He's not as close as he wants to be to the center city, but he's too close for my peace of mind.

I head up the stairs, but instead of going to the main penthouse where the family lives, I stop the floor below and go to the apartment that Minos likes to pretend doesn't exist. It's not much of a secret these days—both Ariadne and Icarus are aware of it, and Theseus found out about it before his falling-out with Minos.

Theseus. I don't spend much time thinking about that fucker. He was always just another flavor of enemy. The competition that Minos liked to play one against the other. He's not a friend, no, but spend more than a decade with a person and you build a kind of intimacy through shared experiences.

Or maybe Ariadne's softness is rubbing off on me. I don't fucking know why I pull out my phone, but when I realize my body's moving on autopilot, I make no effort to stop myself from dialing him. I don't honestly expect him to pick up. We haven't talked in weeks. He might not be Hephaestus anymore, but he stayed married to that Olympian wife of his. Last I heard, he and Pandora had moved in with her. One big, happy, complicated family.

Something curdles in my stomach, and I'm surprised to find it's jealousy. He's living in a city that's about to be ash, married to a woman I wouldn't willingly turn my back on, and yet the asshole seems so happy it's sickening.

I am so distracted by my thoughts that I don't register that the call hasn't gone to voicemail until Theseus curses and says my name again. "What the fuck do you want, Minotaur?"

That's the question, isn't it? I don't know what I want. Or at least I don't know why I called. I glance at the closed door to the apartment and take a couple steps back. "We aren't friends."

"No shit."

"But if we were friends, I'd give you the courtesy of letting you know what's coming." I don't know what the fuck I'm doing. I should just hang up and be done with it. But I don't.

He's silent for several long moments. "You're right. We're not friends. But I'm listening."

"It doesn't matter what the Olympians do or what plots and schemes they put into motion. The barrier is coming down. There's no stopping it. If you're smart, you'll take you and yours and be ready to leave the moment it does. Escape in the chaos before either side has a chance to settle into a siege."

He laughs, the sound filled with bitterness. "I honestly can't tell if you're being genuine or not. But I'll give you the benefit of the doubt this time. My wife is a Kasios. She might have relinquished her title at the same time I did mine, but she's never leaving the city. Which means neither am I."

I exhale slowly. Once Theseus sets his mind on something, nothing can dissuade him. Sure as fuck not me. I don't point out that this decision puts Pandora in danger, too. I don't ask what Adonis thinks of the situation. Their little poly knot is filled with fools with stars in their eyes. Eris might be ruthless to a fault and vicious as the day is long, but as Theseus said, she's a Kasios, as are her siblings Zeus and Ares. That family is baked right into the foundation of Olympus. "It's the wrong choice."

"Without a doubt. But I'll gut anyone who comes for her. Including you."

I snort. "Your wife and lovers are safe from me. I have other priorities." I hesitate, but there's nothing more to say. I've delivered my warning. Whether he chooses to ignore it or do something about it is up to him. And yet I can't stop myself from saying one last thing. "It's going to happen soon. Be ready."

"I will."

I really am going soft, because I don't leave it at that. "And, Theseus? Stay away from the city center for the next week or so. Especially Dodona Tower."

The dark amusement is gone from his tone. "What do you know?"

I hang up without answering. With the Thirteen fracturing, there are clear lines forming. Zeus's siblings will fall in with him. Hera only seems to want Zeus dead, but she doesn't seem like the type to let a little collateral damage get in the way of her desires, especially if she sees them as the enemy too. Theseus's wife is in nearly as much danger as Zeus himself.

Ideally, the Olympians will keep chasing their tails until the barrier comes down and they have bigger enemies to worry about. But nothing has gone to plan to date, so I won't place any bets on it.

There's nothing else to do but walk through the door.

Or at least I try. My key doesn't work. I stare down at the lock, my brain struggling to catch up with reality. "Well, fuck. It's a trap." My time of playing both sides against the middle is over. It was inevitable, but it's fucking inconvenient.

I almost turn around right then and there. Minos has no reason to take me alive. If he knows I betrayed him—and all evidence points to exactly that—then he's going to attempt to kill me when I walk through the door upstairs. The smart thing would be to turn around and get out of here. Ariadne isn't safe with Dionysus. If I could get to her, whoever he sends to replace me will be able to as well, even with the increased security.

But there's Icarus to consider. He called me, which means he's with Minos now. Ariadne won't leave without her brother, and this might be my only chance to get him out. "Fuck. Fuck ."

There's no choice. I head upstairs to the penthouse that Minos keeps with what's left of his family. It's almost humiliating to have to knock on the door and wait for entry. Or it would be if I gave a shit what he thought of me.

It's Icarus who opens the door, and he looks even worse than the last time I saw him. The bones in his face stand out starkly, and if he's still beautiful, it's tempered with his obvious despair. He looks me up and down without much interest. "So the dog still comes when he's called."

I stare. I know Ariadne wants to bring him with us when we leave, but I doubt he's going to come peacefully. It seems far more likely that he's going to make our lives miserable, intentionally or not. But leaving him behind will hurt her. That I won't allow.

I grab the front of his shirt and pull him close enough to smell the alcohol on his breath. It's a layered scent, both stale and fresh, which indicates he's been drinking long enough for it to start seeping out of his pores. Damn it. It's going to be a nightmare getting him out of here. "I need you to sober up, and do it quickly."

Icarus's head lolls on his shoulders. He blinks at me blearily. "What are you up to?"

I don't care if he loves his sister or if she loves him right back. Icarus is weak—a liability. But I love Ariadne and she loves him, so I'll make it work. "We're leaving."

"The fuck we are." He tries to pull away but only succeeds in swaying in my grip. "Let go."

"Your sister needs you." I give him a shake, my frustration causing me to be a little too rough. Or his drunkenness causing him to be too boneless. "Prove that you're worth something and sober the fuck up. If you don't, she's going to get hurt, and it will be your fault." It's not the truth, but I don't fucking care.

After this morning, it feels like the damned walls of the city are closing in around us. There's not enough time and too many things to do… Too many things that could go wrong.

Icarus shoves ineffectively at my chest. He's like a child throwing a fit. "You don't get to talk to me about my sister. Not when you want her dead."

I shoot a look around the penthouse, but Minos is nowhere to be found. That won't last long. We're wasting valuable time, but I need Icarus to cooperate if I'm going to get him out of here. I fight to keep my voice even. It would be so much easier if I just knocked him out and hauled him from the building, but I need my hands free to ensure we make it out. "If I wanted her dead, she would be dead."

I feel the air change in the room before Minos steps around the corner. The last time I spoke to him, he seemed to be unraveling, but there's no evidence of it now. He stands tall and proud—and absolutely furious. He looks at me just like he did that first day when he brought me into his household—as if I'm shit on the bottom of his shoe.

The truth. Not the faux fatherly charm, not the disciplined commander. He thinks I'm garbage, and now he's not even bothering to hide it.

"Minotaur. I see you finally decided to grace us with your presence." He shifts, and I catch the dull metal gleam of a gun held at his side. "Come in."

Yeah, that's not going to happen. The door's behind me, only a few feet away. I'm nearly certain I can get there before Minos can plug me full of bullets. I look at Icarus, and though his eyes are still hazy with drunkenness, the seriousness of the moment seems to have penetrated. He shifts a little closer to me—and farther away from his father. Too little, too late.

"You changed the locks." I grip the back of Icarus's shirt, out of Minos's sight, and tug him back a few inches. Closer to the door. This is a clusterfuck, but I'll get him out of here. For Ariadne.

His grip shifts on the gun. "You know how it is in the city, boy. Can't trust anyone."

I ease back a step, pulling Icarus with me. "I am—"

"No, I am done with your lies." Minos lifts the gun and points it directly at my chest. "You said it yourself—if you wanted to follow my orders and kill my traitorous daughter, you would've done it by now. I've been distracted, so it took me a little longer than normal to figure it out. That's done now. I've passed the order to someone more capable and loyal than you will ever be."

Fuck. Fuck . It's exactly like I suspected. Worse than I suspected, because I would have preferred Minos attempt to kill me before he sent someone else after her. There's no time. We have to get out of here. Now. "Who did you send?"

"You won't live long enough to figure it out."

Icarus moves first, tearing himself from my grip and throwing his lean body in front of mine. I see the exact moment Minos decides he doesn't care if he shoots his son in the process of shooting me. Damn it. I grab Icarus around his waist and shove us against the wall as Minos pulls the trigger. He's so skinny. It's easy to shield him with my body.

I scramble for the doorknob, my hand closing around it as fire explodes in my shoulder. That motherfucker shot me, and not even well. I've been moving through pain for my entire life; a shoulder wound sucks, but it's not the worst I've experienced. It's nothing to get the door open and shove Icarus through it ahead of me.

We hit the hallway at a dead sprint, or as close to it as we can manage with him stumbling drunkenly and pain flaring with every step I take. The elevator will take too long to get to us, and we'll be sitting ducks while we wait. Instead, I hook him around the waist and haul him through the doorway to the stairwell.

He tries to stop three flights down, but I grab his arm and keep him moving. Blood is a hot, wet cascade down my back. My head feels a little woozy. That isn't a good sign. When my adrenaline crashes, I suspect it will be a crash in more ways than one.

On the second floor, I tighten my grip on Icarus's arm and hold him back. "Need to go through a side door."

He's panting and his sweat is more alcohol than water, but he already seems a little more sober than he was a few minutes ago. "You think he called security?"

"He doesn't have to when he has his own people to call." I take the chance and grab my phone. We need to keep moving, but I can't stop thinking about what Minos said. Ariadne is in danger. I don't know who the fuck he sent, but I'm not with her to protect her.

She answers immediately. "Asterion? Is everything okay?"

I'm sure as fuck not about to tell her that in the time since she last saw me, I've gotten myself shot. There are more important things in play currently. "Your father called in someone else to take over the job. Your brother and I are on our way to you. Be ready when we get there. We're getting the fuck out of here."