32 Ariadne

32

Ariadne

Waiting for Asterion is a special kind of agony. I keep analyzing our short conversation and trying to decide if I actually detected exhaustion and pain in his tone or if he's really okay. He was shot , for gods' sake. And in between obsessing over that, I jump at every creak and groan the house makes. We can't see the street from any of the windows, but every time a car passes by, I'm certain that the Olympians are returning to murder us.

For his part, apparently all the excitement exhausted my brother, and he passes out on the couch. It's just as well. I'm not fit for company.

It's happening. It's finally happening. The barrier is coming down, and we're going to be able to get out of here. Hope and elation twine with guilt and fear. Because our success means bad things in the future of Olympus. It's not my city and they're not my people, but that doesn't make their lives any less valid. I don't think Circe is intent on whole-scale slaughter, but it's not like I sat in on any of the planning meetings. The only information I have is what I was able to hack and deliver to Apollo. There's nothing in that correspondence about a massacre, but that doesn't mean it represents the whole of her plans.

It's guilt that has me reaching for the phone. I shoot a look at my brother, but he's still dead to the world. I know what he'd say if he knew what I intended. It doesn't matter. I'm doing it.

I dial Hera.

She makes me wait until I think it's about to click over to voicemail, and only then does she answer. "I truly hope you're calling with a solution."

I almost laugh when I realize what she's talking about. Dodona Tower. My father's team. Our deal that no longer stands. "You have bigger problems to worry about now."

She's silent for a beat. "Are you threatening me, Ariadne?"

"Not in the slightest. But I have it on good information that the barrier is coming down. Today. It's too late to stop it. The only thing you can do is be ready."

"What?" Her cool confidence falters, and actual worry worms its way into her tone. "Surely you can't be serious."

"I wish I wasn't."

"Fuck," she says quietly. "I have to… I need to…" She stops short. When she speaks again, she's back to being the cold woman I've dealt with to date. "Thank you for the information. Our deal is off. Your father's team will be eliminated. Good luck." She hangs up.

I've done as much as I can. What happens next is up to her. I have sympathy for her, even if I don't like her much. I don't know who will win in a contest between Hera and Circe. But hopefully I'll be long gone before I have the chance to find out.

"Good luck to you, too, Hera," I whisper. I grip Icarus's shoulder and give him a shake. "Get up. Asterion is on his way. We need to be ready to move when he gets here."

"Ariadne?" His voice is still thick with dreaming. "I was having the most awful nightmare. We…" He blinks, shakes his head, and looks around. It hurts to see the innocence of sleep fall away from his expression and be replaced by the hardened exterior my brother has cultivated. "Not a nightmare, then."

"It's a nightmare. It's just not confined to the sleeping world." I vow right then and there that it doesn't matter what it takes, I will see Icarus happy. His dreams were never the same as mine. He doesn't look at the horizon and imagine all the possibilities it holds. He's only ever wanted acceptance. Acceptance from our people, acceptance from our father.

Icarus smiles, and though it seems to warm his eyes, I know it for a lie. I hate that he feels like he has to be dishonest with me, but now isn't the time to call him on it.

I put my backpack on and head for the front of the house to be ready for when Asterion calls. It seems like a small eternity before my phone buzzes in my hand. I almost drop it in my haste to answer. "You're here?"

"Yeah." He sounds more tired than I've ever heard him. "There's a car parked across the street with two people in it. I clocked them when I drove by the first time. I'm not really in the mood to murder more people tonight, so we're going to time this carefully. I'm driving around the block. You and your brother need to run out and jump in the back when I pull up, and then we're going to take off."

Later, we'll talk about his statement about murdering more people tonight. What the fuck were he and Hermes doing? There's no time now, though. "Okay. There's not a good place to hide in the front, so we'll have to come out the door."

"Get to the front door. Now."

"We're there." I grab my brother's hand, keeping the phone to my ear. We'll be sitting ducks the moment we exit and start the sprint to the front gate and street side. If the watchers are under orders to kill us, they have plenty of time to do it.

Asterion is silent for several seconds. "I'm at the corner and about to turn. Run, sweetheart."

I hang up and shove my phone in my pocket. "Now." As much as part of me doesn't want to release my brother's hand, I have to in order for us to move efficiently. He opens the door, and we sprint out down the cobblestone pathway of dead plants. The door doesn't have a lock on this side, so I thrust it open without slowing down. I catch sight of the car across the street that Asterion must've been talking about. The people inside throw open the doors, but it's too late. Asterion slams to a stop at the curb, and Icarus shoves me into the back seat and dives in behind. We barely get the door shut before Asterion is veering back into traffic and away from the house.

My brother lets out a breathless laugh. "Never a dull fucking moment."

Asterion glances at me in the rearview mirror. "Are you okay?"

It's such a strange question given everything going on. I'm not okay. I don't know if I'll ever really be okay again. There's something about being hunted by people who intend to kill you that shifts a person's perspective. Maybe permanently. I guess time will tell, but it feels too hard to contemplate the future when we're in such a crisis currently.

Instead of answering his question, I ask a question of my own. "What happened with you?"

He curses under his breath. "Let's just say that Hermes isn't someone I want to cross. She set a bomb that will go off in…about thirty minutes from now. We have to get to the marina and get to a boat as quickly as possible."

I have a dozen follow-up questions, but ultimately it doesn't matter. The barrier will come down or it won't. If it doesn't, there's a good chance we'll end up trapped at the marina. But at this point, we're trapped no matter where we go. The barrier has made sure of that.

So I sit back and try to regain my breath. Traffic thins out as we head north toward the shipyard and marina. It's the one part of Olympus I haven't spent any time in whatsoever. It reminds me a little of the lower city. The buildings get smaller and older, but they're all in decent repair as best I can tell.

No one seems to come up here except for those who deal directly with Poseidon, or I guess those who plan to use the marina for a day trip. We've been in Olympus for several months now, and I've never heard about anyone doing that, though.

I twist to look out the back window, but I don't see anything. "Are they following us?"

"No." Asterion doesn't sound happy about it. "They never even pulled away from the curb."

I don't ask why they wouldn't follow us. It's not for any benign reason; it's because they don't need to. Which means either someone else is… Or they think they know where we're going.

It's everything I can do not to huddle in the back seat as Asterion carves our way through the city to the north. The marina stands out against the rest of the buildings in the area, shiny and polished in a way that feels brand-new, not like it's been standing here for years. Half a dozen docks stretch out into the bay, holding space for entirely too many sailboats and yachts.

As Asterion pulls into the parking lot, dread weighs me down. "Do you even know how to work a boat? I'm not even talking about just a sailboat."

"I can sail."

Icarus scoffs. "Just because you think you can do something doesn't mean it's true. I know you're formidable and all that shit, but that doesn't mean you can do anything."

"I'm aware." Asterion doesn't sound irritated. "In this case, I know what I'm talking about. Your father gave us a small amount of downtime over the years. I used mine to learn to sail."

Shock steals my breath. "I had no idea." I thought I knew everything about him. I certainly watched him closely enough over the years. But there were times when he'd disappear without a word, only to reappear hours later. Back then, I assumed he was meeting up with a lover, so I didn't pry. It would hurt too much to know for sure. After the revelation that he hadn't been with anyone since meeting me, I should've stopped to wonder what he was actually doing during those mystery absences.

"I find it relaxing. But that's not why I started learning." He glances over his shoulder at me. "We lived on an island, sweetheart. It pays to have an exit strategy in place."

Next to me, Icarus rolls his eyes. "Why not learn to fly a plane, then? It's a faster getaway."

"Because I didn't want anyone to realize I was planning a getaway. Lots of people sail recreationally." He clears his throat. "They shouldn't have been able to beat us here, but we're going to act like they did. I'm parking, and we're getting the fuck out of here. Stay close and do as I say."

"Sir, yes, sir."

I smack my brother lightly. "This is serious. He already got shot for you once. Let's not make a habit of it."

My brother instantly sobers. "I didn't forget." He rubs the back of his hand over his mouth. "Thank you, Min—Asterion. You didn't have to protect me, and you didn't hesitate. So, uh, thank you."

Asterion's shoulders hunch, just a little. "If you died, it would make Ariadne sad."

"Good to know where I stand. Won't forget it again."

I don't curse them both out, but it's a near thing. "Let's stay focused."

It's only as we're jumping out of the car and hurrying toward the docks that I think to wonder if Asterion knows what boat we're trying to steal. I've never stolen a vehicle before. It looks easy in the movies, but I'm not foolish enough to think that's reality. It's too late for questions, though.

Full darkness has descended, and I can't stop myself from huddling close to Asterion's broad back. The soft creak of the dock moving in the water feels upsettingly loud in my ears. It could be covering up all manner of sins. There could be dozens of people waiting for us to step onto the docks, intent on our murder.

I'm trying to watch all the shadows at once, so I shouldn't be surprised when one detaches from a nearby building and starts for us. And yet somehow I am. That surprise quickly turns to horror when I recognize the shape of the shoulders, the height, and the angry cadence of the footsteps.

"Father," I breathe.

The word is barely more than whisper, but Asterion hears me anyway. He moves in an instant, one arm sweeping me and Icarus behind him as he twists to face the new threat. "Minos."

My father steps into the light, and I've never seen him as angry as he is now. The veins stand out against his temples, and he's practically shaking with rage. "You've ruined it. You've ruined everything. And now you're going to fucking pay." He moves his right hand, and I go cold.

He's got a gun.