4 The Minotaur

4

The Minotaur

"That little bitch !"

I don't flinch as Minos grabs the nearest lamp and hurls it across the room. Icarus, on the other hand, looks like he's about to bolt. His narrow shoulders are hunched and his skin has gone gray with fear. All these years, and he's never learned to hide his terror of his father. He should know by now that fear only incites Minos to further violence.

I'm feeling pretty violent myself currently.

She left me. Not so she could leave this cursed city. That, at least, I could forgive. I know how Ariadne longs for freedom, that her dreams have always gone far beyond her current circumstances. Back in Aeaea, she'd had a secret notebook filled with magazine clippings of all the places she wants to visit. She'd even gone so far as to create itineraries. It made my fucking head hurt, but she'd get this dreamy look on her face when she'd walk me through the fantasy trips.

Except she didn't run away to live out those dreams. If she had, I would have finished my tasks here in Olympus and then gone to find her. She never explicitly invited me along, but what are all those damned itineraries if not an invitation?

But no, she only ran far enough to cross the River Styx. To deliver herself into the hands of her father's enemies. Even that, I could've forgiven. But not this. I stare at my phone screen as if hating the words I'm reading is enough to change them.

Love is in the air!

Our new Aphrodite has arranged a marriage between Dionysus and Olympus's newest addition, Ariadne. More details to come!

Marriage. To one of them . To someone who isn't me .

Minos drags his hands through his hair. He's a big fucker, almost as big as me, and age hasn't diminished his strength. The living room is in ruins, except for the chair Icarus huddles on and the couch I lean against.

He exhales slowly. "We have to assume she's told them everything she knows. It shouldn't be enough to sink us. Not when we already have people in the city. Circe is amassing her navy, so all that's left is to take out the barrier. My traitor of a daughter doesn't know how we plan to do that."

I'm not sure that Minos knows how they plan on doing that. His benefactor has been tight with information every step of the way. Considering how things have gone, I don't blame her for that; even in a party of five, information leaks like a sinking ship—and we're losing allies fast. Theseus switched sides, taking Pandora with him. Neither of them knew enough to hurt us, but Minos is severely underestimating his daughter. He always has.

Not that I give a fuck. Not anymore. I slip my phone into my pocket. "What's the plan?"

He spins to glare at me, his dark eyes furious. "And what, pray tell, makes you think I would rely on you for the next steps? You've done nothing but fail me. You failed to take Ares. You failed to kill Artemis. In the weeks since, you haven't made a move on a single member of the Thirteen."

I won't pretend the loss of the Ares title was anything other than a catastrophic failure. If I had possession of the armed forces in the city, the last few months would've played out significantly differently. Yes, as Ares, I would've had to deal with Helen as my wife, but wives are easy enough to neutralize. The last Zeus all but set a precedent.

Saving Artemis was my choice, and even with the current clusterfuck, I don't regret it. Ariadne never would've given herself to me that day in the maze if I came to her with blood on my hands. But that's the key—she gave herself to me. She's mine. She has no fucking business running off to marry some asshole. "I'll kill Dionysus."

"He is not on Circe's list." Minos shakes his head sharply. "It won't matter in the end. Ariadne can marry him, but it won't protect her. Olympus will fall, and she will fall with it."

I may be so furious at Ariadne that I can barely think past my rage, but that doesn't mean I'll let anyone else touch her. I have no intention of the punishment she fucking deserves being fatal. She's mine . "I'll take care of it."

"You don't get to make that decision." He turns and kicks a piece of broken lamp viciously. "Now that the way across the river is closed, we'll have to focus our efforts on the upper city. Meet with Aeacus and discuss options. I want a full report by tonight."

I consider him. "And Ariadne?"

Minos sneers. "Fine. Have it your way. If you want to be the one to do it, then consider this an order. Kill my traitorous daughter. Make an example of her."

At that, Icarus surges to his feet. It's about fucking time he grew some semblance of a spine. "That's bullshit! She only ran because she's afraid of you, Father. This is your fault. You don't get to punish her for your failures."

The look Minos gives his son is so full of hatred that it affects even me. Icarus actually takes a step back. His father's sneer grows more vicious. "You have been a failure from the moment you first drew breath. Don't think you sharing my blood is enough to protect you if you keep talking to me like that. Get out of my fucking sight."

Icarus manages to hold his ground for a single heartbeat, and then he turns and rushes from the study. If history is anything to go by, he'll hide in his room and lick his wounds. The man is not a threat, and he never has been. If he was, Minos wouldn't have gone searching for two violent, vicious orphans to serve his purposes. Not that it's worked out well with Theseus. But then Theseus was always fickle. All it took was Theseus's new wife applying pressure to his beloved Pandora for him to crumble.

My only weakness is trying to run from me and marry another man.

As if sensing my thoughts, Minos turns to me once more. "Don't get any funny ideas, Minotaur. My daughter is a traitor, and if you fail to fulfill my orders, I have half a dozen people more than capable of taking care of her."

I could kill him right now. He's not as strong as he thinks he is, or as capable. He taught me and Theseus everything he knows, but he'd be a fool to think that my education ended there. I've always known that when push came to shove, he would stand in the way of my taking what I want. Who I want.

It would be simple enough to remove Ariadne from her new fiancé and dodge Minos's people. None of them are as good as I am. The problem is that we're currently trapped in a city filled with enemies. Without safe harbor, it's a numbers game. Eventually they'd catch us.

But once the barrier protecting Olympus falls?

That's a different game entirely. I can bide my time until then. I've always been a patient hunter. But I'm not about to let Ariadne think she escaped me. I'll let her new fiancé play the part of keeping her safe from Minos, but that doesn't mean she's safe from me .

I let the silence stretch out until a tic starts next to Minos's right eye. Only then do I respond. "I understand."

"Get out of my fucking sight."

I go. As I walk down the hall, I catch sight of Icarus frantically shoving clothing into a backpack. He freezes when he sees me, his dark eyes defiant. Both he and his sister share their father's coloring, medium-brown skin paired with dark eyes and dark hair. But where she is soft in every way, he's all sharp edges. He's looking particularly brittle right now.

Icarus raises his chin. "Don't try to stop me from leaving."

He won't stay gone. He's surrounded by enemies with no resources of his own. He might as well walk around the block, because he'll be back here by nightfall. I continue down the hall to the room I keep here. It's not my only residence in Olympus, but Minos is easier to deal with when he thinks he has perfect control of a situation.

It's quick work to change into nondescript dark clothing and arm myself with several guns and knives. Tonight, once I get a better read on the situation, I'll let Ariadne know she hasn't escaped me. In the meantime, it doesn't hurt to continue to dance to Minos's tune. It's time to track down Aeacus and see what he has to say.

I need the barrier to come down, after all.