32. Orpheus

32

ORPHEUS

Eurydice tries to scramble out from beneath me, but I press her more firmly to the ground. “Wait. We don’t know if it’s safe yet.”

“That’s my fucking sister.” I expect her to sound as panicky as I feel, but there’s a terrifying resolve in her voice. “Let me up, and call Charon. Now, Orpheus.”

My adrenaline is surging so hard, it’s a challenge to think clearly. I’m not certain I am thinking clearly at all. But she’s right. We can’t stay out here on the sidewalk. There’s nothing to stop the attackers from making another pass. That, more than anything, gets me moving. “Stay low.”

“I will.” She slides out from beneath me and crawls to where her sister and Minthe lie. That’s when I see the blood. It’s a bright crimson against the light gray of the sidewalk. I haven’t had cause to be around severe injuries up to this point, so I have no idea if it’s a little or a lot. The fact that it’s outside someone’s body is problem enough.

I rise to a cautious crouch and pull my phone out of my pocket. Thankfully, it’s intact even after I tackled Eurydice. Charon just put his number into my contacts yesterday, and a part of me mourns the fact that this is the first time I have cause to use it. In crisis.

He answers on the first ring. “Orpheus?”

“There was an attack.” My voice is shaking. That’s not helpful. I take a deep breath and make an effort to firm it. “A drive-by. Eurydice is okay, but someone else was hurt… I don’t know yet if it’s Persephone or Minthe.”

There’s the barest pause as he processes my words. “Hold on.” I hear him barking orders with an urgency that makes my stomach drop. Obviously, I knew there was danger in Olympus right now. But apparently I still had plenty of naivete, because I honestly didn’t believe it would touch us.

I move closer to where Eurydice is carefully guiding Minthe onto her back. Minthe is a little pale, but her color is otherwise good. Persephone clutches her stomach, but I don’t see any wounds aside from a scrape on her cheek. Where is the blood coming from?

On the phone, Charon is back. “Is everyone alive?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” He exhales slowly. “A doctor’s on the way, along with one of the security teams. If everyone is okay to move, go inside, but otherwise hold the location.”

I don’t tell him that I’m not a soldier, that I don’t know how to hold any fucking location. I’ve never even held a gun. My brother has tried for years to convince me to take some kind of self-defense class, whether it’s hand-to-hand or range shooting, and I’ve always had a reason to put him off. I’ve never had cause to regret it until now.

If we get through this, I’m going to have Charon set me up with something, so I never feel this helpless again. So I can protect Eurydice if she ever needs it. “Okay. I can do that.”

“You’ve got this, Orpheus.” There’s still plenty of tension in his voice, but it takes on a reassuring edge that unknots the spot between my shoulder blades, just a little. “Tell me what happened.”

I swallow hard. “Persephone wanted to talk to Eurydice outside. They were already planning on taking Minthe, but I insisted on going outside too. There was a gray van. I can’t tell you make and model off the top of my head, but it was old and beat to shit. The engine actually backfired as they came around the corner and onto our street.”

“Which way did they come around the corner?” There’s sound in the background as he starts moving.

“They turned left onto the street, and then they turned right after they shot at us.”

“Did you get that?” It takes me a moment to realize he’s not speaking to me. There’s a light voice in the background that answers him, and a few seconds later he curses. “Got you, motherfuckers.”

I’m about to ask for clarification when Minthe snarls, “It’s just a fucking scratch. A graze. We have to get inside. Now.” She shakes off Eurydice and turns to Persephone. “Can you stand, or do I need to carry you?”

“I’m fine. Just got the wind knocked out of me.” But Persephone does reach out a hand so Minthe and Eurydice can gently pull her to her feet. She turns to me. “Is that Charon on the phone?”

“Yes.”

She motions for me to hand her the phone, and I don’t hesitate to do so. The scratch on her cheek is deeper than I thought, and a trail of blood oozes down her jawline. The sight leaves me cold. Everyone knows how much Hades values his wife. He’s going to go on a rampage for this.

I can’t blame him.

When she speaks on the phone, she’s all business. “They went down Maple. There are cameras and half a dozen businesses there. Find them, Charon. I want them on their knees before us by end of day. Don’t bother sending a team here. We’re on our way home.” She hangs up and hands my phone back to me.

Behind us, the door flies open and Medusa charges out onto the sidewalk, a gun in each hand. She takes in the scene with a single sweeping glance. “What the fuck?”

Persephone wipes her face, smearing the blood. “Get Calypso and Ariadne. We’re leaving.”

To her credit, Medusa doesn’t question the order. She just leans back into the doorway and starts yelling. I cross to Eurydice and take her shoulders gently. “Are you okay?”

“I think so. Just some bumps and bruises.” Her smile is a little fragile. “That was fast thinking on your part. I barely processed what was happening, and you already had me on the ground.”

It was panic, pure and simple. The realization, in between heartbeats, that I might lose her. All it would take is a single bullet, and the fragile future we’ve barely begun to promise to each other would be gone forever. I didn’t have time to think. My body took over for me. “I’ve never tackled anyone before,” I say again.

“You did a great job.” She wraps her hands around my wrists and gives me a gentle squeeze, even as she guides my hands from her shoulders. “We need to get back to the house. It’s fortified, so it’s the safest place in the lower city. If we’re there, Charon and Hades aren’t going to be worried about us. They need to focus on the hunt.”

“Words after my own heart.” Persephone looks at us, and there’s something different in her hazel eyes this time. Something almost like respect. She gives me the tiniest nod. “You did well, Orpheus.”

Things happen quickly after that. It only takes a few minutes for Medusa and the others to arrive at the car and shuffle us all into it. Fitting seven people into a five-seat car is ridiculous, but I take one look at Persephone’s face and bite down the suggestion of taking two vehicles.

Riding together is the only way to ensure we don’t get separated, even if the drive itself isn’t comfortable. I hold Eurydice in my lap and try to let her presence comfort me. If feels like the firm ground beneath my feet has turned to quicksand. I don’t know what happens next.

All I can think is that I’ve gone from Eurydice being in danger to Charon being in danger. The people who attacked us are the same people who have been giving him such grief. They’re obviously professionals, which means there’s a chance he won’t come home.

Less than ten minutes later, we sweep through the front doors of the house behind Persephone. I’ve never seen her like she’s acted today, and it’s frankly terrifying. This is not a woman I would want to cross.

“Hades?”

It’s not her husband who answers her. A handsome man with medium-brown skin hurries down the hall toward us. “Persephone, I have a doctor here. Please come with me.”

I take a step toward him, but Persephone plants her feet. “Where is my husband, Thanatos?”

He flinches. “Hades, Charon, and a small team went off in pursuit of the shooters. He gave clear command that you were to stay in the house until he returns. The moment you arrived, we went on lockdown.” He says the words carefully, as if feeling his way.

Persephone gets a terrible look on her face. Eurydice opens her mouth, no doubt to try to comfort her sister, but I press my hand to her back and shake my head. Persephone is a bomb waiting to go off, and I don’t want Eurydice to take the brunt of the reaction I can feel simmering beneath the surface.

When Persephone speaks, it’s in carefully clipped tones. “Have the doctor see to Minthe first. I will be in the study.” She walks off without another word, her spine straight and her step steady.

The moment she turns the corner in the hallway, we all wilt a little bit. Thanatos shakes his head and runs his fingers through his thick black hair. “For the longest time, I didn’t understand what they saw in each other, but I get it now. She’s just as scary as he is when she’s riled.” He turns to Eurydice, and his smile takes on a new level of warmth. “Hey, there.”

“Hey, Thanatos.” She smiles too. “Wild day.”

“You can say that again.” He turns to Minthe, and then he’s all business. “How bad is it, really?”

“I keep telling them,” she says through gritted teeth, “it’s barely more than a scratch. I might need a stitch or two, but that’s the worst of it.”

Thanatos shakes his head. “Yeah, well, we’ll see when the doctor checks you out. Come with me.”

Calypso turns to Medusa and Ariadne. “Let’s head to the kitchen while we wait. I bet Georgie is cooking up a storm right now. If she won’t let us help her out, then maybe she’ll let us taste test.” It’s very clearly an effort to remove the lost expression from Ariadne’s face. It’s an effective one. They head off in the opposite direction, leaving me and Eurydice alone.

Her smile falls away in an instant. “Those people were clearly professionals. They’ve managed to avoid Charon for weeks, which is no small feat. He’s in danger.”

I don’t know what to say to comfort her, because I’m not comforted right now at all. “Charon is one of the most capable and dangerous people we know. He’ll come home to us.”

“If you hadn’t reacted so quickly, I might not be coming home to us tonight. Anything can happen.” She worries her bottom lip. “Maybe we should—”

“Who’s Thanatos?” I ask the question in a rush, determined to get ahead of whatever suggestion she’s about to make. Because if she wants us to sneak out and go after him, I’ll be helpless to do anything but exactly that. And, damn it, I know that’s not the right answer.

Instead, I pick a fight, following the thread of jealousy that curled through me at the familiarity between Eurydice and Thanatos. I’m honestly surprised to feel it; I don’t mind our duo becoming a trio with Charon. If I felt jealousy there, it’s a dual thing—jealousy in that he gets to touch her and she gets to touch him, where before I was only able to watch.

That’s not the same sensation I’m getting with Thanatos.

The way Eurydice takes a step back and won’t quite meet my gaze only makes the feeling more pronounced. “Oh, uh, he works for Hades, but I met him for the first time a little while ago at the club.”

“The club,” I repeat. “You mean Hades’s kink club.”

“In the lower city, when people refer to the club, they’re only speaking of one place.” She actually shuffles her feet. “Look, we had a tiny kiss, it doesn’t mean anything, and I already got read the riot act by Charon. It was before you came across the river.”

I don’t ask the other question bubbling up behind my teeth. Ultimately, it’s none of my business. I only meant to ask about it to distract her from climbing out a window and going after Charon. Still, it does bring up one question I hadn’t even realized I had. “We’re a trio, right? Which means we’re polyamorous.”

“Yes,” she says slowly.

I feel silly and I haven’t even asked a question yet, but I lick my lips and force the words out. “Does that mean we’re open?”

“Do you want to be open?”

No. Absolutely not. But I’m afraid to draw that firm a line when things between us still feel so new. “I asked you first.” It’s a dodge, and not even a good one at that.

Eurydice studies me for several beats. “Ultimately, that’s something to discuss with the three of us. We’ll figure out our boundaries together, just as soon as Charon comes back to us.” She goes back to worrying her bottom lip. “Would you like to see the library? It’s almost big enough to get lost in; it’s a really nice room. We can wait for him there.”

It seems almost childlike, the way we avoid speaking our fears, as if to say them aloud will make them real. I’m not going to be the one to burst that bubble. I nod and hold out my hand. “Show me the library.”