12

12

Apollo

“The weather is really nice tonight.”

Eurydice gives me a polite smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “Yes, very.”

Gods, this is ridiculous. I move through the most powerful circles in this city, where one wrong word can create a cascade of political ripples. I’m good at it most of the time. And the best I can come up with in this situation is a comment about the weather?

After several minutes of awkward silence, I try again. “I’ll admit, I was surprised to see you at the dinner table.”

Eurydice doesn’t look at me. “I was a last-minute invite.” It’s clear she has no intention of elaborating, which is interesting.

There’s something different about her. This woman has spent plenty of time in my presence at family functions during the time she dated my brother, but in those interactions, she always seemed nervous and almost fragile. That feeling is gone now. She’s still quiet and composed, but something’s changed. “How have you been?”

“Good.” Her answer seems to surprise her. She finally shoots me a sheepish smile. “I wasn’t for a while, but I’m doing much better now.”

I don’t inquire about her obvious camaraderie with Charon, don’t ask whether it’s more than friendship. That’s none of my business. I glance up at the stars overhead. I had intended to reach out via Hades about the possibility of Orpheus apologizing. It seems silly to wait when she’s walking next to me, but I don’t want her to feel like I’m cornering her out in the dark maze, either.

“Apollo?” She pauses as voices drift from somewhere close, but they move away quickly. This maze truly is a monster.

When she doesn’t immediately continue, I say, “Yes?”

“How is he?” She rushes on before I can answer, some of her previous nervousness showing through. “I wouldn’t ask because I most certainly don’t care, but I saw him a couple weeks ago. It was just for a moment and across a bar, but…” She takes a deep breath. “He looked like shit. Not at all like the man I knew.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her everything, but it’s no more my place to share Orpheus’s struggles than it is to browbeat Eurydice into seeing him. I can’t even promise he’s changed, for all that I believe he has, at least based on our recent conversations. I clear my throat. “He would like to apologize.” I hold up both hands. “You absolutely do not have to agree, though. You don’t owe him anything.”

“I know.” Her lips curve in a faint, sad smile.

“Oh. Okay.” I drop my hands. “You don’t need to answer tonight, but if you end up deciding that you’d like to hear his apology, I can arrange it.”

“If I decide to hear him out, I’ll arrange it myself.” She starts to move forward and glances over her shoulder at me. “Thanks, though. Regardless of how I feel about my ex, you’ve been nothing but kind to me.”

A dozen comments rise and die before they ever leave my lips. That Eurydice is a gift and I hope she finds someone who appreciates that in full. That I would have liked to have her for a sister-in-law. That I think Orpheus wants her in his life again. That I hope she moves on from my brother and never looks back.

I don’t say any of it.

A whoop goes up somewhere to our right. I turn that way instinctively, even though I can’t see anything but hedge. A few moments later, Minos’s voice booms from the opposite direction. “We have our winners! Charon and Atalanta.”

Eurydice smiles. “Charon really is the best, isn’t he?” She tilts her head to the side. “I wonder what the prize is.”

We find out a little while later. I’m able to get us back to our entrance without too much trouble, having memorized the route, and I’m no small amount of relieved to see Cassandra and Dionysus chatting as they come around from the opposite side. Pairs trickle in slowly, but the last one isn’t a pair at all.

It’s a trio.

“You must be joking me,” Eurydice murmurs.

Ariadne walks between Atalanta and Charon, an arm slung around both of them. “You’ve won me, friends. Whatever shall you do with me?” She’s grinning and seems like she’s actually having fun. I can’t blame her. Both Atalanta and Charon are attractive and charming and have proximity to power that’s almost as alluring as the power itself. It takes skill to do what they do and everyone knows it.

I’m pretty sure I hear Eurydice growl a little, which is confirmation enough that her interest in Charon goes beyond friendship. Impossible to say if it’s returned, but he laughs and artfully slips from beneath Ariadne’s arm. “I think it’s time for a drink.”

“A man after my own heart.”

I search for Cassandra again in the group, finally landing on where she’s still speaking with Dionysus. I start to pick my way toward them, but Minos appears before me as if by magic. The big man smiles. “Apollo, I’d love a word.”

I fight down the instinctive desire to go to Cassandra instead of being diverted; this is what she’s here for. Either I trust her to be able to handle herself, or I don’t, and if I don’t, I had no business asking this of her in the first place. I manage a smile for Minos. “Of course.”

We follow the group inside, but he leads me down a different hallway. I make a mental note as he unlocks a door with an honest-to-gods skeleton key and pushes it open to reveal a traditionally decorated study. We’re right in the heart of the house, which is a part of the downstairs Cassandra and I didn’t manage to map before dinner.

What are the odds that he keeps the security room close to his office? Or, rather, that Hermes did when she built this place?

It’s what I would do.

I slide my hand into my pocket and send out the prearranged signal for Hector to get to work. I won’t know if he’s successful until I can check in after this, but he needs a good ten to fifteen minutes to hack into the security system using the device in my other pocket as a booster. It’s cutting-edge tech, the kind of thing I would have spent time inventing if I’d secured a spot as Hephaestus instead of Apollo.

Now, instead of inventing the tech, I have to use it.

To give myself time, I look around the room. There’s nothing of Minos’s personality here. He might as well have picked the big mahogany desk, the tasteful chairs, and the generic bookshelf out of a catalog. I wander over to the bookshelf, more out of curiosity than anything else, and have my suspicions confirmed. All the books are hardcovers with the wraps removed to show foiled edges. They’re too uniform not to have been bought together, and they’re so new, they’re practically shining.

If Minos is a reader, his collection isn’t in this room.

“Drink?”

I’m not overly interested in drinking with this man, but we’re doing a dance as old as time. “Please.” I move to take one of the chairs as he pulls a crystal decanter off a nearby cart. Truly, this room reminds me of a set off the soap operas my mother used to watch when I was young. I’m reasonably sure the glass he passes me is the exact style from the show, which just confirms that it’s all new.

By all appearances, Minos didn’t bring much in the way of personal effects when he came to Olympus. That seems to support his story that he’s fleeing an enemy who intends to take the city, but it could very well be that he wants us to think that. He’s smart enough to take that into consideration.

And someone is funding him. He got some resources from Zeus as part of the bargain he struck, but he bought this house before that deal went through.

I wait for him to take a sip of his drink before I do the same with mine. It’s whiskey, and expensive, but it’s not my drink of choice so I don’t know it well enough to identify the year and maker. It’s tempting to break the silence, but he asked me here for a reason so I intend to make him execute the opening bid.

He doesn’t make me wait long. Minos sinks into the chair behind his desk with an exaggerated sigh. “Have you spent much time out in the greater world?”

I raise my brows. “No. My responsibilities lie with Olympus.” I’ve had cause to leave the city a few times for one reason or another, but most of my work is here, which means my time is spent here.

Best I can tell, the rest of the world isn’t that different from our city. The people with the most money and power sit at the top, and the rest are left to figure things out for themselves. The true benefit of Olympus, the reason we are such a tempting fruit to Minos’s former employer, is that we’re essentially a sovereign nation.

When the rest of the world realized the barrier kept them away, they were forced to be satisfied with trading agreements some distant-past Poseidon set up. I don’t know if those agreements will hold even if the barrier falls. It’s a different world out there than it was a few decades ago, let alone a few hundred years. Instead of razing our city to the ground, there’s more likely to be an attempt to take over our positions of leadership in a bloodless coup. They can’t get around Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades, but if the rest of the Thirteen are united, not even those three can do much about it.

It’s what I would do if I wanted to take the city.

“It feels different out there.” He contemplates his drink. “I realize you have no reason to trust me, but I want what you have. Stability for me and my family. Surely you can’t fault me for that.”

Bold of him to come right out and say it. “If you really want that, then I don’t see why you’re holding back information that might keep you and yours safe.” I set my drink aside. “Don’t bother to lie. We both know you didn’t tell Zeus everything. You’re too smart to put in so much work without knowing what the endgame is.”

Minos smiles slowly. “I like you. You’re not the same as the rest of them. You actually care.”

The pivot has my mind whirling. We’re being remarkably frank with each other, so I risk a blunt question. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I took the liberty of looking into Cassandra. She’s lovely, but you must know your parents will never welcome her. Not after her parents brought so much shame on the family. Olympus doesn’t like to forgive and forget. I’ve been here a short time, and even I know that.”

“Do you have a point?”

“By all accounts, her parents reached beyond their means, and look what happened to them. It’d be a shame if something similar happened to her for the very same reasons.”

The small hairs on the back of my neck raise. Is he threatening Cassandra? I can’t tell. He’s got his genial mask in place, all concerned kindness. The desire to shove to my feet and rush out of the room to ensure she’s safe is nearly overwhelming. “I’m Apollo. No matter what my parents think of my partners, they won’t risk alienating me.” I don’t like that he looked into her. I don’t like it at all.

“Perhaps.” Minos nods easily. “But what about Zeus and the rest of the Thirteen? They aren’t bound the same way the rest of us are.”

Zeus knows what this really is, but if one of the others thought Cassandra was trying to follow in her parents’ footprints? “That won’t happen.”

“So you say. That girl has worked hard to avoid the limelight, and there have been more articles written about her since your date a few days ago than in the last five years combined. People are talking, Apollo. If you care so much about her, you never should have brought her here.”

No reason for guilt to prick me. We knew what going public would do. Cassandra is getting paid well and she has no plans to stick around after this task is finished. I can’t quite unclench my jaw. “I’m honored, Minos. I had no idea you were so interested in my love life and the welfare of my girlfriend.” I honestly can’t tell if he’s threatening her or not. It feels like he is, but he hasn’t said anything overt that I can call him on.

“As I said, I like you.” He swirls the whiskey in his glass, expression contemplative. “You’re an asset and you’re wasted on this place. I’d like to have you in the family.”

I blink. “Excuse me?”

“Take your pick of my children.” He waves a casual hand toward the door. “Icarus might be a bit flighty for your tastes, but Ariadne is a good girl. She’d make a lovely wife to you.”

His boldness leaves me at a loss for words. Arranged marriages are hardly uncommon in Olympus, but people tend to go about it in a subtler way. I look away. “I’m not in the market for a marriage at this point.” Under no circumstances will I allow myself to think of Cassandra, dressed in white and walking down the aisle to me.

“Pity.” He shrugs easily. “I had thought you too smart to be swayed by your emotions, but it’s clear that as long as Cassandra is by your side, you won’t see things my way.”

I send him a sharp look. “If something happens to her, I won’t see things your way, either.”

He holds up his hands. “Whoa, whoa, no one is making threats, Apollo. You wanted me to speak plainly, so I’m just doing what you requested.”

For him to speak plainly about his motivations. Surely there’s more to this party than a marriage mart? I barely resist the urge to look at my watch. How long has it been? How much longer do I need to keep him talking? Maybe someone else could sit here while he threatened someone they cared about, but that’s not me. It never has been. “Why are you here, Minos?”

“I already told you.” He laughs. “Do you think asking a few dozen more times will result in a different answer?”

This whole thing feels like he just threw a handful of sand into an already murky pool. I can’t tell if he’s being honest about wanting to match me with one of his children, but surely it’s not that simple. He must be holding something back. “If you’d be transparent, we wouldn’t have to do this song and dance.”

“There you go, talking frankly again.” He hefts himself to his feet. It’s rather dramatic, considering I watched him bound down the steps at the Dryad less than a week ago. Minos obviously wants to be underestimated. It’s a familiar ploy—a lot of people in Olympus use it, including myself—but it irks me all the same. “Truly, you stand out among the others. It’s a wonder someone hasn’t taken issue with your honesty.”

Another threat that isn’t quite a threat. I follow him to my feet. “Thanks for the drink.” Hopefully Hector had enough time to hack the cameras.

“Anytime, Apollo. And I do mean that.”

I follow him back down the hall and into yet another large room, this one designed for entertaining. It’s divided into smaller spaces by the way the furniture is arranged. The group has fractured as a result. I catch Aphrodite and Adonis sharing a love seat, though all her attention is focused on Theseus sprawled across from them, smirking at her. If looks could kill, he’d be broken and bloodied on the floor. It’s an unwise move to antagonize that woman. Aphrodite might not be cutting down people in battle, but she’s more than a formidable opponent to those she considers enemies.

Eurydice, Charon, Hermes, and Dionysus have joined Ariadne on a trio of couches and are having what appears to be an animated conversation. Pan and Icarus are perched on chairs on either side of a small round table holding a chessboard while Atalanta watches with interest, a glass dangling from her fingertips. At first glance, Icarus appears to be winning.

I don’t see Cassandra.

I also don’t see the Minotaur.

Minos seems to come to the same conclusion as he surveys the room. “How will you keep her safe when she’s obviously so prone to wandering?” He chuckles. “Best of luck with that.”

Surely he’s too savvy to hurt Cassandra in order to get to me?

That’s the problem, though. I don’t know what Minos will or won’t do. I didn’t expect the direction of our conversation, and I can’t speak to what lengths he’ll go to achieve his goals. He’s obviously targeting her, and that’s enough to have my instincts screaming at me to act, to do whatever it takes to keep her safe.

I turn for the door. “I’ll just go see what’s keeping them.”

His chuckle follows me out of the room.