18

18

Cassandra

I expect things to be awkward. I should really know better by now. Apollo and I share a nice breakfast, and then he gets ready in a fraction of the time it took me. I chose my clothing with care today: one of the many deceptively simple sundresses from Juliette and a pair of flats. If the maze was any indication of how the games will play out during this week, I’m going to save heels for evening. I have no problem wearing them all day in the office, but I don’t spend most of the day on my feet at work.

Apollo eyes my shoe choice but wisely says nothing. He just opens the door for me and motions for me to precede him through. “It will be lunch before too long. Let’s see who else is about. Maybe Atalanta is back by now.”

“I hope so.” I don’t like the fact that Artemis said she hadn’t heard from her, though with the contentious relationship Artemis and Apollo have, it’s entirely possible that she was just fucking with him. We won’t know until we can confirm Atalanta is missing.

If she is… That might be two plus-ones. Or it’s two if Hermes’s actually showed up. We’ve never had confirmation of that, so we need to try to get it today.

If Minos is targeting the Thirteen’s companions… Why?

It doesn’t make any sense.

I slide my hand into the crook of Apollo’s arm and walk with him down the hall to the stairs. We take a circular route to the dining room, exploring a part of the downstairs we didn’t get to yesterday.

The house is utterly charming. Even with the changes Minos had made, it still feels very Hermes. Recognizing that is bittersweet in the extreme. She never brought me here. She never even offered. I don’t blame her for it. We had very clear parameters on our relationship when we started dating. It was never going to be forever; it was never even going to be public. Very few people in Olympus even know it happened, which is how we both prefer it. Hermes might be one of the most ostentatious of the Thirteen, but she’s fiercely private. Most people just never notice that because they’re so busy being thrown off-center by her showing up where they least expect her.

We clock a massive library, three more sitting rooms that may or may not have been kinky playrooms previously, and a truly lovely sunroom that seems to beg people to spend lazy afternoons there.

Hermes is playing court in the living area just off the dining room when we finally make our way there. She lounges in a chair, one leg thrown over the arm and her lean body slouched. Today she’s restrained herself a bit, wearing jeans and a graphic T-shirt that’s large enough I suspect it belongs to Dionysus, and she has her curly hair styled in two buns on top of her head. Compared to everyone else in the room in their garden-party best, she stands out.

But then, Hermes always stands out.

She leaps out of the chair when she sees us, nearly toppling Dionysus off the artsy stool he’s sitting on. He looks a little green, obviously nursing a hangover, and blinks blearily at her. “You’re awfully spry right now.”

“I have to use the little girls’ room.” She sweeps through the room, somehow managing to insert herself between me and Apollo on her way to the door. Even expecting it, I’m still mildly surprised to find myself holding her arm instead of his. She beams at Apollo. “I hope you don’t mind if I steal your girl. House rules. Can’t pee alone.”

I don’t even know what Apollo intends to say—he looks like he’s about to argue—because she doesn’t stop moving, towing me out of the room with her. “Hermes—”

“Hush.” She doesn’t quite drop her cheery public persona, but a thread I’m deeply familiar with creeps into her voice. She practically drags me past the bathroom and through a door into yet another sitting room. This one is understated, with a very neutral color scheme and dainty furniture that looks like it might break under a normal human’s weight.

I look around. “Was this always a sitting room or is this another converted kinky one?”

“A lady never tells.” She shakes her head. When she turns to look at me, she’s uncharacteristically serious. “At least Apollo did something right and took care of the cameras so we can talk frankly.” She grips my shoulders. “You have to leave, Cass.”

“What?”

She holds my gaze. “You need to leave.”

“I heard you the first time. I wasn’t asking you to repeat yourself; I wanted clarification.” I let her take my arm and guide me deeper into the room. I can’t afford to be honest right now, not even with her. “My boyfriend isn’t going to like you dragging me off like this.”

“Your boyfriend. Right.” Hermes rolls her eyes. “We both know you would never publicly consort with one of the Thirteen, even if Apollo is a sweet baby angel by comparison with the rest of us.”

I should have suspected this would happen. The rest of Olympus might be willing to believe the worst of me, but Hermes knows me too well. I lift my chin. “I like him very much.”

“Oh, that I don’t doubt.” She smiles a little, eyes going soft. “I see how you look at him. It’s the same way you used to look at me.”

Being called out like this makes me want to walk out of the room, keep walking, and never come back. I should leave this alone. I know all too well how circular conversations can get with Hermes, especially if she’s got her mind set on something. I’m nearly as stubborn as she is, though. “If you see how I look at him, why is it so hard to believe we’re dating? Jealousy doesn’t look good on you.”

“See last point: I know you.” She waves that away. “And I’m not jealous, even though you’re a catch and a half. You were never meant for me. That’s not what this is about. You need to leave, Cass. It’s not safe here.”

“It’s not safe anywhere in Olympus.” That’s why I have to be here. I need to get Alexandra out. I don’t tell Hermes that. She already knows my goal to put this damned city in my rearview. She also likely has some idea of Zeus and Apollo’s plan to suss out what Minos is up to.

In fact, this whole interaction is off. The Hermes I know never would have pulled me aside like this. I narrow my eyes. “What’s going on? You’ve never warned me off anything before.”

“You wouldn’t listen to me if I’d tried to before, and you know it.” She tries to maintain her cheery persona but abandons it halfway through. Hermes glances away and then back to me. The friendship that developed in the wake of our ill-fated relationship can be spiky at times and occasionally uncomfortable, but it doesn’t feel like that’s the problem right now. This isn’t Hermes randomly acquiring a jealous streak. She’s actually worried.

“Hermes—”

“If you trusted me at all before, I need you to trust me now. Get out of here.”

I frown harder. “If it’s so dangerous, why are you staying? Why is Dionysus? In fact, where is your plus-one?” Hermes can be cruel and ruthless, but she would never put the few people she actually cares about at risk.

Hence this conversation.

“Oh, Tyche went home sick barely after arriving. Food poisoning, you know.” She says it like she doesn’t care if I believe it or not. “And Dionysus can take care of himself.”

And I can’t.

I try to ignore the sting and focus on gathering what information I can get. “Artemis said Atalanta disappeared, too. Do you have confirmation that Tyche made it back to the city?”

“I would like confirmation that you are heading back to the city.”

A dodge, and not even a good one. I’m not leaving, but if Hermes is willing to share what she knows, that will put us ahead of whatever game Minos is playing. “If you’re not willing to be honest with me, you can’t expect me to leave.”

She curses. “You’re so damned stubborn.”

“It takes one to know one.” I hold her gaze. “If you know something about Minos’s plans for Olympus, you should share with the group.”

“Since when do you care about Olympus politics?” She rolls her eyes. “Really, Zeus could have picked half a dozen better people for this, but he let Apollo run around thinking with his cock and now they’ve endangered you. It shouldn’t matter why you need to leave. If you trust me at all—if you ever trusted me—then go home, Cass.”

I step back and tuck my hair behind my ears. If I were here for any other reason, Hermes asking me to leave would be reason enough to do exactly that. Frustration blooms inside me. “Why is Minos targeting the plus-ones?” It’s a stab in the dark, but I fire it off without hesitation.

“Why won’t you leave?” She shakes her head slowly. “Is it the money? Go home today and I’ll pay whatever you lost in that devil’s bargain with our fearless leader.”

Gods, she really wants me out of this house. For a moment, I’m tempted to take her up on her offer. She’s right that I hate being here, playing these games with people I mostly despise. But Apollo…

Apollo.

I try to focus, to parse out what she has and hasn’t said. If there’s danger, it’s not only to me and the other plus-ones, or she wouldn’t have said Dionysus could take care of himself. “Hermes.” I start to reach for her but let my hand drop without making contact. “Is someone going to get hurt here? Has someone already been hurt?”

“A lady never tells.” The words are right, rife with her usual trickster persona. Her tone is off, though, almost bittersweet. “With great power comes great risk. Everyone at this party knows that. Except you, apparently.”

“That’s not how that saying goes,” I say faintly, my mind racing. “Minos wouldn’t dare strike anyone here, not with the kind of connections they all have. Zeus would tear him into tiny pieces.” Really, I’m the only one without a dozen strings tying me to powerful people in this city. Even Pan has strong alliances.

For a breath, it seems like she might give me some actually useful information, but Hermes shakes her head instead. “You know I care about you, Cassandra.”

Damn it. This is going the way of so many of our conversations, though usually the stakes are so much lower. Gossiping and drinking and sneaking around to little hole-in-the-wall restaurants don’t usually come with this kind of warning. But all that aside, I never doubted for a moment that she genuinely cares about me as much as I care about her. “I know.”

She sighs. “This is not going at all how I wanted this conversation to go.”

I give a choked little laugh. “Yeah, well, our conversations never quite go how I picture them either.” It’s a testament to our history and our friendship that she even tried to warn me. I try for a smile. “I appreciate the concern, but I have things under control.” I hope.

For a second, it looks like she’ll continue arguing. But she finally gives another of those world-weary sighs, her customary joy nowhere in evidence. “Just promise me you’ll be careful.”

It’s an easy promise to make for all my bargain with Zeus. I have no intention of putting myself in danger. Money and a way out of Olympus are great in theory, but I can’t get my sister to safety if I’m dead. I’m certainly not going to sacrifice my life for this city. The very thought is absurd. Hermes would know that if she were thinking clearly. The fact that she’s apparently not worries me.

I nod slowly. “I promise that I won’t put myself in any unnecessary danger.” The promise is small and leaves much to be desired. If she’s right, I’m already in danger simply by being here.

She shakes her head one last time. “If you get killed because of Apollo and Zeus’s scheme, I’ll murder them both myself.” Again, her customary cheeriness is nowhere in evidence. This is the Hermes that I lost my heart to all those years ago. I loved her mischievousness and her ability to talk her way both into and out of trouble, but like calls to like.

Her inner core is just as dark and haunted as mine.

We’ve always had different aims, though. It’s the reason why we were never going to work. I always wanted to leave Olympus behind, and Hermes wants… Well, she’s never trusted me enough to tell me exactly what she wants.

Her motives might be akin to Apollo’s aim to bring about what’s best for Olympus, but I’m not so sure. Hermes has always played on a different level from anyone else in the city. Not one of the Thirteen is aware of how deep she goes. They all see the flighty, mischievous thief, the one who shows up where she’s not invited and steals things for shits and giggles. They don’t see this look in her eye that I see now.

This Hermes will kill to accomplish her goals.

I’m nearly certain she has, although we never spoke of it.

My glasses are not rose-tinted enough to think that she’ll kill for me, ex or no, current friend or no. Or at least I didn’t think so. Maybe I should let it go, but if there’s even the tiniest chance she’ll drop some useful information, I have to try. “Why are you here, Hermes? If it’s so dangerous, and there’s things going on that I’m not privy to. If people might get hurt. Why are you here at this party?” I cross my arms over my chest. “I know it’s not because you plan to let Minos set you up with one of his children.” Another stab in the dark. It’s all I have at this point.

She bursts out laughing, that joyful tinge returning to her tone. “Marry one of his children?” She laughs again. “Have you seen them? Ariadne isn’t so bad, but the sons? Absolutely not. I’d break those poor boys.”

She’s probably right about Icarus, but the others? Both Theseus and the Minotaur top her by a foot and a half and are more than willing to do violence in pursuit of their goals. Though I’m not entirely certain that she could take them. At least not in a fair fight. I’m not sure Hermes has been in a fair fight even once in her life. So actually, if I were those men, I’d be watching my back when she’s around.

Still… “That wasn’t an answer.”

Her smile goes a little sad. “You know better than most that no matter what questions you ask, there are answers I can’t give you.”

I should have known better than to waste my breath asking. She keeps her secrets close. Even from those she cares about the most. I had to try, though.. “I’ve always tried to respect your privacy. Now I need you to respect mine.”

Another of those joyful laughs. “Oh, Cass, you know I don’t respect anyone’s privacy.” Her smile falls away. “But I’ll try. Just this once.”

Apollo might technically be the Keeper of Lore, but Hermes is the keeper of more secrets than I could begin to guess. And yet our history has words springing to my lips that I know better than to speak. She might already know that I’ve made a deal, but I can’t help telling her why. “I’m getting out. Me and Alexandra. We’re both leaving, for real this time, to start a new life somewhere no one knows our history.”

Her smile falls away entirely. “I’m happy for you, Cassandra. Truly. I am.” She reaches out and takes my hand. “I’m not going to pretend I won’t miss you, though.”

No matter my feelings on the greater city, no matter my feelings on the Thirteen as a whole, my relationship with Hermes has been a bright spot. Never a permanent fixture, but bright nonetheless. “I’ll miss you, too.”

There’s nothing else to say after that.

We make our way back to the room where everyone has gathered. Apollo sends me a concerned look, a hint of suspicion in his dark gaze. Suspicion…or jealousy? I almost miss a step. Surely, he’s not jealous of Hermes? It doesn’t matter what our history is. There’s a reason it’s history. Not to mention that what I have with Apollo right now, real sex or no, is temporary. Our relationship is pretend. Fake.

I hate that I have to keep reminding myself of that, but it’s necessary to avoid falling into him in a way I’ll never recover from. As I just told Hermes thirty seconds ago, I’m leaving Olympus in less than a week. No one can change my mind about that.

If it was just me…

But it’s not just me, is it? It’s me and Alexandra. And if our parents were too selfish to consider their daughters when they attempted to assassinate Athena, I am not going to make the same mistake. I refuse to put my sister in harm’s way and compromise her future.

Certainly not for something as mundane as good sex.

Even as I cross to Apollo and slip my hand into a crook of his arm, I feel like a liar. It’s not just sex with Apollo. If it were, things would be so much easier. If we didn’t have five years of working together, five years of knowing what a kind and thoughtful man he is, five years of having him take care of me as much as I would allow.

Now that I know that he would take care of me both in the bedroom and out… I shake my head. It doesn’t matter. I will not let it matter. I will not be diverted from my path.

No matter how much it hurts in the end.