4

4

Apollo

I messed up.

I was too rattled by Theseus showing up uninvited and issuing the command that I attend Minos’s party. It was a command, too. Minos might not be one of the Thirteen, but he knows he holds power and he’s throwing it around for all he’s worth. It can’t last, but it’s inconvenient in the extreme while it does.

Still, that’s no excuse. I shouldn’t have made such an inappropriate offer to Cassandra. If she was anyone else, she might have felt compelled to say yes even though she didn’t want to…

The thought makes me sick.

I have no illusions about what kind of place Olympus is. Power is the only law that matters, and as a member of the Thirteen, I have it in spades. I’ve seen the corruption that runs rampant, the way that some who hold titles abuse their influence to further their own goals and vices. I can’t pretend I’m any different. I’ve used my influence to pull my family members out of the fire more times than I care to count. Especially my little brother.

If I pressured Cassandra, who’s already suffered at Olympus’s hands…

Fuck.

I drag my hands over my face. It was a good plan, at least from the outside, but I’ll have to pivot to something else. I wasn’t lying when I told her she’s the only one who could accompany me. She’s one of the smartest people I know. She might think I hired her out of pity, but the truth is she’s become an irreplaceable asset. One I trust, though she’d never believe it if I told her.

There’s Hector, of course, but he’s so deliriously happy in his marriage that accompanying me to this kind of event would get tongues wagging. He won’t say yes. His marriage might be able to weather any kind of media storm, but he wouldn’t put his family through that. Not even for Olympus and the greater good.

The rest of my team is good, but they’re not on Hector and Cassandra’s level.

“Apollo.”

I straighten so fast, I send my chair rolling away from my desk. “Yes?”

Cassandra’s pretty face is locked down tight. Her lips naturally turn down at the corners, but they’re molded into a frown currently. She flicks a glance off to the side. “Zeus is here to see you.”

Fuck again.

I should have anticipated this. I’d texted him when Theseus arrived, but I expected a phone call requesting an update. I didn’t think he’d show up here personally. I smooth out my expression. “Go ahead and send him in.”

Zeus, of course, doesn’t wait for her to relay the invitation. Cassandra barely gets out of his way before he stalks into my office. “Tell me.”

I bite back a sigh and bring him up to date. It doesn’t even occur to me to keep the rejected offer to Cassandra to myself until his expression goes thoughtful. Zeus leans back in his chair. “Bringing her along is smart.”

“It’s a moot point. She said no, and I’m not comfortable compelling her into a situation like that.”

His lips quirk in a bitter smile. “You don’t have to play the bad guy, Apollo. That’s my job.” Before I can generate a response, he raises his voice. “Cassandra.”

It takes several beats for her to appear in the doorway, looking justifiably suspicious. “Yes?”

Zeus moves his chair so he can see both of us. He studies her for a long moment. “You want to get out of Olympus and take your sister with you.”

She crosses her arms under her breasts and narrows her eyes. “That’s not news.”

“You don’t have the money to do it.”

“Also not news,” she snaps.

Later, it might awe me a little that she’s one of the few people who doesn’t seem to care that the de facto ruler of Olympus sits before her. Right now, I’m too busy fighting a wave of unease. I can tell where he’s going with this, and I don’t like it on a number of levels. “Zeus—”

He ignores me. “Do this one thing for us and I’ll give you enough money to start over. Comfortably. Seven hundred grand.”

Cassandra glances at me, and even though I know her well at this point, I can’t read her expression. She turns her attention back to Zeus. “You’re serious.”

“I am.” He holds her gaze. “This party presents an opportunity we won’t see again. You work for Apollo. You know the potential threat we’re facing. We need that information. There’s no lengths I won’t go to protect Olympus.” He doesn’t move. “Name your price. As long as you deliver on your end of the deal, if it’s within my ability to give it to you, I will.”

She’s silent for a long time, her gaze on something in the middle distance. We both wait silently, though I have to bite my tongue to keep from protesting. Zeus is correct in his arguments, but Cassandra just told me no. It’s not right to put this kind of pressure on her. She’s not one of the Thirteen. She didn’t sign up for this kind of responsibility.

Finally she nods to herself and refocuses on Zeus. “Any price? Double your offer and provide me and Alexandra a safe way out of Olympus. If you agree to those terms, then I’ll do it.”

He doesn’t hesitate. “Done.”

I can’t stop a choked sound. One point four million dollars. That’s her price. I don’t blame her for that, but gods, the audacity. She’s amazing. Still, I can’t ask this of her. I know she doesn’t want it, and even throwing so much money at the situation doesn’t change how uncomfortable she’ll be acting the part of my girlfriend. “I’m sure we can find—”

“You will be paid upon completion.” Zeus’s blunt tone doesn’t waver in the slightest. “While you won’t be asked to do anything sexual with Apollo, you will have to sell the relationship, and that will mean acting appropriately enamored in public.” He pauses. “I won’t require you to be nice to people.”

“I wouldn’t even if you asked me.” She doesn’t look at me. “I’ll be a good little girlfriend and spy, and that’s all that you bargained for.”

Zeus gives a grim smile. “So I did.” He pushes to his feet and finally looks at me. “Update her on everything she needs to know. Start selling the story now so it’s not a surprise when you show up with her next week.” He pauses and sweeps a look over Cassandra that makes me bristle. Zeus frowns. “You have style, but that’s obviously from the sales rack. Appearances matter, and we can’t have you showing up looking like—”

“Like Apollo is fucking someone he picked up in an office,” she says drily.

“Just so. My wife will be in touch to deal with your wardrobe.” He glances at me. “Find me answers, Apollo. We can’t afford another failure.”

“I know,” I finally manage. I’m still trying to process what just happened when he stalks out of my office and leaves me to deal with the mess he just created. One of the perks of being Zeus, I suppose. I clear my throat. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I know.” Cassandra shuts the door and comes to sit across from me. She’s got her expression shuttered, but there’s new tension in her body language that wasn’t there before. She holds my gaze. “I won’t do it for the good of Olympus. The city can burn for all I care. It’s nothing more than it deserves. But a true escape that doesn’t mean losing everything?” She shrugs a single shoulder. “It’s a price I’m willing to pay to get Alexandra out before this city smothers her innocence.”

“If you needed money—”

“I’m going to stop you right there.” She holds up a hand. “We both know you gave me this job as a charity case, and you pay me nearly double what others in similar positions make. You’re already giving me money, Apollo. I’m not going to ask more of you.” Her dark eyes go soft for a moment. “It might not seem like it, but I do appreciate what you’ve done for me.”

“You’ll take Zeus’s money.” It comes out like an accusation, but I can’t help myself. I don’t understand her logic. Sometimes I feel like I know Cassandra better than anyone else in this city, and sometimes it’s like arguing with a stranger.

She laughs bitterly. “Fuck yes I will. That bastard has more than he could spend in a lifetime. If he’s going to strong-arm me into doing this, he’s going to pay through the nose.”

“Cassandra…” So many things I can’t say dance on the tip of my tongue. Let me help you. Let me protect you. Let me take care of you. I swallow them back down the same way I have every other time the temptation to press her arises.

I always knew she’d find a way out of the city eventually. I think the only things that have held her here are this high-paying job and her sister. Poseidon’s people aren’t above accepting bribes to get citizens out, but that costs money. She won’t make that call until she has enough saved up to know she can land on her feet and keep her sister afloat. After next week, she’ll have more than enough and have dodged the need to spend any of it in bribes.

So little time left.The thought leaves me ill at ease. I don’t know what I’ll do when she’s gone.

She shakes her head slowly. “It’s done, Apollo. I agreed. You can keep feeling guilty about it, but you’d be better spent updating me on what I need to know so I can prepare for the party.”

She’s right. I know she’s right. I simply have a hard time pivoting in this direction with so little warning. I close my eyes and inhale slowly, stilling my thoughts. When I open them, I’m almost centered. “Minos has brought information of a threat against Olympus.”

“Yes, you mentioned. I fail to see why we’re dancing to his tune instead of just getting all the info out of him. You can’t pretend worse hasn’t been done in the name of the city’s safety.” She narrows her eyes. “Besides, there’s the boundary to consider. What is this enemy going to do? Camp out a few feet from the city limits and yell at us?”

I glance at the closed door. There’s little chance of someone overhearing this, but…I sigh. “The boundary is failing.”

“What?”

“It’s failing. It’s not obvious yet, but there are weak spots. Poseidon brought it to our attention months ago.” Months of fruitless searching for answers. I’ve never been so frustrated in my life. The entire history of Olympus is at my fingertips, and yet there’s a giant blank spot when it comes to anything connected with the barrier. I tried to talk to the last Zeus about it when I first took over this title, but he wasn’t interested in devoting further resources to finding answers—and forbade me from talking about it with anyone lest I cause a panic. Now he’s dead and we’re left to deal with the fallout without years’ worth of lead time.

Cassandra stares at me. “You don’t know how to fix it, do you?”

“No.” Admitting as much feels like admitting my deepest, darkest sin. “I’ve looked, but someone scrubbed the records at some point.” Some past Apollo, no doubt. My title is the only one with the authority to even access the records, let alone make a call to remove them. I don’t understand why, though.

The boundary is the greatest mystery of Olympus. The average citizen just takes it as fact, whether chalking it up to magic or some advanced technology that might as well be magic. They assume that those in power, at least, know the details.

We don’t.

If we did, we’d know how to fix it now that it’s broken.

“Fuck,” Cassandra breathes. “But how likely is a ground war or whatever? Most of the greater world has written us off. Why now?”

“I don’t know.” Another admission of guilt. I scrub my hands over my face. “This is why we can’t toss Minos out, and even if someone was willing to resort to torture, it’s not a surefire way to get accurate information. We’re more vulnerable than we’ve ever been, and he has more information than he’s telling us.”

“I see.” She taps her thigh with one black-painted fingernail. “Well, Zeus is paying me well enough. Guess I can help you save Olympus.” She looks up and meets my gaze. “Let’s do this.”