Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 95458 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95458 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She grabs the handles of two suitcases, leaving the other two to me, and follows them.
There’s nothing to do but follow. My skin prickles as we pass through the barrier, but it’s only a vaguely uncomfortable experience. As promised, there are several cars waiting on the other side, more of the legion of black nondescript sedans the Thirteen and their people utilize. Orpheus appears, and then it’s all tears and hugs and a lot of emotion I’d rather not have to witness. Calliope is dramatic, throwing herself into her younger son’s arms as if she’s come through a battle to get here instead of a short car ride.
Thankfully, Athena is of the same mind as me. “Hades is waiting,” she says.
I nod and get the keys from Thanatos. Even if I haven’t spent any time here, Athena likes her people to be prepared for any eventuality. I have the entire map of the city—both lower and upper—memorized. It was a pain in the ass, but the knowledge has come in handy more times than I want to admit.
Hades’s house stands out like a sore thumb in the midst of perfectly normal-looking buildings. He really leaned into the mysterious boogeyman rumors when he rebuilt it after the fire of his youth; it’s a hulking Victorian monstrosity that would be at home in a horror movie if it were perched on a hill surrounded by trees or fields instead plopped right down in the middle of the city.
I park the borrowed car on the mostly empty street. The lower city didn’t evacuate the way the upper city did… Why bother when they have their very own barrier to protect them? Even so, the people here aren’t going about business as usual. The streets are nearly as empty as in the upper city.
“Athena.” I don’t mean to speak. My position is best served with silence and a keen eye. As important as my placement with Artemis—that vindictive bitch—was, I’ve learned loads more since joining Athena. She runs a tight ship and keeps her cards close to her chest. She’s one of the most capable of the current members of the Thirteen, a perfect Athena to stand at Zeus’s right hand. It should be enough to make hate her.
But, damn it, I don’t. Yes, it’s a problem that she’s too focused on the mission of Olympus and too determined to keep things exactly how they’ve always been. So is every other member of the Thirteen, excepting Hermes. I don’t want Athena to fall victim to Circe—or the inevitable change coming.
“Yes?”
Hermes and I intended to keep things disrupted and scattered to ensure the Thirteen wouldn’t have the opportunity to rally. If the political structure of Olympus crumbles, it will force the entire city to reckon with the corruption flourishing in the upper tiers of society. The population will finally get the stars out of their eyes and wake up to reality; the Thirteen and legacy families have been leeching off their hard work for generations. Without the confidence of the population, the titles aren’t worth the breath it takes to speak them. There would be space for something new. Something fair.
Except our plan died the moment Circe decided to call for the deaths of all of the Thirteen.
I take a slow breath and tell my thrumming pulse to calm. “Do you see a way out of this that doesn’t involve the downfall of the city as a whole?”
Athena meets my gaze in the rearview mirror. “I’m working on it.” Her tone suggests I shut the fuck up. She doesn’t like to be questioned, even in private—at least not by me. There are others higher up the ladder who have that luxury. I’m too new, and if she keeps me close, it’s because she doesn’t trust me fully.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her what I really think of her honor and misguided allegiance to the Thirteen. That she’s wasting a brilliant mind serving a system that will never give a shit about her. That the only people she’s truly benefiting are the rich and powerful. That…
I don’t say it. I swallow down my truth just like I have every other time for the last ten years, first under Artemis and now Athena. They don’t want to hear the truth. If the Thirteen were so easily swayed, it wouldn’t have required stakes this high to rattle them.
It’s second nature to turn off the car and walk around to open the door for her, already scanning the street for threats. We don’t want Athena dead; we don’t want any of them dead if there’s another option. Even with the chaos erupting in the last couple days, there’s the assassination clause to consider. Plenty of Olympian citizens look to the Thirteen with covetous eyes, and the assassination clause gives them just the excuse they need to go for it. All that’s required is taking the life of one of the current members of the Thirteen, a witness, and a specific set of words.