I brush that away. I’m not interested in arguing semantics with her. We’ve already been in here too long. It’s only a matter of time before Nephele comes to ensure I’m okay. “You obviously want something from me. Tell me what it is.”
“Direct. I like that.” She turns to face me and props her hip on the sink. “Originally, I had intended to wipe Olympus clean of all evidence of the Thirteen and their bloodlines, but as information has come to light, it seems best to change course.”
I motion for her to get to the point. “And?”
“I’m prepared to spare your family—as long as they are willing to renounce all claims to their respective titles and leave the city.”
Renounce their claims. I burst out laughing. I can’t help it. “Might as well wish for pigs to fly. It’s about as likely to happen.” My mother worked her entire life to become Demeter and she has nointention of giving up that power until her soul is yanked right out of her chest. Persephone carries the heir to the Hades title the same way I carry the heir to the Zeus title. Worse, she loves her husband with a ferocity I’ve rarely seen from her. She won’t abandon him. And Hades would never abandon his people.
“Then they’ll die.” Circe says it simply, as if it’s fact and not an obvious threat. “I respect you and what you have done to survive and protect those you care about, but I won’t let you stand in my way.” Her eyes flick down to my stomach. “I’m not interested in killing children—unborn or otherwise—if I have any other choice. Take your family and leave Olympus. I won’t chase you down, but if you ever return, your lives are forfeit.”
Terminating my pregnancy was the first thought I had when I saw that plus sign on the test. The idea of perpetuating the monstrosity of Zeus nearly had me making the appointment. But this eventual child isn’t just Zeus’s heir, Zeus’s child. They aren’t even just a step toward securing power and protection for the people I love. They’remine. “I don’t like it when people threaten my family, Circe. It doesn’t tend to end well for them.”
“Doesn’t it? Zeus is still alive, after all.” She smiles and turns away. “It’s in your hands,Hera. Convince your mother to leave Olympus. Hades as well, since I’m feeling generous. If they stay, theywilldie. I cannot stress the severity of this reality.”
The way she says it, it’s as if a force of nature is coming for Olympus, instead of the machinations of a single vengeful woman and her followers. I glare. “You’re outnumbered and outgunned, and yet you’re talking as if your victory is a sure thing.”
“It is.” She adjusts her jacket.
“You’ve made a miscalculation. All I have to do is scream and my team will come rushing in to eliminate any threat against me. You won’t be doing anything if you’re dead.”
“Cute.” She pulls out her phone and types something on it. “Check your texts.”
I almost bobble my phone getting it out of my pocket, and when I look at the screen, I wish Ihaddropped it. There’s a video through the lens of what looks like a sniper scope, peering into a window and showing a woman…
Ice freezes my veins. Not just any woman. Persephone is pacing around the room, holding a phone to her ear with one hand and pressing the other to her blatantly rounded stomach. She’s roughly fifteen weeks pregnant, but since she’s having twins, she’s showing as if farther along. “What the fuck?” I whisper.
“Next.”
Another video pops up. It’s similar, except it’s Eurydice sitting on Charon’s lap and laughing at something Orpheus is saying. She’s wearing the same thing she was in the video call we had earlier today, a white T-shirt with a funky geometric graphic on the front.
“And to be thorough—one more.”
I don’t want to open the next text, but I have no choice. The third video is of my mother, her arms crossed over her chest and her face set in her best “I’m not mad, I’m disappointed” expression as she lectures Eros and Psyche. He sits on a chair and Psyche stands behind him, kneading his shoulders.
I tuck my phone carefully back into my pocket, feeling like I’m moving in slow motion. “You’ve made your point quite effectively.”
“As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. I’d say avideo is worth even more. I’ll be in touch.” Then the brazen bitch steps back and waves me at the door. “Get going now. It would be awkward to explain to your guards why you’re having meetings with a mysterious woman in the bathroom. Someone might ask questions.”
Part of me wants to charge her, to call my team to fulfillmythreat. I don’t. I stand there, my stomach roiling, until I have to rush back into the stall and lose what little I managed to eat today.
Circetsks. “Darling, you’re going to need a stronger stomach than that to get through what’s coming.”
“Fuck. You.” I climb unsteadily to my feet and move to the sink to wash my mouth out as best I can, all while she watches with those sharp, green eyes. “It will never work, you know. You won’t win.”
“I already have.” She shakes her head almost sadly. “Now, get going.”
I stalk out of the bathroom. Nephele jumps at whatever she sees on my face, her eyes wide. “Is everything okay?”
“Peachy.”
Circe is threatening my fuckingfamily.
I knew they were in danger, but I should have realized Circe wouldn’t risk bargaining without ensuring she’d come out on top. No doubt she’d arranged for those snipers to pull their respective triggers if she didn’t walk away from this meeting. Going through all this effort might be a compliment, but it doesn’t take away the fear rotting away my insides at the impossible task she’s set before me.
Hades and Demeter, two of the titles least likely to abdicate and flee the city, ironically for similar reasons. My mother loves being loved and damn near worshipped. Hades couldn’t care lessabout the perception of power, but he’s content to use it to protect the people of the lower city. Both of them leverage their respective positions for the greater good.
My mother has expanded the food provided to the city almost exponentially in the last decade, purchasing land owned by various families and companies and bettering the systems and working conditions. She takes her job deathly seriously, and even her plots to set her daughters up with powerful people have been misguided attempts to both protect us and ensure her end goals are fulfilled. Yes, that benefits her first and the city a far second, but itdoesbenefit the city.
