I refuse to acknowledge the little twinge of guilt from the fact I just shot Apollo’s little brother. He’s fine. Mostly. “None of them will be safe if Circe realizes her goals.”
“Yeah, I got that.” She sighs. “Look, I’ll talk to him. I can’t make any promises beyond that.”
It’s more than I expected. I don’t tell her to leave him in the dust and take off. We both know she won’t. She loves him as much as he loves her, and I’d be significantly happier for them if I wasn’t worried Circe planned to rip out his heart and break Cassandra’s in the process. “There’s not much time. Talk fast.” I hang up before she can completely diminish my hope of a future where she’ll be okay.
When I became Hermes and took the first step toward toppling the power structure that took the person I loved most in the world, I never thought I’d be in a position to care about the very people whose downfall I’m orchestrating.
I stare at my phone as sirens scream past the building I’m in. Six minutes. They really are stretched thin, aren’t they?
I scroll through my contacts and pause over Dionysus’s name. We haven’t spoken since Minos’s party. He carries a lot of guilt over Pan getting hurt, and he blames me as much as he blames himself. Maybe that’s fair, maybe it’s not. Ultimately it means he won’t take my call even if I try.
I don’t try.
Instead, I pull up my neat little app, courtesy of Atalanta, and cycle through the video feeds in the city. There aren’t any in theencampment out in the country, which sets me on edge. If I were up to no good, that’s where I’d be.
I’m still not sure if it’s a stroke of genius or completely foolish that I sold that property to Demeter. She’s not aware she bought it fromme, of course. I don’t telegraph my origin story; besides, owning that piece of land was horribly nostalgic. It’s where I used to live, after all, so many years ago. It’s theonlypiece of land I’ve ever owned and selling it to Demeter to set up a camp for the refugees from the city feels like a strange sort of cosmic balance. I won’t be needing it in the future, after all. The Thirteen will fall, and that includes me.
There’s a life waiting for me outside of Olympus. I don’t know where yet, and I’m just superstitious enough to not think about withwhotoo closely…though Atalanta’s face hovers in my mind’s eye.
I almost call her just to hear her voice, but I manage to resist. She’s been my steadfast friend through this entire process. If I tell her I warned Cassandra again, she’s going to rip me a new one. She’s probably got a point, but it’s nice to be reminded I have a heart under all the hurt. Cassandra and I fell apart because we were never going to be the love of each other’s lives. Atalanta didn’t like her much, and if I know the reason why, there’s no space to address it until we’ve accomplished our goals. The possibility ofafteris too nebulous to contemplate.
Unfortunately, I can’t gallivant off to the country to chase down my concerns because there are too many cats still left to herd in the city itself. “Time to get to work.”
18
Zeus
“There are reports of gunshots on the River Styx.”
I look up from the bag I’m currently throwing things into in preparation for a quick trip out to the countryside. Poseidon’s warning from yesterday still rings true in my head. He’s right about Circe being three steps ahead of us this whole time, which means he might be right about her doing something in the mountains. I intend to go out there with my sister and see for myself.
It takes several long moments before Ares’s words penetrate. “What did you say?”
“Gunshots.” She looks a little too freaked out for it to be a generic shooting. She keeps glancing at her phone, which beeps with a spattering of incoming text messages. “Oh, fuck. Perseus…”
I go cold. “Tell me.”
Ares looks up, her hazel eyes too wide. “There are four people injured and being rushed to the hospital.” I actually take a step toward her as she sputters. “Two are Hades’s people. Persephone is there, too.”
What the fuck was Persephone doing on our side of the river? I’m already heading for the door. “I’m going to call Hades on the way to the hospital. We can’t have him rampaging through the upper city. We’ll stand guard over her until he arrives and I’ll do my best to minimize the chance of this spiraling.”
“Perseus.”
I glance over my shoulder to find my sister ghost pale. “What?”
“There werefourvictims.” She clears her throat. “The fourth person is Hera.”
My thoughts fall to perfect silence. Hera has been shot.Callistohas been shot.My fucking wife has been shot.
“I want Patroclus and Achilles on this personally,” I say softly. Calm. I’m too fucking calm. It feels like there’s a barrier between me and the rest of the world, but it’s just as well because I can barely control the hurricane of emotions threatening to split through my skin. “Tell them to find whoever did this and bring me their head. You and I are going to the hospital now.”
To Ares’s credit, she doesn’t even try to argue that we had different plans for the day or that Circe is likely behind this attack and using it to distract me and Hades. She simply follows me to the parking garage. When I head for the driver’s side, she plucks the keys out of my hands. “I’ll drive while you make your calls.”
The first person I call is Hades. I barely let him answer the phone before I cut in. “There was an incident on the banks of the River Styx involving both of our wives and two of your people. I don’t have the full details of what happened, but they are alive and being rushed to the hospital. I’m heading there with Ares right now to provide personal security. I highly suggest you makeyour way there as well. I’ll let the hospital staff know to let you through.”
His shocked inhale is the only external reaction he allows. “I’ll be there as soon as possible.” Hades hangs up before I can say anything else, which is just as well. I have nothing else to say. This happened on my side of the river; therefore it’s my responsibility. I’m not certain why Persephone was here in the first place, let alone what my wife was planning that brought her here, but that matters less than the reality. They were here. They were shot on my watch.
Helen dials her phone and puts it on speaker. A small courtesy I would appreciate if I could appreciate anything in this moment. Achilles’s charming voice answers. “Hey, princess. I thought you were headed out to the country with—”
