I shake my head sharply. “Losingyouchanged me. That’s where it started.”
“You could have me again.” Her dark eyes go soft, just likethey always used to before she’d kiss me. “I never stopped loving you—even when I hated you.”
“I never stopped loving you, either,” I whisper.
She closes the distance I tried to create, and I can’t stop myself from inhaling, taking her spicy scent as deep into my lungs as I can. It’s still the same, even if everything else has changed.
Circe kisses me. I make a sound that’s part desperation and part protest, but my hands are in her hair and I’m pulling her close.Gods, I missed you so much. I can’t believe you’re here. I can’t…
There’s a sharp pinch at the base of my neck. I jerk back—or at least I try. My limbs aren’t working properly. I stagger away from Circe, pressing my hand to my neck. My fingers come away with little drops of blood on them. “You…”
“Drugged you, yes.” She ignores my attempt to flee and catches me around the waist, tugging me to the bed just as my legs give out. Then she lifts me easily onto the mattress and lays me out. She even makes sure the pillow under my head is properly placed. “There you go.”
“But…” My tongue feels too thick in my mouth.
“Yes, that’s a valid point.” She shifts me onto my side, facing her, and props one of the pillows against my back to keep me in place. “It will wear off in a few hours, but you’ll be woozy for another few after that.”
“Hours.”
“Yes, sweet, hours. It’s one of my little concoctions.” She crouches next to the bed, putting herself in my fading line of sight. “I can’t risk you developing a sudden case of heroics. I meant what I said, Hecate. I never stopped loving you, and it’d break my heart tokill you. Don’t make me.” She presses a soft kiss to lips that I can’t feel. “I’ll be back for you when it’s all over. Wait for me.”
I try to call her back, to tell her not to do this. In all my scheming, I never even considered that things could play out this way.
I pass out before the first word leaves my lips.
24
Hera
The sun is well on its way to its peak in the sky by the time we manage to leave our penthouse apartment. We don’t speak much, but we don’t have to. Even though nothing is resolved and everything outside our bedroom is terrible, I can’t deny that something changed between Perseus and me. It started before we had sex, before I was shot, before we started using each other’s real names instead of our titles. Maybe it started even earlier than that. I don’t know. I’m having a hard timethinking.
Guilt is a live thing inside me. Circe’s threat continues to rattle around inside my mind. I forgot. Yes, it was only for a little while, but forgetting at all is downright unforgivable. She’s clearly working within some kind of timeline. She’s not going to wait for me to get my shit together, especially when it’s becoming increasingly clear that Idon’thave the right words or a convincing argument to make my family step down.
I text Ixion to let him know the plan as we step into the elevator. I should have updated him hours ago to ensure he and the otherscould meet us here before we left. There was plenty of time to make that happen, to shatter the strange peace Perseus and I have floating between us. Except…I didn’t.
As a result, when Perseus holds open the door for me, there’s no one to remind me I’m more than capable of taking a second car so I don’t have to spend hours longer in his presence. There’s no one to look on disapprovingly at the way his hand presses lightly to the small of my back. There’s no audience to how I hesitate the tiniest bit to relish the connection.
I slide into the back seat and he follows me in without hesitation. The second the door closes, his woodsy scent surrounds me, bringing to mind all the delicious things we were doing to each other just a short time ago. I shift in my seat, my body hot and restless. Damn it,no. I have to focus. The devil on my shoulder may be whispering that we have hours before we arrive in the countryside, but there’s work to be done.
Zeus doesn’t need the reminder. He gives my hand a squeeze and releases me to pull his phone out. Headphones are next, and then he might as well be on another planet for all the attention he pays me. There is relief in that. His self-control ensures I don’t have to rely on mine. And if it irritates me, well, that’s a small enough price to pay.
My phone vibrates in my hand, a call coming in from Ixion. I sigh. This isn’t going to be pleasant. “Ixion.”
“With all due respect, Hera, it’s very challenging to protect you if you aren’t communicating your plans with us. This is the second time in twenty-four hours you’ve gone off without a guard. Do I need to remind you what happened just yesterday?”
My spine straightens instinctively. “Check your tone, Ixion. Imay be deeply grateful for your loyalty, but you work forme. If I choose to take a calculated risk without your presence, that ismychoice. You aren’t in charge.”
“You make that abundantly—” There’s a scuffle on the other side of the phone and then Imbros comes on the line, zir tone perfectly even and absent of any of Ixion’s irritation.
“What Ixion is trying to say,” ze starts, “is that we take our jobs very seriously and we worry about you. When we heard you had been shot, we were deeply concerned. Before you contacted me to bring you clothing, we had to get information about your status secondhand from Ares.”
My anger threatens to drain away, but I hold on to it with both hands. I have too many people to worry about right now, I don’t need more. Ican’thave more. “You can meet me at my mother’s current residence in a few hours. I have my husband’s full security detail with me, so I’ll be safe enough in the meantime.”
“Understood.” There’s a strange note in zir tone, but I can’t quite divine it before we hang up. It’s just as well. I don’t have it in me to manage that trio’s emotions. Even wanting to says something I’m not prepared to examine. There’s a lot I’m not prepared to examine these days.
I glance at Perseus, but he’s deep in conversation with someone. It only takes a few sentences for me to realize it’s Poseidon. He’s filling the other legacy position in on our plans to follow up on the possibility that Circe has infiltrated the countryside by way of the mountains.
I could tell him she’s actually in the city and not the countryside, but even with my ill-fated meeting, I think his instincts are right. If Circehad enough people to cause a true problem, she already would’ve done it instead of offering veiled threats. Either she’s waiting for backup or something else is going on. It doesn’t hurt to be thorough.
