Threats, threats, and more threats.
Perseus still hasn’t said anything. Why hasn’t he said anything? I hate how lost I feel in this moment. This is what I wanted, isn’t it? My husband dead. My family safe. But the thought of terminating the pregnancy, no matter how intently I considered it at first, fills me with a sense of loss I can’t put into words. The thought of losingPerseus? Circe knows nothing of vengeance if she thinks I’ll stand by and allow it to happen.
This man who was never supposed to be mine in any permanent kind of way. This husband I’ve hated with a fury that filled me to the brim and beyond. This lover who’s shown me nothing but respect and care in his own way, even when we hurt each other with our sharp, broken parts.
He’smine. And I love him.
“I’ll have your answer now,” Circe finally says.
“I’m not terminating the pregnancy.” The words are out before I can consider the wisdom of announcing it so firmly. But this woman isn’t one to leave things to chance. If I agreed to the other route, no doubt I’d be whisked away to a waiting doctor within the hour.
My mother flinches. “Callisto, please listen to reason.”
“Like you have?” I reluctantly let my hand drop but Perseus reaches back to lace his fingers through mine. He squeezes my hand in the same slow rhythm he did in the car. Reminding me to breathe. Helping to keep me from panicking. Against all reason, it works. I lift my chin. “I’ve made my decision. I’ll see it through. I learned from the best, after all.”
“So be it.” Circe motions to the guards. “Take them. Antigone, see that it’s done properly.”
“With pleasure.”
Mother actually lifts a hand before she catches herself. She glances at Circe and I can actually see the machinations taking place behind her hazel eyes, so similar to mine. These guards aren’t hers; they belong to Circe. Which means this power dynamic isn’t nearly as equal as they’re presenting it.
Did Circe offer my mother a similar choice to the one she offered me? I’d wager good money she did.
Not that it excuses my mother doingthis, but as Antigone takes me roughly by the shoulder, ignoring Perseus’s snarled displeasure, I hold Circe’s gaze. “This won’t end the way you want it to. You won’t win.”
She laughs, high and light. “Sweetheart, I already have.”
28
Zeus
I don’t fight the guards as they muscle us out the back of the tent and to a series of low buildings I hadn’t noticed in my walk-through with Helen…
Helen.
She should be on her way back to the city now, but she has no idea Demeter betrayed us. She’ll report whatever findings to the woman… I twist to look behind us, earning a shove from the taller guard, a woman with a short shock of bright-red hair and a scar down the side of her face. They don’t say a word, but they don’t need to. The threat is clear. If we dig in our heels, they’ll drag us to our destination. Violently.
If it was only me… But it’s not only me. I have Callisto to watch out for, my pregnant wife walking next to me with a shell-shocked look on her face. If Demeter’s betrayal surprised me, it seems to have devastated her.
The low buildings have obviously been constructed in a hurry, the smell of the sawdust lingering in the air. Another series ofguards—all women—ring around it, each hardened in a way I don’t know how to put my finger on. It’s clear these are more of Circe’s people. Whether that means she doesn’t fully trust Demeter or something else remains to be seen.
We’re shoved into a dim room with only a small window high on the opposite wall, and the door is slammed behind us. Antigone takes a few extra seconds to rattle the lock, checking it and reminding us that there’s no easy escape. I waste no time going to Callisto and pulling her close. She resists for the barest moment, and then her arms are around me and her face is against my chest.
I rest my chin on her head. “You should have taken the deal.”
Her nails dig into my back through my shirt. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I’m pregnant.”
“I already knew.” There’s no point in hiding anything anymore. “I figured it out a couple days ago.”
She pulls back enough to look up at me, searching my expression. I don’t know what she sees; I barely know what I’m feeling right now. Callisto worries her bottom lip, looking unsure for the first time in our marriage. “I originally only let it happen so I could kill you and act as regent until the para—baby grew up.”
“I know,” I say gently.
“You know about the pregnancy. You know about the assassination attempts. You seem to know a lot.” Her mouth twists into something that’s almost a smile, but she doesn’t quite pull it off. “It’s a wonder you didn’t tossmeoff the balcony.”
How can she say that after everything? I frame her face with my hands. “I would never hurt you, Callisto.” Even with our current dire circumstances, I appreciate the way she shivers when I say hername. There’s one last untruth hanging between us, and I want it gone. “I haven’t been with anyone else—not since we agreed on the engagement and marriage.”
She stares up at me. There’s so much going on behind her pretty eyes. She worries her bottom lip. “I…haven’t, either. I know you think Ixion and I… But we haven’t. It’s only been you.”
