He makes a face like he wants to argue but finally shrugs. “Do you want to call Hades or should I? We can’t stay out in the open for long.”
Considering thelasttime I was on the River Styx I ended up getting shot, I’m inclined to agree. I look down at the phone. “Did you mean it? You’d actually walk away from the title?”
“Callisto.” He presses his fingertips to my chin, lifting my faceto his. For once, my husband is not a mask of ice, giving away nothing. His eyes are warm and worried and filled with so much love it takes my breath away. “I don’t know if Hermes’s plan is the right one, but I almost lost you yesterday. If Circe has her way, Iwilllose you.” He caresses my cheek with his thumb. “I don’t know who I am if I’m not Zeus. That much is true. But I’d like to survive this, to have a chance to find out—with you, if you’re willing.”
A few days ago, I would have laughed in his face. It’s stunning how quickly things have changed between us. My lungs feel too big for my chest. I lean in to his touch. “I’m willing. More than willing.”
His lips curve a little. “Even if it means giving up your quest to kill me?”
“Especially then.” I’ve never been so thankful for failure as I am in this moment. I inhale slowly. “You should be the one to call Hades. Be honest. No posturing. No bullshit. Tell him what you intend and what Circe plans.”
He presses a light kiss to my forehead. “Okay.” He takes the phone, pauses to tug me closer to one of the bridge’s large pillars, takes a deep breath, and dials. A pause. “Hades, it’s…Perseus. I need you to listen to me until I finish. We don’t have time to fuck around.”
***
Twenty minutes later, Hades himself arrives to escort us across the bridge and into the lower city. His expression is forbidding and intense, his dark gaze scanning our surroundings as he ushers us into the waiting SUV.
None of us speak during the short drive to his residence, orthe even shorter trip up to his study, where Persephone, Eurydice, and the rest of his inner circle wait. My sisters come to me in a rush, pulling me into a tight hug. “We were so worried,” Eurydice says.
“Psyche isn’t answering the phone. Neither are Eros or Mother.” Persephone takes my shoulders and surveys me. “It’s bad, isn’t it?”
“Worse than bad,” I whisper. I’m so exhausted I’m in danger of weeping. More than that, there’s relief to be back with at least some of my family, to be able to share the burden of holding down the future for us. “I’m sorry about yesterday.”
“I know.” Persephone hugs me again, her round stomach pressing to mine. “Now, bring us up to speed.”
Perseus and I sit on the couch and he reclaims my hand as he repeats everything he told Hades over the phone, pausing for me to provide input where I need to. In the end, it takes little time at all to lay out Circe’s plan, our mother’s treason, Hermes’s alternative.
Through it all, Hades is a vault. He only sighs once we’ve finished. “I suppose it’s too much to hope that you’re lying.”
“They’re not,” Charon says from his spot in the corner. He holds up his phone. “I just got a text from my contact in the camp. They’re mobilizing to return to the city, with Circe and Demeter at their head.”
“Fuck.” Hades pinches the bridge of his nose. “Call the rest of the Thirteen. All of them except Demeter. Extend an offer of sanctuary, conditional on their following the laws of the lower city.” He glances at Persephone. “I’m sorry, little siren, but if your mother—”
“No, I understand,” she cuts in, looking sick. “We can’t trust her. Not with our people.”
“You mean to offer sanctuary?” Perseus frowns. “But you hate the Thirteen.”
“Yes, I do.” Hades leans back in his chair. “But apparently Hermes and I have something in common. I can’t stand by and allow them to be murdered after a farce of a trial. I may understand Circe’s anger, but being harmed doesn’t excuse intentionally harming others.”
I’m so tired that I feel physically ill, but I can’t help asking, “What about Hermes’s intention to dismantle the Thirteen and allow the population to vote?”
He shrugs. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
It makes sense to worry about later, but I have to wonder if part of his nonchalance is because he knows his people love him and would vote for him in a heartbeat. No matter what has happened in the upper city over the years,Hadeshas always ensured his people were taken care of. He’s a true leader, and if we survive this, he’ll remain so until the day he steps down. Maybe he’d even welcome this change if it came without a threat, because it means his children will have a choice in their futures.
Perseus releases my hand to wrap his arm around me. I hadn’t realized I was weaving a bit until he bolsters me. “What do you need from me?”
“Nothing at the moment.” Hades’s gaze also falls on me, something almost sympathetic in the depths. “Eurydice will show you to a pair of the guest rooms.”
“We only need one.”
Hades narrows his eyes. “There’s no need to pretend withme, Zeus. I know better than most what your marriage is.”
“What it was,” I say slowly. “Not anymore. We only need one room.”
My brother-in-law doesn’t look convinced. It’s my sister who says, “Are you sure, Cal?”
“Yes.”
