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"Well done, girl. I've found nothing slows down a handsy man like a good strike in the balls," said Ariadne.
"That's a compliment coming from the High Priestess herself," Minos replied as he straightened out of his fighting stance.
The girl turned to Ariadne and rapped her small chest twice with her fist. "Spindle."
"Go on, you have javelin training with Lynx," Minos said to the girl, and she bowed before hurrying away. Minos watched her go before turning back to his visitor. "If she can keep her temper, she will be good priestess one day."
"A bit of fire is a good thing."
"Only if I can control it," Minos said as he joined her at the top step. "How did the Botsaris contract go?"
"Easy. The man's wandering eye made him a gullible target."
"It was in the news this morning. Your cat's cradle has all of Botsaris's associates shitting their pants and thinking they are next. I can't say I ever approved of you doing it, but it's become a symbol to fear, andthatI can appreciate."
Ariadne laughed, just as he expected her to. Laugh at his jokes, make him think she loved and respected him, and keep pretending that she didn't want to crush his eyes between her fingers.
“His associates should've taken the photos as evidence that he was killed because he was an abusive fuck, not for his illegal business dealings."
"They are thinking about their own fat hides. I'll let them squirm a bit before I make them pay me for the evidence I have against them."
That was the price Botsaris's own wife had to pay for the Temple's services. Enough evidence for Minos to blackmail his partners and take a nice cut of their future earnings. The man was diabolical sometimes, but Ariadne couldn't deny he knew how to squeeze out every drachmae he was owed. She followed him to his plush office and waited patiently until he told her to sit down.
"I do wish you'd come back to the safety of the Temple, little Spindle," Minos said as he sat down behind an oak desk.
"You know me. I like my privacy and the quiet after living in the dorms with argumentative girls for so long."
"You know I wouldn't expect you to sleep in the dorms! You'd have a lovely space, bigger and much safer than that rat's nest you currently live in."
Ariadne bit her tongue. At least the rat's nest was honest, and no one would try sneaking into her room in the middle of the night.
Minos opened his laptop and put in his password. Ariadne and half of Greece would've loved to get their hands on Minos's laptop. Botsaris's associates weren't the only people he had dirt on, and if they all weren't scared of it getting leaked, or having a visit from one of his priestesses, Minos would've been a dead man years ago.
"The Botsaris contract should prove to be the most lucrative one of the year. Your cut will make a nice little dent in what you owe me, and as always, a little bit extra in my Spindle's account so she can keep her freedoms," Minos mocked.
"Thank you, Minos. You know your Spindle will always come when you call her." She gave him a sugary smile that made him sigh and nod.
"I know, my darling, but a father worries when his favorite daughter is living unprotected in this dangerous city."
Ariadne held out her hand to pat his gently, and he lifted it to inspect the braided gold bracelet looped around her wrist.
"You are going to have to replenish the threads soon."
"Well, someone has been keeping me busy the last few months," Ariadne replied. She slowly removed her hand from his and fought the urge to wipe it down her black pants.
"That's because you are my best, Spindle. Styx is changing, and I'm old enough to feel when the city is restless. I tolerate your freedoms for the time being, but if I start to get worried, I will recall you back to the Temple permanently. Understand?"
Ariadne felt the warning in his words settle like a cold weight in her gut. Was letting her have the apartment just another of his fucking tests? She wouldn't put it past the prick.
"Of course,pater. I will always do what you think is best," Ariadne said, ever the dutiful, devoted daughter.
He smiled at her indulgently, and she imagined the day when she'd have her debt paid off, and she wouldn't have to suffer through any more of his bullshit.
It was a favorite fantasy of hers, and it was right up there with the moment she'd wrap her golden braid around his neck and watch him squirm. She would get the revenge that she had spent the last fifteen years cultivating and enjoy every minute it took for him to die.
"I have been working you hard. How about a week off? No summons, just regain your strength."
"That sounds wonderful. Thank you. Is there anything else you need before I head out again?" Ariadne asked.
