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Eurydice takes one look at my face and wisely decides not to argue with me about this. “Okay.”
“Thank you.” I open the door for her and move around to the driver’s seat. It takes no time at all to drive from my place to Hades’s residence. I park but make no move to get out of the car. “We’regoing to talk today. Really talk. I want everything out in the air so we can deal with it, one way or another.”
“I would rather not.” She doesn’t look at me when she says it.
Yeah, I’m not surprised by that. “You don’t get the cocks without the men attached, baby. If we don’t iron our shit out, it’s going to blow up in our faces. I don’t want that for you, I don’t want that for me, and I don’t want that for Orpheus either. I know this shit isn’t easy for you, but it’s necessary.”
She seems to consider that for a moment and then reaches for the door. “Let’s go.”
I don’t press her. There will be plenty of time for that later, and she’s right that there’s no benefit to us putting off what comes next. When we make it to Hades’s office, I’m not remotely surprised to find Persephone there as well. The person whodoessurprise me, though, is Hera. She sits next to her sister on the couch, perfectly coiled rage in a pretty package. She and Persephone might share their mother’s coloring, but Persephone and Eurydice actually look a lot more like each other if you were to line the sisters up. Callisto—now Hera—is a blade sheathed in beauty. I don’t know what possessed her to marry Zeus, and frankly I don’t need to know, but the thing that no one seems to understand is that she was already one of the most dangerous people in Olympus before she took the title of Hera.
Eurydice crosses to her sisters, and they rise to meet her. They exchange hugs and kisses on the cheek, but the tension in the room doesn’t decrease in the least. When she’s done greeting them, I expect her to sit on the couch between them—clearly, they expect it as well. She doesn’t. Eurydice moves back to stand with me in front of thedesk. A soldier ready to report. The comparison isn’t lost on me. A quick glance around the room says it’s not lost on anyone else present either.
“Persephone, if you would be so kind.” Hades motions to the door. He waits until she obeys and returns to her spot to pin us with his dark gaze. “I do not appreciate being cornered into giving my word without all the information. While I will not go back on it, I would like a full report. Now.” Even though he speaks mildly, his displeasure colors the air.
He’sfurious.
I open my mouth, but Eurydice gets there first. She straightens her shoulders and lifts her chin, her voice calm and collected. “When I met Ariadne at the house party, we had an instant connection. I know that Apollo thinks she has more information than she’s sharing, so I took it upon myself to make friends with her in an effort to gather that information. We’ve been speaking secretly since then, and so when she came to me for help, it was the opportunity I couldn’t ignore.”
I don’t look at her, sure that any sharp expression would give away that she’s not telling the full truth. I don’t know what her motivation is for covering for the former Aphrodite, but I don’t like it. Now’s the time to speak, to let everyone in the room know that she’s still not telling the full truth.
I don’t. Maybe that makes me a traitor. I don’t know. At the end of the day, Eurydice has shared the relevant information. Hades isn’t a fool; he knows better than to trust other members of the Thirteen, and he has even less reason to trust Eris and her new husband, Theseus. Eurydice keeping Eris’s name out of this ultimately won’t change anything.
Iwillbe asking her why she is still lying later. If I don’t like her answer, I’ll be the one to tell Hades the full truth.
Persephone starts to say something, but Hades holds up his hand, commanding silence. “You took an unnecessary risk.”
“It paid off.”
“That changes nothing. It was still a risk. Don’t do it again.” He steeples his hands before his mouth. “But I will give credit where credit is due. You’ve managed to pull off something no one else even got close to. If you can get the information out of Ariadne that we need to meet the threat that Minos’s benefactor presents, then I’ll seriously consider not tossing you to your mother’s mercy.”
Eurydice startles. “Excuse me?”
“Your sisters and I aren’t the only ones you answer to, Eurydice. I haven’t informed Demeter of this little stunt, but that doesn’t mean I won’t.” He raises his brows. “How doyouthink she’ll react when she hears about the risks you took?”
“That’s not fair,” she whispers. “What if Ariadne doesn’t know anything?”
“You took this risk, and so the consequences are yours. One way or another.”
Persephone makes an angry noise. “That’s not fair, Hades. She needs more security, and—”
“No.” He still doesn’t raise his voice. “I understand you wanting to protect your little sister, and I respect the desire. But she wants to play in the dangerous arena of politics. She’ll do it with or without our blessing, little siren. Which means we go about this in the proper way.”
22
EURYDICE
I don’t know whether to be elated or terrified. It feels like I fought so hard to be taken seriously, but now that it’s happening, I don’t know where to look. Persephone isn’t happy. It’s written there in the tenseness around her mouth and the sharpness in her hazel eyes. Strangely enough, Callisto isn’t looking for a knife to sharpen. She merely watches our brother-in-law with a strange expression on her face.
I realize they’re waiting for a response and clear my throat. “What is the proper way?”
“As the protected younger sister of my wife, you’ve been given a gratuitous amount of leniency. I’ve allowed you to come and go from the upper city with no restraint while you recovered from last year’s events. We have devoted resources to keeping you safe without asking for anything in return.”
“Hades.” My sister’s voice snaps into the space between us. “We were happy to help.”
“Yes, we were.” He nods to Persephone. “Understand that Idon’t hold that time against you. My assistance was freely offered without strings. However, if you intend to immerse yourself in the politics and dangers of Olympus, then there are conditions to be met in order to maintain the protection I’ve offered you.”
In all the time I’ve known him, part of me has always wondered why he is so feared. He is one of the kindest men I’ve ever met, and as he said he has offered me safety and freedom with no stipulations. He’s been a soft older brother, totally and completely nonthreatening.
