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31
EURYDICE
Minthe climbs out of the driver’s seat and surveys us. “Where’s your security detail, Persephone?”
“It’s Medusa. I’m here to pick her up.”
Minthe props her hands on her hips. “You know the kind of danger we’re facing right now, and you went out without a security detail? Are you out of your damn mind?”
“It was a two-minute drive, and I knew that you, Medusa, and Calypso would be here when I arrived,” she says mildly.
I raise my brows, but Orpheus leans close to say, “In case you’re wondering, you won’t be able to successfully use that line of reasoning on us. I bet it doesn’t work on Hades either.” He’s not exactly speaking quietly though.
I laugh a little. “I’m simply taking notes from my big sister.”
“Don’t start that.” Persephone points at us. “And don’t start calling me a hypocrite either. Let’s get inside and meet up with my security detail.”
The apartment is roomy, but not nearly roomy enough tocomfortably fit seven grown adults in the main living space. Medusa isn’t any happier with Persephone showing up on her doorstep than Minthe was. “You were supposed to wait at the house for me to come get you.”
“I decided to skip a step.” She inhales deeply and closes her eyes. “Is that…pie?”
“Cookies, actually.” Ariadne speaks from her place in the kitchen. “I bake when I’m stressed.”
I move around my sister and make my way to Ariadne. She looks better than she did yesterday, the color back in her cheeks. There are still circles beneath her eyes, but I don’t think any of us are sleeping particularly well these days. “How are you doing?”
“Oh, you know, absolutely stunning. It’s not every day that I betray my father and country, and—” She shakes her head. “I made the right choice, but my emotions are all over the place. I don’t expect that’s going to resolve itself anytime soon.”
“Did you say cookies?” Persephone nudges me aside to peer at the wire racks in front of Ariadne. “They smell like a pie.” Truth be told, the cookies look more like pies than cookies. They are little triangles, puffed up, and appear to be filled with apples.
“I guess they’re kind of like apple pie cookies.” Ariadne stares at my sister’s stomach for a beat too long. “Would you like one?”
“Yes, thank you.” Persephone carefully picks one up and inhales deeply. “You can’t stay here indefinitely.”
“Excuse me?” Ariadne says at the same time that I snarl, “For fuck’s sake, Persephone.”
My sister takes a bite and moans in a way that’s uncomfortably sexual. But when she speaks, she’s all business. “In the lower city, Imean. My husband offered you sanctuary because he’s a good man and the thought of someone suffering when he could save them is unbearable. I, however, am a mean bitch with a vast amount of experience in politics.”
“Hades gave his word,” I say.
“Yes, he did. Which is why I need you to release him from it.” She holds Ariadne’s gaze. “My husband will do everything in his power to protect you if you want to stay here, but I think we both know that he will fail. Not because of your father, and not because of Circe.”
Ariadne’s shoulders slump, and she looks so defeated that I want to hug her. “There’s no reason to thinkhe’llcome for me.”
“On the contrary, you wouldn’t have made this bargain if you thought anything else.” She takes another bite and makes another godsawful sound. “I’m sorry, these are just so good, and I can’t stop eating them.”
“Thanks, I guess.”
“I have no intention of turning you out without a plan. I’m not a monster.” She pops the last bite of cookie in her mouth and chews slowly. “There’s one way to ensure you will be folded gently into Olympus, though I think we can all agree it would be best you don’t stay in the city proper.”
I am battling the urge to throttle my pregnant sister. I know she can be ambitious and occasionally ruthless, but I’ve never seen her turn it on someone who didn’t deserve it. I’m sure in her mind Ariadne is fair game since she is Minos’s daughter, and Minos is the source of so much pain and suffering in our city right now. But Ariadnehelpedus. Hades gave his word.
“You have an offer. I would like to hear it.” Ariadne’s mouth twists. “Especially since it sounds like I don’t have much choice.”
“I’ve taken the liberty of speaking with our current Aphrodite, and they have agreed to find you a nice, kind match. There are a lot of lesser houses who reside in the countryside. Aphrodite will provide you with a small list of suitable candidates, and I will personally vouch for each one. We have no desire to marry you off to someone who would mistreat you after the service you’ve done for Olympus. But you can’t stay here.”
I reallyamgoing to throttle my sister. “That’s not fair.”
But Ariadne shakes her head and lifts a hand to stop me. “On the contrary, it’s a better deal than I anticipated. I fully expected to suffer some sort of unfortunate accident in the next couple weeks. At least this way, I get to live.”
