AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Unimpressed, she drew her eyes off him. “There are only really two sides to this, Hades side and Zeus’s. The men might hate each other, but they both ultimately want the same thing. Olympus back on its feet. You already told me you wanted to kill Zeus. Even if that was a bluff, I refused to help you. And let’s be honest, Zeus could have you or any of his people put me down any time.”
Styx frowned. “I was thinking about that too… Has he threatened to hurt you?”
She shook her head. “He seems pretty adamant that he doesn’t intend to hurt me. Keeps talking about us being allies.”
“That’s what I was afraid of,” he said, his lips hardly moving as his scrutiny intensified.
Why was he suddenly so suspicious? “What? I’ve accused him of using me to hurt Harry. But I also told Harry if someone threatens to hurt me unless he does something, he shouldn’t do it.”
“You did?”
She enjoyed surprising him. “I did. I don’t need saving… Yeah, I’m the most clueless and the most vulnerable, but Olympus is important. It has to be prioritized over everything else.” A flash of her time in the Beast with Daire came to mind. A specific time… The last time they’d made love and her telling him Olympus won. “My life is nothing in the big picture. If it has to happen to ensure the organization survives, so be it.”
“Wow,” he said, drawing out the word. “Ares really got you good, didn’t he? You’re like a female mini-me.”
Teasing didn’t seem appropriate. “If you’re Zeus’s ally then I can’t tell you anything new. All I know is what’s happened right in front of me. I haven’t listened in or overheard anything.” She relaxed against the wall again. “To his credit, Zeus has been surprisingly honest.”
“Or so you think,” Styx said. “He needs something and it’s not about keeping Hades in line.”
“Why not?”
“Two reasons. If it was, he’d be flaunting you to Hades a lot more… and you’d have more bruises.”
“And the second reason?”
“He’s given you freedom, a reason to trust him. Showing respect, especially for outsiders, isn’t Zeus’s style, unless it’s important to his cause. You’re important to his cause.”
“I don’t see how,” she said. Styx had already dismissed controlling Harry as the primary reason for her being at Zeus’s side. “Anything I know about Olympus, I’ve learned in the last two and a half months. I didn’t even know it was a thing before then.” Although she hadn’t so much as heard the name until after meeting Harry. “How can I be a part of any bigger plan?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “But I’ll figure it out. You don’t have to know you’re a part of it. Maybe he needs something… do you have something he needs?” Sitting there, wide eyed, she puffed out her cheeks, coming up with nothing. “Anyone send you anything? Give you anything? Tell you something?”
That made her eyes roll. “How the hell would I know? I seriously hope not. You all better hope it too, I’m terrible with subtle.”
“So if someone did tell you something, you might not even know it’s relevant.” She shrugged. “Ares can’t be the source; he won’t spill secrets even under torture… Hades wouldn’t put you in that position.”
“Or trust me to be smart enough to handle it,” she said, to which he tilted his head in question. “My father treats me like I’m still two years old.”
His chin rose and dipped, his head bobbing in understanding. “Hades has a thing about protecting you and Helen… He’s passionate about it. You’re his only weak spot.”
She raised her arms. “I didn’t ask to be born.”
“No and I guess it was shitty to know nothing about what was going on. Your mom didn’t tell you, did she?”
Something various people liked to remind her. “Even in death.”
Because the clues that led her to Harry had been planted by Daire.
“What happened at the meeting last night?” he asked. “What were they talking about?”
Narrowing her eyes, she didn’t know why he’d tell her to assume the place was bugged then ask for secrets. “None of your business.”
“Better,” he said with impatience. “But with someone else. You want an ally? Someone to help figure out what’s going on? You don’t have a choice. Like I said yesterday, we don’t have time to do the usual dance. You’re Hades’ daughter. I’m the second closest thing he has to a son, makes us family, right?”
Harry wasn’t why she’d called him her brother the previous day. Trusting him with Olympus things wasn’t close to trusting him with the truth of her relationship with Daire. They knew the truth. No one else could. Not ever. Being dubbed Harry’s weakness was one thing. Her father would know when a sacrifice had to be made, even if that sacrifice was her.
Daire? She wouldn’t trust him to make that same decision and couldn’t be the reason for the world falling apart. More than her own guilt, she couldn’t let him live with that responsibility. No one could ever know what they meant to each other because she would not be used against him. She wouldn’t let it happen. She’d take her own life before ever letting him languish in that torturous position.
She took a deep breath. “They were talking about getting Olympus back on its feet. Zeus wants Daire leading the Gamma setup and Garrick in the field tracing operatives.”
