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“Thanks.”
“I have more balls available, if you’d like to cup—”
Ares smacks two of the balls out of his hands.
“If you’d like to cup one in your palm so you cansee,” Pollux says in a breathless, offended tone. “You are not setting a good example for the youth.”
“How old are you again?” Ares swipes one of the balls from the floor and tosses it in the air. Catches. Tosses. Catches.
Apollo steals it from him. “He’s twelve.”
“I’mfourteen.” Pollux says. “Asshole.”
“Me?” Apollo looks genuinely hurt, except for the laughter in his eyes. “You’re the one making jokes about balls andI’mthe asshole?”
“Yes. You’re supposed to have higher standards. You’re the pretty oneandthe smart one.”
Apollo flinches for a fraction of a second, his smile faltering, and laughs. He seems to notice Ares’s glower at the same time I do and elbows him in the side.
“Pollux called you ugly.”
Ares recovers. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Maybe he can’t see.”
“Pollux,” calls Poseidon.
“Come over here. I need one of those balls.”
Pollux leaves, throwing a glare over his shoulder. In the less-crowded part of the family room, the one with more furniture, Hades has taken a seat with Daisy in his lap. She hasn’t moved since they came in, and I’d bet anything she’s asleep.
That’s not what scares the fuck out of me.
It’s that Hades leans his head against the couch, turns his face away, and goes to sleep.
One of the twins put one of the ball-lights on a nearby chair. That’s the only reason I can see them. It happens as fast as a person would pass out. He keeps his arms around Daisy, but the tension goes out of the rest of him like somebody cut through the thread connecting him to life.
On the other side of the room, Persephone puts a hand to her chest and breathes deep, trying her best to keep a smile on her face. Brigit steps over and puts her arms around Persephone, then Ashley joins in, and I hear one wobblyI’m finebefore Persephone’s being whisked into the dining room.
These are not the signs of a situation improving. This is the kind of thing people do when there’s not much time left.
I knew this was a life-or-death situation. I knew when she walked onto the beach that it would take drastic measures to fix this.
I knew, but I didn’tknow. Not at the front of my mind, with words and images and visions of standing at another graveside.
“Hey.” Ares reaches over Apollo and pushes at my shoulder. “Let’s go.”
“Go where?”
“To another room,” whispers Apollo. “Everybody’s too busy crying. Makes it awkward to eat brunch.”
“Alcohol,” Ares says. “You look like you need alcohol. Immediately.”
Zeus approaches the couch with soft footsteps and covers Hades and Daisy with a huge-ass throw blanket. He has about a million of them. They’re big enough for the tallest people. Zeus tucks it in around them, then slides his arm neatly under Hades’s calves and sweeps his feet up onto the ottoman. He takes off both Hades’s shoes, adjusts the blanket so his toes are covered, and leans down to kiss Daisy’s cheek.
I can’t fucking breathe.
I don’t belong here. I should go. Because thisisa private space. A guy like that doesn’t go to sleep anywhere that’s not home.
Tohim. It’s not my home, and it never will be, and there’s no point entertaining the fantasy now that my job is over. There are no more—
