Midnight Ruin, page 16
I sit up and drag my hands through my hair. My whole body aches after last night, a pleasant reminder of just how good it is when the three of us get out of our own way. At some point we need to have an actual conversation, because no matter how good the sex is, it’s only one part of the equation that creates a healthy relationship.
That’s what I want. With Eurydice…and Orpheus. The bond between them remains strong, even if there’s plenty of baggage to go along with it. The wound between them never properly healed, and I don’t know if having me in the mix is enough to keep it from festering further. Shit is complicated.
Either way, I can’t chase down those answers right now. As much as I want to prioritize Eurydice over politics, the fact remains that she inserted herself into said politics. I would have preferred to keep her away from all the bullshit and danger, but she’s also made it incredibly clear that she won’t be kept out of anything. Not even for her own safety. With that in mind, I reach over Orpheus’s sleeping body and lightly tap her hip. “Wake up, baby. It’s time to pay the piper.”
She stretches slowly, arching her back until the sheets slide off her breasts. I don’t think she’s doing it on purpose, but it’s incredibly distracting. Still, it’s best not to keep Hades waiting. I haul myself out of bed and make quick work of a shower before anyone can think to join me. Eurydice walks into the bathroom as I wrap a towel around my waist. She won’t be fully coherent until she has some coffee. I enjoy the soft, sleepy look on her face. There’s a trust inherent in witnessing these early morning moments, and I don’t want to lose the intimacy.
She makes a beeline for the sink and grabs her toothbrush. “I know for a fact that both my sister and Hades are night owls. Why are we being summoned this early in the morning?”
“You kicked the hornets’ nest, baby. The sooner we get things squared away with Ariadne, the better.” I haven’t heard of any other attacks since the ones on Triton and Poseidon, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t happened. Minos might not have been directly responsible for most of the recent assassination attempts—possibly excepting Triton—but he’s still a danger.
The problem is that he’s no longer the only danger.
I don’t know how we, as a city, deal with the now-public knowledge that there’s an assassination clause. I would love to think that it’s an upper city problem that has no bearing on the lower city, but for better or worse, we are one city. What happens here affects the upper city, and vice versa.
The thirteen positions of power that were previously considered unassailable now appear all too accessible for those willing to get their hands dirty. I don’t know how we move on from that.
I don’t have an answer as I get dressed. It’s above my pay grade. Normally that would be enough to have me put the problem aside entirely, but the ever-present worry that someone will attempt to kill Hades makes it my problem.
For whatever reason, Eurydice decides not to dress up for the meeting. Instead, she pulls on a pair of jeans that are more holes than fabric, and a knitted sweater that’s seen better days. She slicks her hair back into a ponytail, dabs on a bit of makeup that seems like nothing but makes her look well rested, and announces herself ready to go.
We walk back into the bedroom together to find Orpheus awake. He makes no move to get out of bed, just watches us with a tense look on his face. “Morning.”
I’m still deciding how to handle the situation when Eurydice props a knee on the bed and presses a light kiss to his lips. “We have to go to a meeting, but we’ll bring lunch when we get back. You should probably call your brother.”
Orpheus makes a face. “I don’t need to report to him like I’m a child.”
“I know. Just like I know Apollo worries. Be a good boy and throw him a bone.”
His expression goes slack for a moment, and then he chuckles. “It’s hard to argue when you say things like that.”
“How strange. I had no idea.” She grins and heads for the door.
I take a step to follow, but then half turn to him. “Go back to bed, Orpheus. You need to rest.” He doesn’t look as hopeless as he did when he first showed up on our side of the river, but we’ve been running him ragged, and he wasn’t particularly well rested before. “We’ll talk when we get back.”
“I’d like that.”
“Me too.” I turn and head downstairs. I find Eurydice standing out by my car. “Next time, wait inside the front door.” I want to believe the lower city is still safe, but the growing unrest in Olympus and the attack on the greenhouse proves otherwise. Until we figure out who’s causing problems in the lower city, I don’t want her going anywhere alone. Even the sidewalk in front of my town house.
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’re going 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 who does surprise 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 the desk. 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’s furious.
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.
I will be 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 do you think 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 I don’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.
That’s not who is standing in front of me right now.
This man is the king of the lower city. He’s the one so many people in the upper city fear, and with good reason. I’m having a hard time not wrapping my arms around myself. He’s right. I’ve been a treasured guest for the last year. I have a feeling that if I told everyone in this room that I had made a mistake and I had no intention of doing it again, I could go back to being that guest. A flower in a glass vase, never able to put down roots or reach my full potential.
He’s giving me a chance to take that potential…to earn it.
I lift my chin and hope no one in the room notices that I’m shaking. “What are those conditions?” I don’t offer to agree to them without hearing what he has to say. I’ll do damn near anything to not go back to the way things were, but that doesn’t mean I have to be foolish. Hades might be ruthless when it comes to protecting the lower city, but he’s not without a heart. His conditions will be fair, even if I don’t like them.
“You’re connected to too many of the Thirteen. Daughter of Demeter. Sister of Hera. Sister-in-law of Hades and Zeus. When you were essentially a civilian, it didn’t matter, but if you’re going to stay in the lower city, you will be loyal to me.”
All of the air rushes out of my body. “You’re saying I can’t go back to the upper city.”
“I am saying that if you stay in the lower city, you will become an official member of my household and be employed by me.”
If I agree to this, it will change things. No, not things; it will change everything. Oh, I don’t expect my mother to just turn me out, or for Callisto to decide that she never wants to see me again, but what about the rest of the implications?
If I agree to this, it means I will be answering to Charon in an official capacity. I’ve been in the lower city long enough to know that Hades doesn’t have any rules against fraternization, but all of those relationships are between staff. For as long as I’ve been here, Charon has never indulged. Not until me.
That’s not something I’m going to ask about right here, right now. Not with my sisters looking on. “I understand, but what does that mean practically?”
“I don’t expect you to suddenly be part of the security team, but your connections make you uniquely suited for information gathering.”
Next to me, Charon doesn’t seem to be breathing. Hades obviously didn’t talk to him about this beforehand. Persephone holds her pregnant stomach, glaring daggers at her husband. It’s a testament to their relationship that she won’t challenge him, even in a relatively private setting with only family present…well, family and Charon.
And Callisto?
She has a small smile on her face that I don’t like one bit. It’s the same expression she gets when she’s about to start shit that will drag everyone into the mess. She would never do something to directly harm me or either of our other sisters, but that doesn’t mean she would hesitate to get us into a whole shit ton of trouble. She doesn’t say a single word.
Really, I was only ever going to have one answer to this. I don’t know what it looks like answering to someone in the official capacity, but I’ve been searching for a role to call my own, and that’s exactly what he’s offering me. “I agree.”
“Good.” His gaze flicks to Charon. “She needs a permanent security detail. One person should be good enough.”
I half expect Charon to argue. He’s done everything in his power to keep me out of danger, and no matter how protected I am, working for Hades is dangerous. Especially in current times. But he surprises me and just nods. “I’ll put Minthe on her.”
“Good. Eurydice, I want you to check in with Ariadne this afternoon. She made a bargain with you in exchange for help that I provided, and while I am sympathetic to her current condition, time is of the essence. We need that information, and we need it now.”
I’m not sure what to say, so I go with a generic, “Yes, sir.”
He raises a single brow. “We don’t stand on that kind of formality here.”
I flush when I realize what I’ve said. I’ve been to his club. I know what my sister calls him when they do their scenes. That’s not what I was intending, even if a little snark bled into my tone. I clear my throat. “Sorry, I mean, I’ll handle that and report back.”
“Dismissed.”
It takes me a second to realize he’s talking to me. I flush as I turn and walk out the door. Little shakes work through my body. It’s not that I’m scared of my brother-in-law—I’m not—but there’s no going back now. For better or worse, I am now employed by Hades.
I suppose I should ask him about wages at some point.
That thought is enough to make me laugh a little. It’s not until I’ve made it four steps down the hallway that I realize I’m not alone. I glance over at Callisto. She has her hands tucked into her gray duster, and it kicks out around her long legs with every step. It’s an incredibly dramatic piece, drawing the eye and giving the impression of a gunslinger about to engage in a duel. I don’t know if my sister would’ve worn it six months ago.
“I suppose you have thoughts about what just happened.” I expect all of my family will.
She glances at me, her expression unreadable. “Hades takes care of his own better than any of the other Thirteen do.”
She doesn’t sound like herself. A frisson of fear shoots down my spine. “Better than you?”
“Don’t you know, little sister? I don’t have people.”
I stop walking. “That’s not true, Callisto. You have us. You’ve always had us, and you always will have us.”
She turns to face me. I still can’t read her expression, and that scares the shit out of me. My oldest sister has never been one for politics, and she’s never bothered to hide exactly what she’s thinking or feeling.
She’s hiding both now.
“Stay in the lower city,” she finally says. “Let yourself fall in love with that man who watches you with his heart in his eyes. Have a happy life. You deserve it.”
My fear transforms into alarm. It almost sounds like she’s saying goodbye. “What’s going on? Why are you talking like that?”
“When you talk to Ariadne, she’s going to tell you that something’s coming. Something catastrophic. Something I don’t think most of the upper city will survive, at least those peacocks in the legacy families. I need you to promise me that you will stay in the lower city. I want to hear you say it.”
What could she possibly know? Everyone in Olympus has been working overtime to figure out what Minos’s endgame is, but my sister speaks like she already knows it. Who could…?
“Have you been talking to Hermes?” In the two months since Minos’s party, Hermes hasn’t been around much. It’s more than her stopping her unannounced visits to this house to pester Hades. Even MuseWatch has noticed her absence enough to comment on it. She was supposedly even seen slipping through the boundary a few weeks back, which shouldn’t be possible on her own. “She’s a traitor.”
