Radiant Sin(27)

There are six members of the Thirteen here, most with plus-ones. Apollo, of course, sitting on my right. We saw Hermes, Dionysus, and Aphrodite earlier. But he’s also invited Hephaestus and Artemis. They’re cousins, both from legacy families, and both very much not on board with some of the waves the new Zeus has been making. If I were going to try to drive a wedge into the Thirteen, they’re where I’d start. The foundation is already there.

But then why invite the others? Hermes plays her own games, and she always has. Aphrodite might like starting shit, but she’s never going to side against her brother. I still don’t quite understand Apollo and Zeus’s relationship, but he wants what’s best for Olympus and right now he feels that Zeus is the way to that.

Then there are the true surprises.

I glance to the group clustered at the end of the table around Minos’s son. Pan and Adonis chat easily with a third person I recognize from school. Atalanta is an athletic Black woman with a scarred face and locs spilling down around her shoulders. Plus-ones for Dionysus, Aphrodite, and Artemis, respectively. If everyone is bringing dates or friends, I suppose that’s not outside the realm of expectation.

But the gorgeous woman with light-brown skin and long, dark hair and the handsome white man with their heads close together across the table from him? Them I did not anticipate. Eurydice Dimitriou and Charon Ariti. Best guess, they’re here representing Demeter’s and Hades’s interests, respectively, but I can’t believe either Persephone or Demeter agreed to allow Eurydice into what could potentially be a dangerous event. They’ve worked hard to keep her as sheltered as someone can be in Olympus.

I ignore the flicker of jealousy the thought brings. Demeter might be a political monster, but no one with the tiniest bit of intelligence doubts that she loves her daughters. It’s a different kind of love than most people experience, perhaps, but it’s there all the same.

Apollo shifts closer and my foolish heart picks up as he leans down and speaks directly into my ear. “Eurydice is a surprise.”

“I was just thinking the same thing.”

“I need to speak with her.”

That strange flicker of jealousy threatens to ignite, but I do my best to dowse it. If Apollo is interested in Eurydice, it’s not my business. In another week, I won’t even be in the city.

I nod. “She’s a wild card.” The others, I can hazard guesses as to why they’d be present, though I’ll need a little time to fine-tune those suppositions. There are several powerful people heavily invested in keeping Eurydice tucked away from the rest of Olympus. Her being here doesn’t make sense.

The problem with having a table full of this many people is that Minos and his foster sons might as well be in a different room. I can’t hear anything they’re saying. Ariadne on my other side is entirely wrapped up in some story Hermes and Dionysus weave across the table from us. I catch something about a scooter chase, but I’m not sure I need to hear more. Hermes and Dionysus might play jesters in public, but they’re too smart to give away any kind of information without intending to.

Still… Can’t hurt to try. We didn’t manage to find the security room in our predinner explorations, though we did map out a portion of the downstairs floor plan.

Dionysus laughs uproariously as Hermes wraps up the story. I wait a beat and then lean forward, all interest and intent. “Is it true this used to be your house, Hermes?”

“Guilty as charged.” Her smile warms several degrees when she looks at me. It was that warmth that first attracted me to her. So much about her is farce, but when she enjoys a person’s company, she doesn’t pretend otherwise. “But I’m a city creature right down to my soul. It’s a shame to let such a lovely place waste away beneath dust and sheets, so when our friend Minos mentioned he was interested in purchasing a home, I offered mine up.”

Our friend Minos.

I have to fight not to narrow my eyes. There’s a bit of an ironic lilt to those words. There’s absolutely no way that Hermes considers Minos a friend; he’s far too similar to the last Zeus, and I’m intimately acquainted on her thoughts about him.

My voice comes out too sharp. “I would have thought a house owned by the vaunted Hermes would be less mundane.”

Dionysus coughs into his cloth napkin, almost managing to cover up his laugh. “She called you mundane, love. Fighting words if I ever heard them.”

“Cassandra does love a fight.” The warmth on Hermes’s face doesn’t fade, though her expression goes crafty in a way that used to thrill me. It usually meant a whole lot of fun or pleasure in the future—often both. Now it just makes me wonder what she’s hiding.

“Hermes—”

“You know me.” She doesn’t quite sink insinuation into the words, but it’s a near thing. “What would make you think I’m the type of person to just hand away my secrets for free? If you suspect there’s more to this house…go find it.”

I don’t have a chance to come up with a suitable response, which is just as well. In all the time I’ve known Hermes, I’ve never managed to outwit her, and I highly doubt I’m going to start tonight. She as much as admitted there’s something to find, but it would also be just like her to pretend this house held great secrets, only for me to discover it’s just as mundane as it appears to be. With Hermes, you can really go either way.