Radiant Sin(28)

The table falls silent as Minos stands. He smiles at us, his gaze seeming to meet each person’s in turn. Neat trick. He’s had some public-speaking training because he manages to project his voice to the whole room without seeming to lift it at all. “Thank you for honoring me by attending this event. I hope you’ll indulge me further tonight with a little game.” His smile warms.

Gods, he’s good at this. We saw it a bit at dinner the other night, but I hadn’t realized how good. He’s holding the entire room enraptured. Even Dionysus has stopped nudging Hermes with his elbow and is focused entirely on Minos.

He spreads his hands. “Through the back door, you’ll find a hedge maze. I’ve left a little something in the center for whoever gets there first.”

A hedge maze.

I can’t help glancing at Theseus and the Minotaur. The second Ares trial was a maze, and it was the trial that eliminated Theseus—and was responsible for his current limp. Surely it’s left bad memories? Especially with Atalanta here, another competitor in that tournament. I can’t tell from his expression. He seems to permanently glower at everyone except the woman with the boisterous laugh at this side, and even she only gets a small curve of his lips in response.

Another look around the table shows that we’re missing Ariadne and Icarus, who must have slipped out at some point. I frown. It makes sense that Minos’s children wouldn’t participate, but he seems the type to care about appearances and so he’ll want to keep his family and people close.

Everyone starts standing, and Apollo is quick to pull out my chair. He presses his hand to the small of my back and guides me along with the stream of people out of the room and down the hall to the French doors leading to the backyard.

Dionysus huffs out a laugh as we follow a winding path through carefully curated trees to the entrance of a tall hedge maze. “Really, Hermes?”

Hermes shrugs. “It seemed romantic at the time. Turns out it’s just creepy.”

“Imagine that,” he says drily. “You came out here at night, didn’t you?”

“Of course I did. What’s the point of a hedge maze if you can’t explore it at night and look for ghosts?”

Aphrodite laughs. “Don’t tell me you believe in ghosts.”

“Everyone should believe in ghosts.”

I lean harder against Apollo. “We’re playing?” With everyone occupied, it might be a good idea to use this opportunity to continue exploring without worrying about running into someone who’s going to ask questions.

He nods. “Minos isn’t really giving us an option.” He smiles suddenly, making me rock back on my high heels. “Besides, I think we have a solid shot at winning.”

I eye the tall hedges. “I hope you’re not expecting me to pull a Helen and climb these.” It was how she passed the second trial, in a feat of athleticism that had even me cheering at my television. Not that I’ll admit as much to anyone. Ever.

“No.” Amusement warms his voice. “I’ll keep you by my side.”

Minos finally reaches the backyard, a basket in his hands. Where did he pick up that? “There are several entrances around the edge of the maze, all with equal chance to reach the center. You will pick your partners from this.” He shakes the basket. “The first pair to reach the center gets the prize contained there. My household will, of course, not be playing. Hermes has also agreed to sit out, seeing as how she’d have an unfair advantage.”

This whole thing is so weird. Maybe weeklong parties and group games were the norm a few centuries ago, but they hardly are now. Even in Olympus. It’s also strange that he said household instead of children. Not that it matters, but this entire situation is like a puzzle I don’t have a map for. I can’t even see the edges properly. It bothers me.

It’s not until we start stepping forward to pick names that I realize the new pitfall. I won’t be paired with Apollo. It’s so statistically unlikely as to be laughable.

Apollo dips his hand into the basket and comes out with a piece of card stock. “Eurydice.”

That horrible jealous feeling surges. I can feel eyes on me as I fight to keep any evidence from my face. Why would I be bothered that my fake boyfriend is pairing with the lovely youngest Dimitriou daughter?

I bet Demeter would fall all over herself to approve a marriage between them.

I shake my head, trying to focus. It doesn’t matter. I will keep repeating that to myself as many times as I have to in order to make it stick. Apollo being paired with Eurydice is honestly a great move for him because it will give him a chance to figure out what she’s doing here. It stands to reason that Hades wouldn’t trust the rest of the Thirteen to sniff out Minos’s plans, but that only explains Charon’s presence. Not Eurydice. No matter what I considered earlier, I don’t believe for a second that Demeter actually sent this daughter as her representative.

“Cassandra.”

I jolt at the sound of my name in a familiar voice.

Dionysus smiles at me faintly. “You’re my partner, love.”

Of all the options, he’s probably the least offensive. Only a fool would underestimate him, but it’s not a bad way to pass the time.

Everyone else picks their partners up quickly. I get a dark sliver of amusement when Aphrodite steps forward, forcing Minos to look up at her. She pairs with Pan. Artemis is with Adonis. Atalanta is with Charon. And Hephaestus is left as the odd man out, given the choice to compete on his own or sit this one out.