Radiant Sin(33)

Eurydice, Charon, Hermes, and Dionysus have joined Ariadne on a trio of couches and are having what appears to be an animated conversation. Pan and Icarus are perched on chairs on either side of a small round table holding a chessboard while Atalanta watches with interest, a glass dangling from her fingertips. At first glance, Icarus appears to be winning.

I don’t see Cassandra.

I also don’t see the Minotaur.

Minos seems to come to the same conclusion as he surveys the room. “How will you keep her safe when she’s obviously so prone to wandering?” He chuckles. “Best of luck with that.”

Surely he’s too savvy to hurt Cassandra in order to get to me?

That’s the problem, though. I don’t know what Minos will or won’t do. I didn’t expect the direction of our conversation, and I can’t speak to what lengths he’ll go to achieve his goals. He’s obviously targeting her, and that’s enough to have my instincts screaming at me to act, to do whatever it takes to keep her safe.

I turn for the door. “I’ll just go see what’s keeping them.”

His chuckle follows me out of the room.





13


Cassandra

I don’t mean to get separated from the group. I was walking next to Dionysus and realized my shoe strap was coming undone. In the fifteen seconds it took me to fix it, the rest of the group cleared out, leaving only the hulking Minotaur behind. I don’t know why it surprises me that he keeps his deep-red hair long enough to brush his shoulders, but it does. It’s startlingly beautiful, glossy and thick, and only contrasts with his harsh features and the scars that cover his face. There’s a new one healing from where Helen—Ares—cut him in the last trial.

I tense, waiting for him to say something biting, but he just looks up and eyes the clear night sky. “Walk with me.”

Under any other circumstances, I would decline. He’s a strange man and obviously dangerous, and I have no intention of getting murdered before Zeus can pay me. If I do, he’s likely to say my side of the bargain isn’t fulfilled and then Alexandra gets nothing.

But he can make the same argument if he finds out I turned down a prime opportunity to get close to one of Minos’s family members.

Really, I only have one option. “Sure.” I can’t make myself sound happy about it, but I turn and head back toward the maze. The Minotaur is huge—he’s got to be nearly a foot taller than me, if not more—but he matches his stride to mine without any apparent effort.

I have absolutely no interest in entering the confined quarters of the maze, so I veer when the path branches, walking farther away from the house. I keep waiting for him to say something, since he’s the reason we’re out here, but he doesn’t speak.

I catch sight of a body of water in the distance. A pond, judging by its size. I stop short. “If you’re planning on trying to murder me, you’ll probably succeed, but I am an excellent screamer and you won’t get away with it.”

The Minotaur stops and looks at me. I can’t see his eyes clearly. The lights that made the maze navigable don’t stretch out to here. I only have moonlight to judge, but it sure seems like he’s amused. “I’m not going to murder you.”

Did he put an emphasis on you or is the adrenaline surging through my body making me hear things? “That’s what a murderer would say.” I don’t know why I’m arguing. There’s something akin to panic fluttering at the back of my throat. I am not equipped to deal with this. The backbiting and politics, maybe, but this man went after Achilles Kallis, one of the best warriors Olympus has to offer, like he wanted to kill him. Like he’d killed before. “Why did you bring me out here?”

“Cassandra?”

I spin around as Apollo strides down the path. He looks calm and collected, but he’s moving fast enough to almost be running. He doesn’t slow down when he sees us, either. He narrows his eyes. “It’s time to go in now.”

“Until next time, Cassandra.” The Minotaur turns in the opposite direction and stalks into the darkness.

I stare after him. What the fuck was that? I open my mouth, but Apollo shakes his head sharply. “Let’s go back to the room.” He practically hauls me off my feet, moving too quickly for my shorter legs to keep up.

I finally have to dig in my heels and force him to stop entirely. He growls at me. “Move, Cassandra.”

“No.” I pull back, fighting down a shiver that’s certainly not desire when he doesn’t release my wrist. “Either slow down or let go, because I’m tired of you dragging me along.”

For a moment, it looks like he intends to argue with me, but he finally huffs out a breath. “I’ll slow down.” He maintains his hold on my wrist as he turns back toward the house, but this time, he checks his pace so I can keep up without struggling. We still make it back to the room in record time. Apollo hustles me through the door and slams it behind him. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Of all the things I expected him to say, this wasn’t on the list. “Excuse me?”

“The Minotaur is dangerous. Everyone at this party is dangerous. You can’t simply waltz off into the dark with them without telling someone where you went.”

I know this is fear. Apollo would never yell at me without good reason, but my own residual fear gets ahold of my tongue. I don’t even try to stop it. “I don’t need a babysitter, Apollo. You brought me here to do a job, and I’m going to do it.”