Radiant Sin(59)

I am very curious to see what our new Hera will do, given enough time.

Ariadne raises her brows. “That’s quite the offer. You don’t know me. I could say yes and then turn around and work against you.”

I shrug again. I’m not normally one to let instincts guide me, but there’s something about this woman that makes me feel like she’s in trouble. Minos might play the part of the doting father in public, but he’s already proven himself to be a superior liar. After the last Zeus…

I didn’t have the power to fight that man and what he did to his own household. I was too green when I took over as Apollo, and even when I had enough experience to undermine him where possible, it was like trying to use a colander to bail out a sinking ship. Zeus was simply too powerful.

Ariadne is not Helen or Eris or Perseus or Hercules or even the last few Heras who died far too young from mysterious accidents…

But I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t at least try.

“The offer is a standing one,” I finally say. I hold out a hand to Cassandra. “We should get going and leave Ariadne to her peace.”

Ariadne lets us get to the doorway before she speaks. “I, uh, appreciate the offer. I’m not going to take you up on it, but I do appreciate it.” She hesitates. “I’m glad I was right about you.”

Right about me? “Like I said, the offer stands.” I give her half a smile and turn through the doorway, tugging Cassandra behind me.

I’m not sure what the plan is now. The game continues, but until Hector has a chance to go through those emails and chase down any leads he finds, we won’t know if this mission was a success. Still, it’s our best lead, and with how things have played out so far, it’s likely the only one we’ll have. Best to go back down to the second floor and make the appearance of continuing to participate.

I glance down at Cassandra, realize she’s trying not to pant as I all but drag her behind me, and force myself to slow down. “Sorry.”

“Penny for your thoughts.”

“We should leave.”

Cassandra misses a step. “What?”

“We should leave.” I slow down further and look around. Hiding in our room is foolish. Better to aim for one of the many sitting rooms. Going back downstairs is a waste of time. Theseus will be headed up once he clears the grounds and the first floor. I readjust my grip on Cassandra’s hand and tow her around the corner. The hallway is empty, but in the distance, I hear someone cackling with delight. It sounds like Dionysus.

“I heard you.” Cassandra digs in her heels. “This one.” She opens the door on her right and pulls me through. It’s set up similarly to the one we were in last night, though the color scheme is a variety of purples that make my eyes ache. It’s almost seamless, but there’s something off, and so the many tones clash despite essentially being monochromatic.

I shut the door behind us automatically. “There’s no good place to hide here.”

“I don’t care.” She takes a step back and props her hands on her hips. “Why are you suddenly saying we should leave?”

“We’re not getting anywhere, aside from that lucky find with the laptop. At this point, I’d be better spent back in the city center, working with Hector to go through all that information. I’m useless here. I don’t know what game Minos is playing at, and he’s laughing himself silly because he has us playing parlor games.” Saying it aloud feels like almost too much. I’m so frustrated, I could throw something. “More, we’ve been warned twice now about your presence here. At least one person might be missing and that’s enough for me to get you out of here now that we have something to show for all this.”

“That wasn’t an accident.” Her gaze is focused on somewhere in the middle distance. “The laptop and the emails. Did you catch what she said? That she was right about you.”

I shrug. “I have a reputation. It doesn’t mean much.”

“Apollo, you are too innocent sometimes.” She shakes her head. “I bet we’re going to find exactly what we’re looking for in those emails, and I would bet Alexandra’s college fund that Ariadne knows that.”

That stops me short. “You think she’s working against her father?”

“It’s possible.” Cassandra frowns. “Or it’s a double bluff and he put her up to this, but Minos doesn’t give the vibe of someone who puts a lot of value on people he considers soft, and Ariadne is soft right down to her sunny center.”

It always amazes me how she can make these jumps. I can usually reach the same conclusion, but it takes me a lot longer—and a lot more second-guessing myself—to get there. “If that’s true…”

Excitement lights up her dark eyes. “We could have someone on the inside, or at the very least, if we could flip her to our side, we’d have an inside track to more information.”

“Which means we can’t leave.” Up until this party, Minos kept Ariadne away from the public eye, and I don’t expect that to change going forward. We won’t have access to her again, not if we leave now. “We’ll have to—”

In the distance, someone screams.

I freeze. “Did I just—”

“Yes.” Cassandra starts for the door. “That was a scream. It sounded like Eurydice.”