Radiant Sin(77)

Charging into whatever may or may not be going on in the other room is a mistake. I might have followed Hermes with the intent to talk to her, but ultimately I’m here for information and this seems like exactly the situation that might relay the kind of information Apollo is looking for.

With that in mind, I carefully lean forward and press my ear to the cool wood of the door. I’m instantly glad I didn’t open it. There are two people talking, both easily identifiable.

Apparently Minos made a pit stop on the way back from ordering tea.

I wish I could see, but I don’t dare open the door. Instead, I close my eyes, blotting out even the faint light, and focus. Minos is pacing; I know Hermes’s footsteps, at least when she allows herself to be heard, and they are not the heavy tread practically vibrating the floor beneath my bare feet.

“You’re sure this will work.”

Hermes’s shrug is apparent in her tone. “It would work if you weren’t wasting opportunities on innocent people. Pan wasn’t part of the agreement. Neither was Atalanta.”

“Take that up with my fuckup of a son. I told Icarus to deal with Aphrodite, but somehow he ‘mistook’ Pan for her.” He curses. “Don’t look at me like that, Hermes. It’s the story he spun.”

“It’s not a very good one.”

“It won’t happen again. My other boys aren’t half so inept.” He laughs harshly. “And Atalanta is tied up in the basement. She’s perfectly fine. I just can’t risk her interfering with what comes next. You saw her in the Ares trials. She’s formidable.”

“Formidable enough to almost take down one of your prized foster sons.”

“Your jokes leave something to be desired.” A pause. “You’re sure they won’t run us out of town for this?”

“The laws are the laws, even if most people have no idea what little secrets from our founding the Thirteen have hidden all these years. If your boys follow my instructions to the letter, the clause will be triggered. But I never promised it would work.”

“Hermes.” Minos practically growls her name.

“What do you want me to say, Minos? There are no guarantees in this world. You asked me how to accomplish your goals and I provided the information.” Her voice goes hard, harder than I’ve ever heard it. “Now, stop toying with me and give me the information that was promised.”

Silence for several beats. I don’t have to see his face to know that he’s debating whether he can risk crossing Hermes. Finally, he curses. “Very well. The woman you seek is my benefactor.”

“Excuse me?”

“She approached me a year ago with an offer that centered Olympus as the prize. She’s not among those I brought, though.”

“Minos.” Something dark and dangerous flits into Hermes’s tone. “You have strung me along for months with the promise of precise information on her. I have provided you a house, insider knowledge, and a vote to bring you into Olympus as a citizen. I sincerely hope you have more than ‘she’s my benefactor’ as payment.”

I can barely process what I’m hearing. In all the time I’ve known Hermes, she’s been something of an enigma. Even when I shared her bed, there was always part of her held in reserve, and I respected that because I, too, held parts of myself back. But I never doubted for a moment that the protection of Olympus was her main goal.

I…

I close my eyes and try to keep my breathing under control. I don’t know who she’s talking about or what’s going on, so all I can do is listen. I can have an emotional reaction to this later, when it’s safe.

But…

What the fuck, Hermes?

Minos is silent for so long, I begin to think he might not respond to her threat. Finally, he sighs. “I agreed to those terms before I realized you know more about her than I do.” A hesitation. “I have a way to contact her, though I can’t guarantee anything will come of it.”

“Is that all?”

I flinch, but Minos doesn’t seem affected by the icy anger Hermes exudes. “She’s not one to make herself available, which you should damn well know. This is all I have.”

A tapping of a foot against hardwood floor. “I am very displeased, Minos. You can play the rest of the Thirteen all you want, but playing me?” She laughs sharply. “I highly suggest you come up with something more—and soon.” The slide of a chair. “Do not tell her that I’m looking for her, or you won’t live to see your little plan enacted.”

“I understand,” he grits out.

This is winding down. I didn’t get nearly enough information to figure out what Hermes’s game is, other than her wanting information on…someone…but I know enough. There’s only one law they could be speaking of, and it’s one I am entirely too familiar with thanks to my parents’ ambition.

Minos means to kill a member of the Thirteen and take their place.

Possibly multiple members of the Thirteen.

The thought makes my entire body break out in goose bumps and I shudder. I hold little love for the Thirteen as a general whole, but Minos is an unknown in a number of ways. I saw his foster sons’ brutality in the arena. If they bring that same violence to the ruling body of our city…

I won’t be here to see it. Maybe that should mean I don’t care, but I do.