Radiant Sin(93)

“If you say so.”

Zeus sits back slowly, drawing the attention back to him. “No laws were broken, so there’s no recourse to be had. We move forward with this because we have no choice, but we need to leash our new Hephaestus and do damage control. If the city has something else to talk about, we might be able to turn the tide away from speculation on how best to murder everyone in this room.”

Artemis is still shaking. “And how, pray tell, do you plan to do that?”

“I am open to suggestions.”

“A wedding.” This from Aphrodite. “We’ve seen it before: nothing distracts the good people of Olympus more than a scandalous match.”

Ares’s spine snaps straight. “Oh, fuck no. Not this again. I already won in the arena; I am not marrying that murderous bastard.”

“Not you.” Aphrodite gives a thin smile, though her eyes are chips of ice. “Me.”





36


Cassandra

I take my time packing a suitcase. There’s no rush, though I don’t intend to stay in my apartment overnight. It feels strange to be back here after the ridiculous luxury of the last few days, to pack my nice serviceable clothing instead of the high-end things I’d been wearing recently.

If I do this, my life is going to change dramatically.

It was always going to change dramatically, but this was never part of the plan. I’d been prepared to have to learn the way things worked outside Olympus and to be there to play support while Alexandra did the same.

Staying means learning to move through the very circles I’ve set myself apart from. It means learning to swim among them instead of watching from the outside. It means opening myself up to the potential of more pain.

It’s worth it.

I finish packing and drag my suitcase to the door, cursing its broken wheel. I’ll have to call a car before I go downstairs. Apollo would shit a brick if he knew I’d taken my things and waited on the curb. The neighborhood is safe enough, but he worries. I smile a little.

I’m so distracted, I almost miss the fact that I’m not alone. Almost.

I straighten and look at my ex. “What are you doing here?”

“Our meeting ended early with a bang.” Hermes moves around my tiny kitchen, poking at things. “Apollo won’t be home for ages, though, if you’re worried about your timing. Zeus has him, Aphrodite, Athena, and Ares in a little war meeting. It’s all very dramatic.”

“Hermes.”

She exhales slowly. “I’m sorry. I should have realized that Apollo would get over that moral high ground he clings to so sweetly and bring you along if he was invited to the party. I failed to anticipate that development and you got hurt because of it. I never wanted that, Cassandra.”

“I didn’t get hurt.” Even as I say it, it feels like a lie.

She gives me a look that speaks volumes. “You witnessed a murder, honey. And two attempted murders. That’s harm. I honestly thought if you heard me and Minos talking about the gory details, you’d leave. I didn’t expect you to develop a white knight streak.” She makes a face. “He’s rubbing off on you.”

I scrub my hands over my face. This has been the longest few days in existence and I’m not at my best right now. There was a time when I didn’t bother to worry about that kind of thing with Hermes, but after the last twenty-four hours… “How could you? A man is dead because of the knowledge you passed on.”

She leans back against the counter and crosses her arms over her chest. “If you had all the information, you’d see that this was the only course of action available to me.”

“Then give me all the information.” I know, even as I say it, that she won’t.

She confirms my suspicions with a shake of her head. “If things go well, it won’t matter because we’ll have headed off the danger at the pass.”

I don’t understand her. How can this be the lesser of two evils? But I know better than to ask. She’s more than proven she won’t tell me. “They’ll hate you for this.”

“Maybe.” She shrugs. “Or maybe they’ll thank me in the end.” She starts for the door and stops to squeeze my arm. “I’m happy for you, Cassandra. Apollo’s the best of us, and he’ll treat you the way you deserve to be treated. Like a queen.”

I swallow hard. “I didn’t say I was going to him.”

“Didn’t you?” She gives a bittersweet smile. “Try not to hate me too much. I’ll be sad if I’m not invited to the wedding.”

“I sure as fuck didn’t say we were getting married.”

“You will. Just like you’ll live long, happy lives and have half a dozen children. Yes, by the way, I’d love to be a godmother.” Hermes moves past me to the door. “Oh, and I called you a car. It should be here by now. Things won’t be as safe as they used to be in the city, at least for a little while.”

I barely wait for the door to close behind her to rush to open it, a thousand questions on my lips. Hermes, of course, is nowhere in sight. “I hate it when she does that.”

Her words swirl through my head, threatening to distract me, but there’s not much I can do about the greater Olympus problem right now. I can, however, set my path on the course that will bring me the happiness I’ve been too afraid to take for far too long.