This Wicked Fate (This Poison Heart #2)(15)

“What kind of pet?” I asked. “Like a big dog? Like that thing Hecate had with her?”

Circe tipped her head back. “I still cannot wrap my head around the fact that you actually saw her and the dog in the flesh.” The little sparkle in her big brown eyes made me smile.

“Hecate’s dog is the sibling of Cerberus,” said Circe. “The three-headed dog that belongs to Hades and guards the underworld.”

“More gods and monsters,” I said.

Circe nodded.

“Nyx’s pet is like a big dog,” said Marie. “That’s a fair comparison.”

“So, it’s not an actual dog?” I asked. Marie was purposely being vague and that meant she was hiding something.

“Better to have Nyx explain it to you,” Marie said. She power walked down the hall toward Alec’s office before I had a chance to ask any more questions, but I was not about to let it go.

Marie just about drop-kicked the door to Alec’s office open, and he jumped halfway out of his chair. He clutched his chest and pounded his hand on the desk.

“Don’t scare me like that! You’re going to give me a heart attack!”

“Promise?” Marie asked, batting her eyes overdramatically.

I didn’t know what it was between them that made them act like they were ready to square up at any moment, but it was always a little scary for me. I’d seen firsthand what Marie could do when she fully embraced the power the Heart had given her, and I just hoped she never decided to turn that power on Alec.

“Guess what?” Marie said. “I’m gonna redecorate the library and move all your haunted armor and Dorian Gray paintings into your office. Cool?”

He settled back into his chair and tilted his head. “Why?”

Marie sighed. “Because I don’t like being watched by trapped souls when I’m reading, that’s why.”

“You’re impossible,” he said.

“I’d be careful,” Circe said, her tone playful. “Marie is pretty upset over your decorating choices, Alec.”

Alec rose from his chair like he was being lifted by an unseen hand, his eyes wide as he took in Circe, bit by bit.

“You’re dead,” he said.

“Am I?” Circe looked down at herself, then back to him. “Could’ve fooled me.”

Alec caught sight of me as I trailed in behind Circe.

“Miss Briseis,” he said, giving me a quick nod.

I smiled at him. “How are you?”

“I’m well,” he said, still a little flustered. “You?”

I almost said “fine.”

“We were hoping you could help us,” Circe said quickly, saving me from having to think of an answer that wasn’t a whole-ass lie. “I know you’re an expert on Greek mythology, Alec.”

A crooked grin spread across his face.

“Yikes,” said Marie.

He didn’t even acknowledge her. “How can I help? I have to say, that other document Briseis showed me has been on my mind. I would very much like to see it again. For research purposes.”

“I’m sure we can arrange something,” Circe said. “For now, I’d like to pick your brain about Aeaea.”

Alec’s brow furrowed. He sat down, and I went to stand next to Marie, who gently squeezed my hand.

“What is it you want to know?” he asked.

Circe leaned on his desk, peering down at his collection of papers. “What’s your opinion on its location?”

Alec laughed. When no one else did, he stopped and readjusted his glasses. “I’m sorry. It’s just that—well—it’s a myth. It’s not a real place.”

“After everything you’ve seen in your life,” Marie said. “You really gonna sit here and pretend like fantastical things can’t be true? Sir. Stop it.”

“Stop what?” he asked.

Marie slipped her hand under the edge of his desk and lifted it slightly off the floor. “I’ll throw you and this raggedy desk right out the window. You don’t believe in impossible things? Really, Alec?”

“Stop!” he yelled as he scrambled to keep his computer monitors and books from tumbling to the floor.

Marie set the desk back down and glared at him.

“There’s a difference between what happened to you and pinpointing the location of a place that most people agree is just myth,” Alec said angrily.

“Most people?” I asked. “That kind of makes it seem like there are at least a few people who think it’s real.”

Circe bit back a smile.

“Homer was highly inconsistent when he spoke of Odysseus’s adventures,” he said. “Scholars have debated its existence, with most of them agreeing that while the island wasn’t a real place, it was probably based on a location off the coast of western Italy. It doesn’t make much sense other than to illustrate how historians often center themselves in their research.” He gestured to the map on the wall. “Notice the proximity to Rome.”

“Why can’t they just tell the truth or say they don’t know?” Circe asked. Sarcasm dripping from every word.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Alec asked. “A bunch of mostly old white men admit that they don’t know everything there is to know or that something they once believed is wrong?” He raised his eyebrows. “I’d need to live a much longer life than the one I’ve been granted to see the day that happens.” He glanced at Marie.