This Wicked Fate (This Poison Heart #2)(60)

“Your companions are waiting,” Hermes said. “You should rejoin them and rest.”

I turned and went downstairs as Hermes retook his spot at the window.

“Everything okay?” Circe asked as I fell into the bed next to her.

“No.”

She fished around in her bag and pulled out a pack of tissues and handed it to me.

She fluffed the pillows under her head as I wiped my face.

“Look at us,” Circe said. “We’re laid up in Hermes’s bed like it’s no big deal. Even with everything I’ve seen, everything I know to be true, I never would have imagined this.”

“There are about a thousand things I never could have imagined, and they’ve all happened to me in, like, two months.” I sighed and lay back, staring up into the latticework of crossbeams over my head.

“You’ve been through a lot,” she said, giving me a little half smile. “Too much, if we’re being honest.”

I rolled up onto my elbow. “Can I ask you something?”

She nodded.

“All that stuff you and Marie and Persephone were talking about, the what-ifs—you really don’t think we’ll get out of this in one piece, do you?”

She hesitated. “I don’t want to scare you but, no. I don’t. But I know we have to go. Not just for your mom, even though I’d still do it if that was the only goal, but also because maybe if we bring the pieces together, we can be rid of them.” She settled into the blankets and sighed. “I used to feel selfish for wanting that. I was raised knowing the Heart was my responsibility, but over the years it’s become such a heavy burden that I don’t feel selfish for wanting to set that burden down. Look at what it has cost us. The Heart doesn’t define who we are or what we’re capable of. Without it, we still have our gifts and we still have each other. That’s enough for me.”

“Me too,” I said.

Circe may not have had confidence that we would get through this, but I decided that I was going to do whatever I needed to do to keep us whole.





CHAPTER 16

When I awoke the next morning it took me a minute to remember where I was. The smell of coffee and the sound of hushed voices brought everything back. Circe and Marie sat at the table.

“Morning,” Circe said.

Marie glanced at me, and I was struck by how sad she looked. Her eyes were red, like she’d been crying. I quickly got up and joined them at the table.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, pulling a chair up next to her.

“Nothing,” Marie said.

“Doesn’t look like nothing,” I said, closing my hand over hers. “Were you crying?”

She straightened up. “I don’t know if you noticed, but Hermes is a dick.”

“Oh,” I said. “Yeah. What happened? He said something that upset you?”

“Keep in mind,” Circe said. “He was right when he told us the gods are disconnected from regular people. Who knows how long he’s been out here by himself, and I just think he hasn’t had anyone actually speak to him in any meaningful way in a long time. He’s … abrasive.”

Marie huffed.

I pushed my chair back. “Where is he?”

Marie looked me over, and the sadness was washed away by her wide smile. “You gonna cuss out an actual god over me?”

“Yeah,” I said.

“I’m flattered,” Marie said. “But I don’t think you need to worry. He’s getting us a boat. We’ll be out of here soon, and hopefully I’ll never have to see him or his ugly little sandals ever again.”

I’d let it go until I saw him, then I’d probably cuss him out anyway. I pictured him slicing me up with that gold sword he had on him the night before and shuddered. Even still, seeing Marie upset bothered me.

I went to the small bathroom and brushed my teeth, splashed my face with water, and put my hair in a puff high on top of my head. In my rush to pack I’d neglected to bring a bonnet. I laughed to myself. I still needed to take care of my hair even if I was on a collision course with a bunch of gods and possibly killer mermaids. When I came out Marie was waiting right outside the door. She slung her arm around my shoulder and kissed me gently on the cheek.

Circe picked up her bag. “We already loaded everything onto the boat. I brought your bag in case you wanted to change. I thought you’d want to get moving.” She handed me my backpack.

“Thanks,” I said. “So we got the boat, then? That’s good.”

“ ‘Boat’ is kind of the wrong word, don’t you think?” Marie asked, glancing at Circe, who only shrugged. “C’mon,” said Marie. “Wait till you see this.”

I tossed my bag on the table and followed Marie and Circe up the staircase to the top of the lighthouse. The Great Eye was dim and it hovered in the center of the glass-enclosed upper room. I looked out over the bluff and caught sight of the boat. Marie was right. “Boat” wasn’t exactly the right word.

A sailing vessel rocked lazily in the water. Black sails flapped in the stiff breeze as Hermes and Persephone stood on the deck talking amongst themselves.

I turned to Circe and Marie. “I don’t know who we think we are but this is some Pirates-of-the-Caribbean-level stuff.”