“She was on her way to meet them before her arrival.”
Hermes stepped back and canted his head. “Is that so?”
“Yes,” Cyane whispered.
“They contacted you? After all these years, now?”
She didn’t want to tell Hermes anything, didn’t want anyone to know her shame, that her secret was now a very buried urge she kept deep within herself.Cerberus would know, he would know if I considered leaving. Not even Cerberus knew about her parents. Only Melinoe, and only because Cyane had spoken before realizing she was dealing with...gods.
“They left me a note,” Cyane said.
“Sweet Cyane and I have that in common, the lack of our parent’s love,” Melinoe spat then smiled.
Hermes cocked a brow. “I could find them for you, could figure out who they are.”
“You could?” Cyane’s heart began to race.
Hermes grinned and glanced up at the throne. Cyane followed his gaze to where Cerberus stood. Tension filled every fiber of her body when she saw how he stared back at her. If only they could go back to the gatehouse—
“For a kiss, I think? I’ll do it for a kiss,” Hermes said.
Melinoe released Cyane’s wrist to clap. “Yes!”
Cyane slid her gaze back to Hermes. She rubbed her wrist. She could feel Cerberus on her flesh, could feel the burning heat of his stare. Several hounds stepped forward from behind Hermes to approach her.
What he offered her was almost more enticing than what Melinoe had.To finally know...
Years flashed by her eyes as she recalled the countless times she’d searched for her parents, guessing, wondering. There’d been so many sleepless nights. For the cost of a single kiss, she could have a god find them.
Hermes, who wasn’t bound by human law and order, who had abilities the best detectives couldn’t fathom.
If I don’t make it out of here, if I don’t make it to Sicily in time… Or what if I do make it, but they’re not there?
But this felt wrong, insincere. Hermes had no reason to help her, had no reason to know her business at all. The idea of even kissing him made her stomach churn.
I belong to Cerberus.
“Well? Don’t you want to know?” Hermes asked. “A kiss is nothing to enlightenment.”
Cyane had parted her lips to answer when Hermes vanished. A crash and clatter of falling candles echoed across the room, and then Cerberus stood in front of her. Her eyes widened with shock.
The chatter in the ballroom halted.
Off to the side, Hermes was slumped on the ground, his feathers and hair smoking. He pulled himself up, barking out in laughter, and brushed himself off as if the impact hadn’t affected him at all.
Cerberus growled, stealing her attention. He towered over her with furious eyes. He reached out to touch her but stopped short, curling his fingers.
“I wasn’t going to accept.” Her stomach fluttered. She didn’t know how much he heard, but he must’ve heard enough because her words didn’t seem to settle him at all. Everyone was watching them. Even Hades.
She had a sudden need to tell Cerberus everything, about her parents and about her note. To tell him everything she’d failed to bring up, and explain why Hermes’s offer had made her hesitate. But the eyes of the crowd were on them now, and words failed her.
Hades’s voice roared out over the ballroom.
“What a grand way to start the Day of Deviance!”
The guests laughed. Cyane flinched.Deviance.
Hades grinned. “There is nothing more fun than sexual interaction, especially coercion.”
