“Do you think I should do what Seth wants? That I should stay away from him?
“No.” He rolled his eyes. “The man’s an idiot. I—” He trailed off, swallowing. “Oh,” he repeated, stepping back. Wiping his face, he glanced at the little shop. “Don’t tell Eleos.” He laughed. “Gods, don’t tell Seth, either, he’ll . . . Youhaven’ttold them, have you?”
I shook my head.
“I won’t tell them either,” he promised. A smile brightened his face, and he grabbed my shoulders. “We should celebrate. Drink ourselves under the table, maybe throw an orgy!”
I laughed. “I’m not sure I want to go that far.” Nudging him, I tilted my head toward the shop. “Go with her. Live life while it’s still here.”
He nodded. “Far be it from meto refuse the company of a beautiful woman while I can still walk. But that’s all. There’s no point in letting it go any further.”
“Alright,” I agreed.
The store flap parted, and Cerys emerged. Adjusting the headdress she wore that sported the strange carving of the eye, she took a breath. “I need to touch base, learn what happened in my absence.”
“I’ll go with you,” Percy declared, fishing through his bag. He pulled out a drab gray . . .thingand pulled it over his head.
Gods, it was hideous. Eye patterns covered every inch of the dark fabric. A matching eye fell from the hood, covering the face. Cerys flipped it down over Percy’s eyes, hiding a laugh. “Perfect. Shall we?”
Percy turned toward me, only an errant strand of white hair sticking out from his garb. “I don’t like this disguise.”
“This outfit has a long history and is highly revered,” Cerys said. “Come along.”
Cerys strode away, waltzing like a goddess gliding upon water. Scrambling to catch up, Percy hurried after her, adopting a slumped-shoulder walk of a lowly attendant.
Leaning on Athena, I watched until they rounded a corner and disappeared, completely missing that Seraphim had exited the building, too, until her hand fell upon my shoulder.
“I’m going out,” she announced. “There might still be old contacts hanging about. You,” she articulated, “will be staying here. Eleos needs to rest, and you need to make sure he doesn’t push himself.”
“I won’t say no to a nap.”
She grinned. “Have I told you it’s an enormous relief, you not being stubborn?” Releasing my shoulder, she flipped up her hood and jogged in the opposite direction the Oracle had walked.
A nap. That sounded kind of nice, actually. Assuming Eleos and Seth could keep from stabbing each other while I slept.
Seas. I’d left the two of them alone with Phaedrus. Whirling around, I rushed back into the shop. Athena followed me, shoving her head through the door frame.
Eleos stood a pace from the door, tying his bracer on his good arm.
“Is she gone?” He whispered.
I jabbed a finger into his chest. “No,” I snapped. “You’re staying here.”
“I’m fine.”
Phaedrus snorted. I looked left, noticing him leaning on the wall.
“He’s not fine,” Phaedrus said. “I would know, considering I bandaged the wound.”
Eleos opened his mouth to protest, but Seth appeared from the shadows behind him. “Let the man go out. We have something to do anyway.”
“What?” I asked.
“You saw the state Percy returned in.” Seth waggled his eyebrows at me, as if his meaning was obvious.
“Seraphim wants us to rest,” Eleos muttered, pulling out his journal. He flipped to a pair of crinkled maps. “Relaxation to me means doing something fun. Considering I have no books, I figured Percy was the next best thing.”
“You’re going to . . . have fun with Percy?”
