She pauses for the briefest moment and then continues her spiral. “I am, too.” She flicks the peel into a bowl and sets the bareapple in another. “I was assured my family would remain safe. I know you think me a monster, and perhaps you’re even correct. I would do any number of things to gain power and protect my girls’ futures, but there are lines. There have to be lines.”
I’m inclined to agree, though my lines and Demeter’s are markedly different in many ways. “She’s not going to let Persephone and Callisto walk away intact. She can’t afford to.” I don’t want to believe Circe would hurt those women or end their pregnancies, but she’s up to her eyeballs in sunk cost fallacy the same way I am. She can’t change course now, no matter the consequences, no matter what sins she’s pushed to commit. If she does, it all comes crashing down.
I want to save her.
I’m a fool, but I’m self-aware enough to realize it. I close my eyes for a breath and then refocus on Demeter, who still hasn’t looked at me. “Maybe you allowed yourself to be convinced before realizing that, but you’re too smart not to understand the truth of things now.”
She sighs. “You want the same thing she does.”
“Same endgame, maybe, but not the same methods.” I shrug. “Look around, Demeter. You may be ambitious and ruthless to a fault, but you have always taken care of the people of Olympus in your own way. Can you say the same for others among the Thirteen?”
“No.”
I respect her more for her honesty. “You wouldn’t have sided with Circe if you thought the others had a chance of winning.”
Demeter finishes another apple and sets it aside. She finally looks up and meets my gaze steadily. “What do you want from me,Hermes?”
“You can’t just hide out here. She won’t let you, and neither will Olympus.” I take a deep breath. This is my one shot to pivot us from guaranteed ruin to something with better odds. “The people still love you. That’s why Circe focused on wooing you so intensely. She knew that, with you by her side, it would give her a measure of credence. The people of Olympus trust you. That hasn’t changed.” Her expression doesn’t shift from its carefully blank state, so I continue. “If you stand against her, the people will turn on her. Her public perception is already wavering because of Eros’s death; his and Psyche’s love story was one for the ages.” The latter might be a bit of a stretch, but I’m sure it’s true for at least some of them. But itistrue that the woman standing in front of me, peeling apples, can turn the tide.
“It’s a risk,” Demeter says finally. “The Thirteen will never take me back after this miscalculation.”
“If things go well, there won’t be a Thirteen to take you back.” I shrug. “You could be part of the movement to remake things. People will follow your lead. If you’re the architect of a new form of government designed to protect the people, you’ll be all but immortal. It’s a legacy to rival the original founding of the city.”
She smiles thinly. “You always were good with words.”
“I have to be.”
“Indeed.” Demeter sets the knife aside. I’m not sure where she put the shotgun—probably within easy reach—but she’s not going to shoot me in her house. I’m sure of it. Mostly sure. She picks up a cloth and wipes her hands. “It will have to be timed correctly.”
I barely dare to draw breath. I don’t trust Demeter—can’ttrust Demeter—but she loves her daughters. And I’m starting to realize she may just love this city, too. “I’m open to suggestions.”
She pulls a cutting board out of a drawer and slides it across to me, along with a small knife. A token of trust, apparently. “Start slicing the apples while we talk. We’ll have a plan in place by the time the pie is done.” She pauses. “And then…I have something to show you.”
18Circe
In my heart of hearts, I knew Hecate wouldn’t falter no matter what happened between us. Waking up alone in the bed that might have been ours in a different life, covered in sweat and shaking from my reoccurring nightmare of drowning… I had reached for her. Instinctive, my body moving before my brain woke up enough to realize I was well and truly alone. She’d never even come to bed.
That’s to be expected, I suppose. Just like I should have expected her not to give up just because we slept together again. I don’t know what she’s up to, but it would be a waste of time and resources to search for her. If Hecate doesn’t want to be found, there isn’t a force in this world that can unearth her. I’ll simply have to continue with my plan and deal with whatever inevitable complication she bringsin real time.
We commandeered the tech center in the university shortly after arriving, and I head there mostly to give myself something to do. I find Zita in the middle of the room, having hauled over several computers and done…something with them. They’re a small person with light-brown skin gone waxy and pale from never getting enough daylight, a shaved head, and a mosaic of tattoos that somehow come together to create a cohesive whole.
I’m more than capable when it comes to a normal measure of technological knowledge, but their skills border on magical as far as I’m concerned. It’s good to have them on my team. “What do you have for me?”
“You’re aware Antigone has brought in Artemis.” They flip one screen to face me, showing a woman with light-brown skin and long dark hair slamming herself against a closed door and shrieking. A click of a button and she disappears, replaced by a family huddled in the corner of an empty room. “She also acquired the Cassas family.”
My gaze snags on the family, something sharp prodding at the numbness I cling to. I thought I was resigned to the necessary step of eliminating these old bloodlines so they don’t gain a foothold in the new world, but…they’rekids. One of the children is young enough to be held in his mother’s arms, his face buried against her neck. I clear my throat. “Where is Antigone now?”
Zita shrugs. “Nerissa and she fought about Nerissa’s injury, and then Antigone went to get some sleep.”
Back in Aeaea, nothing happened that Zita didn’t see. They may be loyal to me, but that’s only because I pay them well and give them plenty to occupy them. They’re never bored while working for me,which is the only unforgivable sin in their eyes. Even so, it’s a good reminder to watch myself. “Did you see Atalanta wandering our halls yesterday?” With Hecate.
“Security here isn’t as straightforward as I’d like.” They shrug again. “Initially, I didn’t realize the maintenance halls are on a different system. It’s archaic and goofy to keep them separate, but a lot about this place is. By the time I realized you were searching for them, they were already gone.”
It’s what I figured, but frustration still blooms inside me, a poisonous flower. Those two are thorns in my proverbial paw, and the next few days would go off significantly smoother if they weren’t free to run about the city and cause problems. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what’s going to happen. “I trust that oversight has been corrected.”
“Yep! Won’t happen again.” They grin. “You look like shit, Boss. You should take a nap or something. Maybe do one of those masks Nerissa is always talking about.”
“Thanks, Zita.” I bite down a sigh. “I’ll take that into account.”
