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“I look…” He frowned at the smiling faces printed across his chest. “…enthusiastic.”
“Cerberus!” Korinnae let out a delighted squeal. She rushed over and circled him twice, inspecting him from every angle. “You’re tall!”
“I’ve always been tall.”
“And you have hands!”
“I’ve always had hands.”
“And your shirt has Harin on it!”
Cerberus looked down again. “So it does.”
“I love it!” Korinnae clapped her hands excitedly.
Cerberus sighed with the long-suffering patience of someone accepting an undignified assignment. “I guarded the gates of the Underworld.”
“You did!” Korinnae agreed enthusiastically.
“And now I’m wearing a boy band’s shirt.”
“A girl group,” Ria corrected.
“A very successful, world-famous girl group,” Ligaya added.
Cerberus closed his eyes. “I preferred the gates.”
“You can’t be so serious at the concert!” Korinnae giggled and slipped her hand into his.
Cerberus looked down at her. “I am literally the guardian of the Underworld.”
“So?”
“So…” He searched for an argument, “I suppose I could try smiling.”
“That’s the spirit!” Korinnae said.
Asterion watched the exchange, the corner of his mouth lifting despite himself. It was a strange sight—the legendary guardian of the Underworld standing in a Velvet Harmony fan shirt while his niece enthusiastically approved of the look—but somehow it worked. If Cerberus could protect Korinnae while blending into a crowd of concertgoers, then perhaps Ria’s plan wasn’t as outlandish as it had first sounded. As ridiculous as the situation appeared, he found himself believing that his niece would be safe.
Ria seemed to notice the shift in his expression. “So, are we ready to go?”
He glanced toward their bags, then back toward Korinnae, who seemed to understand exactly what he was thinking.
“Uncle Asty, have fun.”
The words were simple, yet the certainty behind them caught him off guard. She wasn’t worried, and that made leaving easier.
He nodded. “Take care of Cerberus.”
“Uncle Asty,” Korinnae looked offended. “Cerberus is taking care of me.”
“Fine,” he sighed. He hated it when everyone else was right. “Take care of each other.”
Korinnae grinned. “We will.”
By the time they reached Moynihan Train Hall, Asterion had come to one conclusion about New York City. It was loud. Not simply noisy, but constantly alive. There was never a moment of true silence. Even in Ria’s neighborhood in Queens, he’d noticed the steady hum of traffic, conversations drifting through open windows, barking dogs, and the occasional siren somewhere in the distance. Here, however, it was magnified tenfold.
Announcements echoed every few minutes, suitcases rattled over polished floors, and dozens of conversations overlapped into a constant murmur while travelers hurried in every direction, some weaving confidently through the crowds while others stood frozen with phones in hand, trying to figure out where they were supposed to go. Every few seconds, someone stopped to take a picture of the soaring glass ceiling before being swept back into the current of people. It made surveillance…challenging.
