Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 95187 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95187 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Poseidon is the one to speak first. “What are you doing here? Zeus has been looking for you. Everyone’s looking for you.”
“And here I am. You found me. Well done, you.” She lifts the bowl to her lips and drinks the milk. When faced with that look on Poseidon’s face, I might piss myself in fear—and that’s being relatively assured he intends me no harm. I doubt Hermes can say the same. She’s been labeled an enemy of the city, a traitor, guilty of treason. At least according to MuseWatch.
From what she just said, it’s all true.
Poseidon watches her closely as she leans over and sets the bowl in the sink. He’s doing that thing where it’s as if he can reach past the carefully curated external expressions and delve right into the thoughts of a person. I don’t know if that’s really a skill he has, but it certainly feels like it when I interact with him. “You haven’t been missing in action for so long only to come here for food. You have your own house—several of them. Why are you here?”
“Oh, that.” Hermes hops to the floor and stretches, her fingertips reaching toward the ceiling. I’m always shocked to find that she barely comes up to my shoulder. Her energy fills the room every time I’ve ever interacted with her. Something in her back pops and she gives a sigh of relief. “Much better. Now, where were we?”
Poseidon leans on the doorframe, and I could swear I hear the entire house creak in response. “You were telling me what you’re doing here and why it appears you’ve committed treason.”
“‘Treason’ is such a strong word.” He makes a sound shockingly close to a growl, and she shifts to put the island between them. “Now, now, Poseidon. I came here because you’re the most reasonable of the Thirteen. I expect you to be reasonable. On the other hand, you are keeping the delicious Icarus captive, and if I’m not mistaken, there’s the scent of sex about you. What a horrible abuse of power.”
“Hermes.”
“Fine,” she says flatly, all charm disappearing between one beat and the next. “You can’t trust Circe, no matter what she promises you in late-night meetings on the water. She won’t rest until this city burns and every member of the Thirteen and the legacy families are dead. While we’re on the subject, you shouldn’t trust Hera, either. Those two are more similar than is comfortable.”
Poseidon narrows his eyes. “I have a question for you, and I want you to answer honestly. Are you the reason the barrier fell when it did?”
I jolt. How did he make that leap? The barrier in Olympus has been failing for a very long time—something like thirty years. It was always going to come down; Circe made sure of that. Before Zeus attempted to murder her on their honeymoon, she somehow managed to steal a key component that kept the barrier in place. Ever since then, it’s been slowly weakening. Faltering.
Hermes taps her fingernails against the counter in a rhythm that I almost recognize. “I made a promise to someone. Several promises, in fact. The barrier was coming down regardless. It served my interest that it came down when it did.”
“What interest?” For the second time since I met Poseidon, his voice raises in anger. He slashes a hand through the air. “Because even now, while you claim to be telling me the truth, you’re still talking in circles. Everyone in this fucking city talks in circles. None of you ever say what you mean. So, for fucking once, tell me what you mean.”
She shifts back on her heels; she’s going to bolt. A quick sweep of the kitchen makes her intended exit clear—the small window over the sink that’s cracked to let in the late fall air. I move before she can, sliding my body between hers and the sink. Now, if she wants to get to that window, she has to go through me.
Hermes glances over her shoulder at me and glares. “I thought we had an understanding, Icarus. That’s just rude.”
Poseidon slams his hand against the doorframe. “Leave him out of this.” He leans forward like he’s going to vault the island if she doesn’t speak up. “Answer the fucking question.”
She tilts her head to the side, and I can’t see her face from this angle, but it seems like she’s studying him just as closely as he studied her previously. “I want what I’ve always wanted—what’s best for this city.”
“Ten people were killed in the explosion that brought the barrier down. I highly doubt they agree with you.”
“Probably not.” She sighs. “But if you’d stop reacting and think, you’d come to the same conclusion I—and others—have. This system is broken and the barrier was allowing the system to stay broken. If it didn’t come down, then nothing was going to change. Things have to change, Poseidon.”