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)
He takes my hand and leads me back down to the deck. There are moments that are too full for words, and this is one of them. We stand together and watch the Olympian ship get larger and larger, until it comes even with us and the crew hurry to toss ropes to temporarily bind us together. A heavy metal plank is lowered and the shivering crew are ushered over.
I’ll have to spend some time reassuring them that we’re going home, but I’m having a hard time focusing on that right now. “Poseidon—”
“I need an additional three months.”
I twist to face him fully. “What?”
“This thing with Circe will be over soon, but no matter what the outcome, there will need to be a transition period.” His voice hitches. “Three months, Icarus. Three months after Circe falls and I’m coming for you. I promise.”
Another promise. I don’t tell him that it has the flavor of a hope-saturated lie. I want to believe the lie too much to poke holes in it. “I’ll be waiting. No matter how long it takes.” How can I do anything else?
For him, I’ll wait forever.
36
Poseidon
A thousand times, I almost tell Icarus I’ve changed my mind. A thousand times, I almost go against everything I am and sail away from Olympus and all the trouble that awaits my return. A thousand times, I stay silent instead.
“Poseidon, I have to go.”
I look askance at Icarus, only to realize I’m still gripping his hand too tightly for him to slip free. He’s not trying, but he’s right. The entire Aeaean crew is milling about on the deck of the other ship, unsure what to do. They need him, need his direction and his comforting words. I just…need it, too.
“Three months,” I repeat. I’ve never believed in mantras before, but I have a feeling I’m about to. Two words, a promise I am determined to uphold.
“Three months,” he confirms. He kisses me hard enough to buckle my knees, and then he’s gone, slipping through my fingers as if he was never truly mine to hold.
No. Damn it, no.
I can’t afford to lose faith the moment he stops touching me. I don’t make promises I don’t intend to keep, that I’m not sure I can keep, and I’ll do everything in my power to reunite with him. I’ve never felt a connection like this before, and I suspect I never will. I just have to survive long enough to realize it.
He walks away, easily crossing the plank, and steps down onto the deck of the other ship. Several of my people who came with Ceto cross to me and help unhook the plank and ropes keeping the ships near each other.
“Where do you want us?”
“Nowhere yet.” I glance at Ida. Zir is Orion’s next in command, a solid, reliable person with pale skin and a nearly shaved head. Tattoos crawl up zir neck to frame zir pointed chin, all nautical themed.
Even that glance is too long looking away from Icarus, growing small in the distance as Ceto guides the ship away from the coast, from Olympus, from me.
Am I making a mistake?
I don’t know. I don’t fucking know. If there was someone else to step into Poseidon’s shoes without completely undermining any attempts to fight Circe, if we weren’t actively under attack, if, if, if. But there’s no one else. Triton’s eldest daughter can be trained, at least enough to take over, and Orion and Polyphemus and the rest can help her settle in and find her feet once I’m gone.
All that takes time, though. I’ll be hard pressed to keep my promise to find Icarus in three months, but the thought of it taking longer is untenable. I have given Olympus everything, have done my best for a city and people who were never supposed to be under my command. For the first time in my life, I want something for me and me alone.
I want Icarus. I want a life at his side, whatever that ends up looking like. I have no preconceived notions. The idea of years stretching out without having every detail in place is a little scary, but it means leaving behind the memory of my uncle for good. It means…I get to choose.
In the distance, I can no longer make out Icarus on the deck. I swallow past the sudden tightness in my throat. “Let’s go.”
Ida doesn’t make me say it twice. Ze strides away from me, issuing orders with the ease of someone who’s used to being obeyed. Ze has held zir position for years now and has several ships under zir direct command. It shows.
All too soon, we’re sailing back into Olympian waters. The city looks much like it did when we left, and yet it feels dramatically different. As if this morning is the first in a new era. That’s the kind of superstitious thought process I rarely indulge in, but I can’t shake the feeling that everything has changed.