Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89763 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89763 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
“No wonder he’s been such a fucking monster since you disappeared,” he says slowly before his tone sharpens. “You need to be careful, Ari. Father came in today ranting about your wedding to Dionysus. He wants you dead.”
I stare at the intricately patterned wallpaper and wait for the words to penetrate. Surely he didn’t say what I think he just said. I knew my father would never forgive me for betraying him, but… “What?”
“Dead, Ari. Like six feet under. There was no way to misunderstand him.” He hesitates. “He told the Minotaur to do it. And the Minotaur, well…he agreed.”
6
The Minotaur
Aeacus is one of Circe’s men who snuck through the barrier on a shipping container a few weeks ago. He’s a short man with medium-brown skin and a shaved head. He’s older than me by about a decade, and he’s got a weathered look that says he’s seen some shit. Half his crew were murdered by Hades two weeks back, right before the secondary barrier between the lower city and the upper city became impenetrable. No matter how Minos blusters, I know damn well that losing so many people wasn’t part of the plan.
Aeacus points me to a map spread out on the table in the dingy apartment where he and his remaining team are living. “Here.” He touches Dodona Tower. “This is the next target. It will take some time to get things in place, but it’s the heart of the upper city, and Circe wants it crushed.”
A solid move. It’s where the rich and powerful gather, wanting to see and be seen. They think they’re sharks, but in reality they’re a bunch of peacocks. Zeus and Hera even have thrones that they perch on, pretending they’re royalty. Taking down that building will be as big a blow as any we’ve managed so far.
I don’t particularly like the way he’s looking at me right now, though. Intently. Expectantly. “What do you want me to do about it?”
“You still have access, don’t you? I need blueprints.”
Whether I have access is up for debate. I haven’t tried to enter the building since the assassinations started. There was a small chance I’d maintained clearance while Theseus was a member of the Thirteen, but since he defected, he took what little protection Minos’s household maintained with him.
There is more than one way to skin a cat, though. And this is just the excuse I need to put things into motion without Minos questioning it.
I turn for the door.
Aeacus clears his throat. “Where are you going?”
“You need blueprints, I’ll get you blueprints. I’ll be back when I have them.” I walk out the door. He shouldn’t let me get away with that, especially not in front of his people. All it takes is one sign of weakness, one kernel of disrespect, and a hierarchy comes tumbling down. I don’t know how long he’s been the team leader, but I doubt he’ll maintain the position for long.
That isn’t my problem.
It only takes a moment to orient myself on the street and start making my way toward my destination.
Minos and the rest of them believe I’m all brawn and no brains. I’ve given them no reason to think otherwise. But I’ve spent half my life watching how Minos operates. He’s a mean bastard, especially to those he decides aren’t worth charming, but he never attacks when coercion can accomplish the same goal. It’s a lesson I’ve considered countless times over the years. It seems like a waste of energy when the thing you want is right in front of you, but maybe he has a point.
I’ll never be charming, but no one expects me to be duplicitous.
Ariadne thinks too much. It’s all she fucking does. It’s made her an impressive weapon, but it also means she’ll never take something at face value, even from me. If I go to her and tell her to toss the fiancé and that I’ll get us out of Olympus, she won’t believe me.
So I’ll come at this from another angle.
It’s a short enough walk to the building where Dionysus lives. I stop on the sidewalk across the street and study it. It’s got a bit more character than most of the buildings in the upper city, though there’s plenty of steel and glass involved. Based on Minos’s information, Dionysus owns the entire top floor.
Security will be a bitch to get through, but most of the Thirteen use Ares’s people, which means they all have the same protocol—the same flaws in said protocol. I can get to Ariadne any time I want, but charging in there and tossing her over my shoulder, while satisfying, just ensures she’ll bolt the first chance she gets.
She’ll have to come to me instead. I just need to soften her up first.
I pull out my phone and dial the one person she would still be in contact with. It rings long enough that I think Icarus won’t pick up, but his wary voice finally comes on the line just as I’m about to hang up. “Yes?”