Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 92659 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92659 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
I might understand their reasoning, but that doesn’t mean I like it. “Call off the dogs, or I’m leaving right now.”
Persephone glares, but while she might be the fearsome queen of the lower city to everyone else, she’s still my big sister. I’ve seen that look before, and I know exactly how far she’s willing to push it. I may not have been the object of her frustration often in our childhood—Callisto and Psyche hold that honor—but I’ve witnessed it enough to know her boundaries by heart. She’s not going let me walk out of here with him, not without answers.
She snaps out a command, and the dogs immediately go silent and sit. They’re still creating a barrier between me and Orpheus, but at least we can speak now without yelling. It’s better that I get the drop on this so that I can control the conversation. I raise an eyebrow. “My relationships are my business. If I want your advice, I’ll come to you for it, but unless you’re willing to sit through several hours of our mother giving you all the pregnancy advice you never asked for, don’t be a hypocrite.”
She lifts her chin. “That’s different. Mother hasn’t been pregnant in over two decades. All of her information is outdated.”
“Just like your information about Orpheus is outdated.”
Persephone gives a truly impressive snarl that would do any of her dogs proud. “You can’t honestly expect me to be okay with this…whatever this is.”
Of course not. If our situations were reversed, I would be feeling the exact same thing. Gods, at this point I’m almost willing to shove our current Zeus out of the window just like the last Zeus in order to save Callisto from him. Only the fact that our eldest sister seems totally fine, even flourishing, as the new Hera has made me keep my silence.
“I expect you to respect my decisions,” I snap.
Persephone stares at me for several beats. I brace for us to continue arguing, but she finally shakes her head and grimaces. “Fine. I will respect whatever it is you have going on here.” She points a finger at Orpheus. “But don’t think for a second that just because my sister has a soft heart, the same can be said for the rest of us. If you hurt her again, there won’t be a body left to find.”
“Persephone!”
For his part, Orpheus doesn’t seem overly concerned. It’s not that he’s being arrogant—I’ve seen what that looks like on his gorgeous face. It’s more that he is…looking to me to lead the way. It’s not quite the expression he wore when he knelt at my feet, but it’s similar enough that the thrill of pure power goes through me.
I didn’t know it could be like this. I didn’t even know that I wanted it to be like this.
Orpheus nods at me and then looks at my sister. “Eurydice is in full control. I won’t hurt her again.” I don’t know if the words are for me or Persephone, but they warm me all the same. Maybe I’m a fool to be feeling soft feelings for him again. Maybe they never went away at all. I don’t know which option is more terrifying.
Persephone shakes her head slowly. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t like it.” She props her hands on her hips. “I suppose you want him to come to lunch with us?”
Truth be told, I hadn’t thought about it in too much detail. I’ve been feeling my way with this from the start, and somehow I don’t think that’s going to change in the future. I’m reluctant to let Orpheus out of my sight, but it won’t be a relaxing lunch with my sister if he’s present. I worry my bottom lip for a moment until the solution lands right in my lap. “He’ll wait in the car.”
“He’ll wait in the car,” my sister repeats slowly.
“Yes.” Like a good dog. I don’t have to say the words aloud. Understanding is there in Orpheus’s dark eyes, in the way they flare hot before he looks down at the floor. The slippery slope beneath my feet only gets more so. I…want him. I don’t know why that’s such a revelation, not when I’ve wanted him since we were teenagers. He likes to pretend that he always wanted me back, but it’s not the truth. He was popular and universally beloved by our peers. Handsome, rich, from a legacy family. The only thing about him that didn’t quite fit the cookie-cutter norm was his art, but that only made him more attractive to everyone around us.
It wasn’t like that for me and my sisters. We grew up differently; our life in the countryside outside of the city proper was a simpler one. Oh, we’ve always had money and all the luxuries that come with it, but people don’t play the same vicious politics out there. We were wholly unprepared for our move into Olympus.