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)
Fifteen minutes later, Orpheus and I are climbing into the back of yet another from Hades’s fleet of black sedans. Minthe adjusts the driver’s mirror, waits for us to buckle our seat belts, and then we’re off. Really, we could’ve walked.
Or rather, we could’ve walked. These days Persephone doesn’t walk anywhere. She’s almost through her first trimester, but because it’s twins, everyone is on edge. I know it frustrates her to the point where she wants to have a full-on toddler meltdown, but she’s been mostly gracious about letting us be overprotective.
We pull up next to a car identical to ours. My sister leans against the side, her head tilted back and her eyes closed in the morning light. I know she’s been grappling with the changes to her body, the stress of being the coruler of the lower city, and the general worry that comes from living in Olympus during current times, but she’s never looked better. I thought the whole pregnant-women-glowing thing was a myth, but no one can look at my sister and say she’s doing anything but glowing.
“Do you want me to wait in here until it’s time to go inside?”
I shake my head. “No, she has to make her peace with this whole thing eventually. We might as well start now.”
Sure enough, the moment Orpheus follows me out of the car, Persephone narrows her eyes. “We haven’t really had a chance to talk about this, but just know that I don’t approve.”
“Then it’s a really good thing that what I want is your love, not your approval.” It’s not, strictly speaking, true. I intensely dislike that I’m disappointing my sisters and mother right now, but they’re not thinking clearly. I can’t say for certain that I am, but at least I know my own mind better than anyone else. More than that, I know Orpheus.
Her attention flicks to him and stays there. “If you hurt my sister—again—then you won’t survive long enough to cross the River Styx back to the upper city.”
“Persephone!”
Orpheus isn’t exactly unbothered by my sister threatening him again, but he doesn’t flinch. “I’ll be paying penance for the wrongs I did Eurydice until my dying day. But respectfully, that’s between her and me…and Charon.”
My sister studies him for several long moments. “My threat stands.” She turns to face the apartment building. “Shall we?”
31
EURYDICE
Minthe climbs out of the driver’s seat and surveys us. “Where’s your security detail, Persephone?”
“It’s Medusa. I’m here to pick her up.”
Minthe props her hands on her hips. “You know the kind of danger we’re facing right now, and you went out without a security detail? Are you out of your damn mind?”
“It was a two-minute drive, and I knew that you, Medusa, and Calypso would be here when I arrived,” she says mildly.
I raise my brows, but Orpheus leans close to say, “In case you’re wondering, you won’t be able to successfully use that line of reasoning on us. I bet it doesn’t work on Hades either.” He’s not exactly speaking quietly though.
I laugh a little. “I’m simply taking notes from my big sister.”
“Don’t start that.” Persephone points at us. “And don’t start calling me a hypocrite either. Let’s get inside and meet up with my security detail.”
The apartment is roomy, but not nearly roomy enough to comfortably fit seven grown adults in the main living space. Medusa isn’t any happier with Persephone showing up on her doorstep than Minthe was. “You were supposed to wait at the house for me to come get you.”
“I decided to skip a step.” She inhales deeply and closes her eyes. “Is that…pie?”
“Cookies, actually.” Ariadne speaks from her place in the kitchen. “I bake when I’m stressed.”
I move around my sister and make my way to Ariadne. She looks better than she did yesterday, the color back in her cheeks. There are still circles beneath her eyes, but I don’t think any of us are sleeping particularly well these days. “How are you doing?”
“Oh, you know, absolutely stunning. It’s not every day that I betray my father and country, and—” She shakes her head. “I made the right choice, but my emotions are all over the place. I don’t expect that’s going to resolve itself anytime soon.”
“Did you say cookies?” Persephone nudges me aside to peer at the wire racks in front of Ariadne. “They smell like a pie.” Truth be told, the cookies look more like pies than cookies. They are little triangles, puffed up, and appear to be filled with apples.
“I guess they’re kind of like apple pie cookies.” Ariadne stares at my sister’s stomach for a beat too long. “Would you like one?”
“Yes, thank you.” Persephone carefully picks one up and inhales deeply. “You can’t stay here indefinitely.”
“Excuse me?” Ariadne says at the same time that I snarl, “For fuck’s sake, Persephone.”