Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 101264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
12
Apollo
“The weather is really nice tonight.”
Eurydice gives me a polite smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “Yes, very.”
Gods, this is ridiculous. I move through the most powerful circles in this city, where one wrong word can create a cascade of political ripples. I’m good at it most of the time. And the best I can come up with in this situation is a comment about the weather?
After several minutes of awkward silence, I try again. “I’ll admit, I was surprised to see you at the dinner table.”
Eurydice doesn’t look at me. “I was a last-minute invite.” It’s clear she has no intention of elaborating, which is interesting.
There’s something different about her. This woman has spent plenty of time in my presence at family functions during the time she dated my brother, but in those interactions, she always seemed nervous and almost fragile. That feeling is gone now. She’s still quiet and composed, but something’s changed. “How have you been?”
“Good.” Her answer seems to surprise her. She finally shoots me a sheepish smile. “I wasn’t for a while, but I’m doing much better now.”
I don’t inquire about her obvious camaraderie with Charon, don’t ask whether it’s more than friendship. That’s none of my business. I glance up at the stars overhead. I had intended to reach out via Hades about the possibility of Orpheus apologizing. It seems silly to wait when she’s walking next to me, but I don’t want her to feel like I’m cornering her out in the dark maze, either.
“Apollo?” She pauses as voices drift from somewhere close, but they move away quickly. This maze truly is a monster.
When she doesn’t immediately continue, I say, “Yes?”
“How is he?” She rushes on before I can answer, some of her previous nervousness showing through. “I wouldn’t ask because I most certainly don’t care, but I saw him a couple weeks ago. It was just for a moment and across a bar, but…” She takes a deep breath. “He looked like shit. Not at all like the man I knew.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her everything, but it’s no more my place to share Orpheus’s struggles than it is to browbeat Eurydice into seeing him. I can’t even promise he’s changed, for all that I believe he has, at least based on our recent conversations. I clear my throat. “He would like to apologize.” I hold up both hands. “You absolutely do not have to agree, though. You don’t owe him anything.”
“I know.” Her lips curve in a faint, sad smile.
“Oh. Okay.” I drop my hands. “You don’t need to answer tonight, but if you end up deciding that you’d like to hear his apology, I can arrange it.”
“If I decide to hear him out, I’ll arrange it myself.” She starts to move forward and glances over her shoulder at me. “Thanks, though. Regardless of how I feel about my ex, you’ve been nothing but kind to me.”
A dozen comments rise and die before they ever leave my lips. That Eurydice is a gift and I hope she finds someone who appreciates that in full. That I would have liked to have her for a sister-in-law. That I think Orpheus wants her in his life again. That I hope she moves on from my brother and never looks back.
I don’t say any of it.
A whoop goes up somewhere to our right. I turn that way instinctively, even though I can’t see anything but hedge. A few moments later, Minos’s voice booms from the opposite direction. “We have our winners! Charon and Atalanta.”
Eurydice smiles. “Charon really is the best, isn’t he?” She tilts her head to the side. “I wonder what the prize is.”
We find out a little while later. I’m able to get us back to our entrance without too much trouble, having memorized the route, and I’m no small amount of relieved to see Cassandra and Dionysus chatting as they come around from the opposite side. Pairs trickle in slowly, but the last one isn’t a pair at all.
It’s a trio.
“You must be joking me,” Eurydice murmurs.
Ariadne walks between Atalanta and Charon, an arm slung around both of them. “You’ve won me, friends. Whatever shall you do with me?” She’s grinning and seems like she’s actually having fun. I can’t blame her. Both Atalanta and Charon are attractive and charming and have proximity to power that’s almost as alluring as the power itself. It takes skill to do what they do and everyone knows it.
I’m pretty sure I hear Eurydice growl a little, which is confirmation enough that her interest in Charon goes beyond friendship. Impossible to say if it’s returned, but he laughs and artfully slips from beneath Ariadne’s arm. “I think it’s time for a drink.”
“A man after my own heart.”
I search for Cassandra again in the group, finally landing on where she’s still speaking with Dionysus. I start to pick my way toward them, but Minos appears before me as if by magic. The big man smiles. “Apollo, I’d love a word.”