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)
My staying here could get Poseidon killed.
Even without that? I can’t help thinking of the crew member hiding in that officer’s shower, the rest of them kneeling on the deck and waiting to hear if they’ll live or die, all dependent on the whims of the rich and powerful. All because they wanted to provide for their families. How many people like them have been hurt by those in power in Aeaea? I’ll probably never know the number, but for every one of them who is hurt because I was selfish when I could have done something to change their lives for the better…
I have to go home. I have to do the right thing. Not to benefit me, but because it’s the right thing to do.
Poseidon hangs up and turns to me. “Let’s get going.”
Watching him move about the bridge, getting the ship ready to head out, is a lesson in delicious agony. He’s so capable and focused and beautiful, and I can’t believe I’m planning on walking away, even if it’s not forever. It certainly feels like forever.
The ship starts moving slowly, but quickly picks up speed, angling away from Olympus and taking the most direct route to leave the bay. It seems like something that should take hours—days—but all too soon we’re leaving Olympus’s waters.
It’s almost anticlimactic. I watched my sister fight for her life in the waves created by the barrier coming down, and now I’m just…sailing to freedom.
Again, that selfish part of me, the one that’s kept me alive all this time, whispers that I should embrace that freedom fully, should hand off leadership to one of the crewmates on the deck and take off for wherever Ariadne has landed. There’s no one to stop me, no one to check up on if I’m going where I said I would.
But it would be the wrong thing to do.
I sigh. “It’s really frustrating prioritizing the well-being of many over myself.”
At the helm, Poseidon huffs out a sound that’s almost a laugh. “Tell me about it.”
“You could come with me.” I guess I still am that selfish, because I don’t hesitate to throw the offer at him again. “Fuck Olympus. They’ve never deserved you. I don’t, either, but at least I’m aware of that fact.”
His smile is sad and weighs me down from across the room. “You know better.”
Yeah, I guess I do. I cross to him and hug him from behind, letting the steady beat of his heart soothe me as much as I can be soothed in our current circumstances. “Can you sail?”
He tenses slightly. “Yes. I haven’t in a long time, but it used to be something I did often.”
“I’m going to leave you a sailboat in the port closest to Aeaea.” He tenses further, but I keep going. “It’s an open invitation, big guy. I’ll wait, however long it takes. When you’re done with what you have to do here, come for me.”
He’s silent for what feels like forever. “I will. I promise.”
There are so many other things I want to say, but what’s the point? He knows. We both know. We can circle this until we’re blue in the face and the results will be the same. I’m leaving. He’s staying. So I just hold him. He covers one of my hands with his and uses his other to guide the ship to our destination.
It takes far less time that I’d like. All too soon, Poseidon says, “We’re here.”
I lift my head and shift to look past him out the windows. Dawn is just a hint on the horizon, the first fingers of light diffusing the night. I can barely see the shore in the distance. We’re much farther out to sea than I realized. I frown. “I sincerely hope you’re not going to make us walk the plank and swim for shore.”
“Icarus, no one walks the plank anymore.” The fond exasperation in his deep tone makes my heart ache.
“Then…”
“How will you get home without a ship?” He turns in my arms and pulls away just enough to be able to see my face. “You were right to spare the crew, and you’re right to help those who need it. I’ll be damned before I strand you out here for doing the right thing.” He blushes. “And I’ll worry about you.”
That horrible, amazing feeling in my chest only gets stronger. “What did you do?”
“Ceto will be here shortly with a ship large enough to carry you all to safety. After you’ve reached Aeaea, she’ll return to Olympus.”
So that’s the call he was making. My throat tries to close, but I swallow rapidly past it. “Thank you.” I won’t let her go back to Olympus without loading her up on supplies to haul in. With all the civilians in the countryside, it’s bound to affect Olympus’s food stores. “Poseidon, thank you.”