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)
Lunch is a surreal experience. It’s so…normal. Everyone chats easily as if a man wasn’t almost murdered a few rooms away less than twenty-four hours ago. I knew the Thirteen and those close to them were different animals, but it’s never been clearer than in the time since Pan was attacked.
Especially considering my new theory that they’re here for Minos to do their dirty work in return for part of the profits.
Don’t they realize that this will give him leverage over them? Or do they really think they’re that untouchable?
Or maybe they’re planning a double cross once they get what they want from him? All the gain and none of the possibility of sharing the rewards or future blackmail.
The possibilities make my head spin. I can’t be the only one who sees the dangers. Surely I’m not. But they’ve ignored my warning so far. They truly think they’re untouchable. Even Apollo, in his own way. He’s willing to endanger himself for the greater good.
By the time they realize they might be wrong, it will be too late.
29
Apollo
Pandora is a lovely conversationalist and I detect some social training in the way she’s so effortlessly able to keep the topics light but interesting. Safe. She also successfully dodges all my careful probes for information. She’s cheerful in the extreme, but she’s no fool.
Then again, no one in Minos’s party appears to be a fool. Unfortunate, that.
Even Ariadne is making herself scarce after sitting next to me at dinner last night.
Minos clears his throat, and I can’t help tensing up in response. Another party game is coming, another frustrating set of hoops to jump through for his amusement. They were irritating before. Now participating feels particularly ghoulish.
The facade of concern is gone from Minos today. He’s smiling as brightly as I’ve become accustomed to, and his voice is boisterous as he comments on the quality of the meal we just consumed. But there’s something… I can’t quite put my finger on it. Something off.
Cassandra squeezes my knee and leans close. “You’re glaring.”
I make an effort to smooth my expression, but it’s more difficult than normal. What is it about him that’s making my instincts stir?
Minos gestures broadly. “This week has been more than I could have dreamed. I am incredibly grateful that you’ve all consented to come here and allow me to entertain you.”
More like he’s the one entertained by the whole process. It’s not as if he’s participating. He’s sitting back and watching us—watching me—run around like a rat in a maze. I catch myself clenching my jaw and focus again on relaxing my expression.
“Did you know my dear departed wife, Pasiphae, was a great fan of historical romance books?” He continues without waiting for an answer. I catch sight of Ariadne across the table, looking like she wants to melt into the ground. “It’s in her honor that we play these games.”
I raise my brows. And here I thought it was solely to humiliate some of the most powerful people in Olympus for your own amusement. Or, if Cassandra is right, to commit violent acts to gain leverage on those same people.
As if sensing my thought, Cassandra squeezes my thigh. She doesn’t look at me, but it’s enough of a reminder to stop glaring. I’ve never had this much trouble controlling my expression, but I’ve never dealt with a frustration like Minos represents. Even with the progress we’ve made, he represents everything that is wrong with this city. Power and corruption, and too many of my peers are willing to wade into the muck if it means getting ahead.
Minos continues, ignoring the looks people are exchanging around the table. “With that in mind, this afternoon is her particular favorite for her favorite child. I’m not sure why. Since he was a little boy, he hasn’t done a single damn thing right. Always the fuckup, aren’t we, Icarus?” He laughs, but no one else at the table does.
This isn’t the first time I’ve heard a parent be terrible to their child in what amounts to a public setting, but it’s extremely uncomfortable. Icarus looks a little sick to his stomach, but he’s been particularly quiet during the whole meal, his face drawn and dark circles beneath his eyes.
Minos continues, blatantly ignoring the strange currents that he caused. “Blindman’s bluff.”
“What the fuck is that?” Cassandra murmurs.
There’s no way Minos could hear her, but he answers all the same. “One of the party is blindfolded and disoriented and must guess the identity of the person they touch.”
It’s a strange game, and an even stranger choice to pick a “winner” through. Aphrodite leans back, her dark eyes challenging. She’s tucked under Adonis’s arm, but there’s a new tension in her since the events of yesterday. She keeps touching him almost possessively, and while she hasn’t looked at Theseus once during the entire meal, there’s no doubt it’s for his benefit.