It doesn’t really surprise me that Persephone connects the dots so quickly, not when she’s already proven to have a sly mind behind that persona of pretty fluff. “If their sins happen in the dark, do they even count?”
Her expression is downright ferocious. “They use you and then they tuck you back into the shadows and pretend you’re a boogeyman. It’s not right.”
That strange pulse in my chest strengthens. I think I’m speechless. It’s the only explanation for me staring at her like I’ve never seen her before. That’s not only it, though. I’ve seen her fierce as fuck, but she’s never directed that in defense of me. It’s strange and novel and I don’t know what to do with it.
Thankfully, I’m saved from having to come up with a response by Hermes and Dionysus strolling up. Since the shows—official and unofficial—are finished, everyone around us are in various states of undress and beginning scenes. Not these two. They always show up, but Hermes is the only one who ever participates, if rarely. For Dionysus’s part, his vices don’t include sex of any flavor.
Dionysus points at a chair occupied by two women. “Move.”
They move, taking themselves a few feet away, and he drags the chair over to ours. “Nice party.”
“Glad you like it,” I say drily. He drops into the chair and Hermes perches on the arm of it. She runs her fingers through Dionysus’s hair absently, but her dark eyes are shrewd. I sigh. “Yes, Hermes?”
“You know I don’t like to tell you how to live your life.”
“When has that ever stopped you?” I feel Persephone tense like a coiled snake, and I smooth my hands down her body, tucking her more firmly against me—and banding an arm around her waist. I don’t think my little siren will physically attack someone, let alone one of the Thirteen, but I didn’t expect her to cut Eros down so efficiently, either. She’s full of surprises, which shouldn’t delight me nearly as much as it does.
Dionysus wraps an arm around Hermes’s waist and tilts his head so she has better access to keep up her absent stroking. No matter how relaxed he appears, he’s just as sober and shrewd as she is right now. “You’re poking the bear, my friend. Are you prepared for what happens next?”
It shouldn’t be possible that both Hermes and Dionysus are more dramatic when they’re sober than when they’re drunk. And yet here we are. “Not all of us make decisions on the fly.”
“You know, when we said you should loosen up, we didn’t exactly mean you should bang Zeus’s fiancée in front of fifty people who are frothing at the mouth to run back to the upper city and tell him what they’ve seen in explicit detail.” Hermes adjusts her glasses. “Not us, of course. We don’t indulge in spreading tales like that.”
I snort. “If there’s anyone in this room who believes that line, I have a nice oceanfront property in Ohio to sell them.”
“Hades.” She stops stroking Dionysus and sits up straight. “Was that a joke?” She points at Persephone. “What have you done to him? Three days and he’s cracking jokes. It’s weird and unnatural, and you both need to stop this immediately.”
Persephone huffs out a breath. “Maybe you’d know he has a dry sense of humor if you stopped talking long enough to let him get a word in edgewise.”
Hermes blinks slowly. “Um.”
“And for another thing, if you’re such good friends, maybe consider not running directly back to Zeus and tattling about everything you’ve seen here every time you visit. That kind of thing makes you a terrible friend, not a good one, no matter how many nights you end up drunkenly crashing at Hades’s house.”
Hermes does another slow blink. “Hades, I’m in love.”
“Down, girl.”
“That’s another joke.” She whoops and does a full body wiggle that forces Dionysus to move fast to keep her from toppling off the arm of the chair. “Oh my gods, I love her.” She straightens and grins at Persephone. “You are seriously a delight.”
Persephone turns to me. “I just yelled at her, and now she’s talking about how much she loves me. What’s wrong with her?”
“She’s just Hermes.” I shrug. “Carrying tales back and forth across the River Styx is part of her job. It’s why all these people are here.”
Persephone’s cheeks gain two bright spots of color. “Right. I forgot for a second.”
She forgot because she was so quick to rush to my defense. I don’t get it. She has nothing to gain from defending me. She came to me for protection, not the other way around. Once again, Dionysus saves me from having to come up with a suitable response.
He laughs. “You should see how pissed Zeus is. He’s playing it cool in public, but rumor has it that he destroyed an entire room when he found out where you’d gone. When he realizes that you’re riding Hades’s cock for everyone to see?” He shakes his head. “Nuclear doesn’t begin to cover it.”
Persephone goes tense, and I don’t have to see her face to know she’s thinking about her sisters. She might have conflicted feelings about her mother, but from everything she’s said and everything I’ve seen, the same cannot be said of the other Dimitriou sisters. If there’s one pressure point Zeus has available to him, it’s them. Fuck. I should have thought of that sooner. I can’t send my people to keep them safe without violating the treaty, and there’s no way Zeus will stand by if I allow them into my home. It’s a problem I don’t have a ready solution to, but I’ll figure it out.
I press a kiss to her temple. “Tired?”
“Is that a euphemism for do I want to get out of here and go up to your room?” She twists just enough for her lips to brush mine. “If so, then yes. If not, then be prepared
