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)
But I still don’t take the words back.
Eurydice opens her mouth but pauses. She takes a deep breath and releases my neck. It requires everything I have to let go of her. The small step she takes away from me feels like a part of my body being shredded.
I know what she’s going to say before she shakes her head slowly. “I’m sorry, Charon. I can’t.”
Loss threatens to take me out at the knees, but I somehow manage to stay standing. “I understand.”
“No, I don’t think you do. I love you too.” She lifts her hands like she’ll touch me again but stops before she makes contact. “But I can’t be with you like you need—like you deserve. I’m not capable of it.”
I don’t want to get what she’s saying. It would be so much simpler if I didn’t. But I know this woman. After a year, I won’t pretend she doesn’t have the capacity to surprise me—tonight is more than proof of that—but I understand her. There’s only one thing that would put that look on her face. Or, more accurately, one person. I curse. “Orpheus. Still.”
Her eyes shine in the low light of the club. “I’m sorry,” she says again. “I know it’s been long enough to be pathetic, but things still feel…unresolved. It’s not fair to move on to something serious with you with that still hanging over my head. If I still haven’t shaken it after nine months, I don’t know if I ever will.”
I don’t ask her what she needs for closure with her ex. I don’t ask her how long she needs. I don’t ask anything at all.
I’ve loved Eurydice for a long time now. I can admit that to myself even if I can’t speak it aloud to anyone else. I’ve waited this long. If I have to wait forever, then that’s what I’ll do. “Okay.”
She looks absolutely sick. “If I could just talk to him—”
“No.” I don’t mean to bark the word, but I also don’t take it back. “You are not crossing the River Styx. No one in the lower city is. Directive from Hades and Persephone.”
Her nostrils flare. “My sister and brother-in-law do not rule me.”
“You’re in the lower city, so that’s exactly what they do.” She still looks stubborn, so I allow myself to lean in and speak directly into her ear. I don’t touch her again, no matter how much I want to. “You know what’s going on over there. It’s not safe.”
It hasn’t been for weeks, ever since the citizens of Olympus learned of the little-known clause that says assassinating one of the Thirteen—the ruling body of Olympus—is a way to jump the line of succession.
Normally, those positions change once every few decades when the current person in power retires or dies. Nine times out of ten, their successor is pulled from one of the legacy families. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades pass to their eldest child. Those in power stay in power and the rest of the city has no chance to change that.
Until now.
The chaos is only growing with each assassination attempt. There have been dozens in the last month, and their frequency only seems to be increasing. That’s a problem in and of itself, because instability in the city grows in direct proportion. People don’t care that they aren’t following the proper protocol to actually take the title of the person they’ve killed. It’s chaos.
Earlier today, someone sank a knife into Poseidon. He survived, but at the same time, someone broke into Triton’s house and murdered him. He doesn’t even hold a title. He might be nearly as rich as the members of the Thirteen, but that’s only because he’s Poseidon’s cousin and his bloodline allows him to ferry people back and forth across the boundary that surrounds the city. There was no gain to be had from his death. That didn’t stop someone from killing him in cold blood.
If family members aren’t safe, then Eurydice is in danger on multiple fronts.
Her mother is Demeter. Her eldest sister is Hera. Her other sister Persephone is married to Hades…
It’s entirely possible that some fool with more rage and ambition than sense will try to hurt her if she ventures into the upper city. At least our citizens in the lower city haven’t lost their damn minds. She’s safe here. “If you need to talk to him, he can come to the lower city.”
“Yeah, right. As if that would ever happen.” She turns and walks away.
I watch her go like the fool I am. I can’t take the feeling that I’m about to ruin things between us forever. If she needs to see Orpheus to get closure, then I’ll make that happen for her. Even if she still has feelings for Orpheus after all this time, even if seeing him again will surely reignite those feelings. Unfortunately, it’s clear that she can’t move on without seeing him, so that’s a risk we’re all going to have to take together.