Page 59 of A Touch of Chaos

Persephone obeyed without hesitation, a hard edge to her pale face.

“What’s in the bag?” Dionysus asked. “Other than clothes.”

He didn’t really care, but he wanted to keep her from pressing him about what he intended to keep from her. It was bad enough she was going to go into the labyrinth distracted by Phaedra, likely worrying over whether he was capable of rescuing her. She didn’t need to worry about a baby too.

“Supplies,” she said, scratching behind the cat’s ear.

He didn’t like that she was being so short with him, though it wasn’t unusual. It seemed to happen every time they came close to fucking again. It was like, in the aftermath, she realized she had made a mistake.

He tamped down the frustration that shot through him, holding her gaze before letting his eyes drift down her body.

“Are you armed?” he asked.

“What do you think?” she countered.

“I can’t imagine where you put it,” he said.

The last time he’d argued with her about this, she’d showed him her ass in an elevator, and it had left him mostly speechless. He had a feeling she was going to do that again.

She raised a brow. “Can’t you?”

Then she pulled the front of her jacket back to reveal a holster.

Damn, that wasn’t nearly as exciting.

There was silence for a moment. He couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“Are you ready for this?” he asked.

“As ready as I’m going to be,” she said. “Are you?”

No, he wanted to say.What if you don’t come back?

But he knew that wasn’t what she meant.

“Our part is easy,” he said.

Ariadne did not look so certain, and he wondered if her doubt came from mistrust in him. Though he didn’t have the best track record with her. He had promised to help her sister before if she helped him find Medusa first. He’d believed they would need the gorgon to fight Theseus.

Persephone returned dressed similarly to Ariadne, in head-to-toe black, including a leather jacket.

“Is the jacket necessary?” Persephone asked, her cheeks flushed.

“If the labyrinth is as I remember, then yes,” said Ariadne. She returned the cat to Persephone and reached for her duffel bag, swinging it over her shoulder. “Ready?”

“That’s it?” Dionysus asked. “What is your plan?”

“The plan is to make it out of the labyrinth with Hades,” said Ariadne.

“That’s the goal, not the plan, Ari.”

She glared at him. “I know what a plan is, Dionysus. I have this under control.” Her eyes shifted to Naia and Lilaia. “As soon as we arrive, Theseus will know. He will come to Knossos immediately. Then you can make your move.”

The women nodded.

Dionysus hated that she was talking to them and not him—as if he wasn’t part of this plan.

“Let’s go,” Ariadne said. “The sooner we get there, the sooner this is over.”

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