Page 65 of Invoking Ruin

“And you know the worst of it?” I asked. “You were always so happy in those little worlds of yours. Humanity had left you behind so long ago, and their lack of love broke something in you. I remember how much staying away from them was like physical pain for you.”

“Because you were always watching me,” he snaps.

I nod, not denying it. “I’ve always watched you, yes.”

“And murdered anyone who might become your rival.”

Oh. I fight the urge to roll my eyes. “Hera ordered me to kill your bull-leaper. You know that.”

“Oh, you must have been tortured when she did that. Because killing Ampelos was so very difficult for you.”

I shrug. It hadn’t been. He’d been enamored of his little mortal, but mortals were always so breakable. Ampelos had been eager to leap a bull he wasn’t ready for, to show off for Dionysus. To prove himself worthy of a god’s attention.

I probably hadn’t needed to convince him to his own ruin. He’d have done it himself.

But I helped him along.

“He’d have died anyway.”

He snarls something I can’t quite catch. I’m not sure I want to.

“You should have told Hera no, if you care about me so much.”

We’re getting off track, going down a doomed path. It also sounds like Dionysus is using his long-dead mortal as an excuse. A grudge well over two thousand years old is petty even for our kind.

“She was a god-queen at the height of her power. No one could just ‘Tell Hera no.’ You know that as well as I do. Besides, it was thousands of years ago, and Hera is dead. Are you going to blame me for all of her crimes?”

The way his hands ball into fists tells me he might.

Of all the awful things I’ve done, I hadn’t expected him to care about an ancient crime. Then again, he’d avoided me ever since, hadn’t he? Until he didn’t remember why he mistrusted me anymore.

I press my lips together. “I’ve kept you safe this whole time.”

“Safe and captive. I’ve been your pet, with you whispering your poison in my ears to make me compliant.”

“Oh, please.” I get off the bed and cross over to him. “You cannot blame me for every misfortune you suffered. I didn’t take your memories or your powers, and believe it or not, most of the time I left you alone. I checked on you, made sure you were happy, but I kept my distance. Like I always have.”

His hand darts out, tangling in my hair and dragging me into him the rest of the way.

I hiss, my scalp burning. He’s furious, his expression promising violence if I’m not careful. Very careful.

“You stayed away until this year. What changed, Atê?”

I grind my teeth. His grip on my hair is iron, keeping our gazes locked. His eyes are stormy, as though I need more indication of the danger I’m in.

Dionysus is brilliant in his happiness, but his wrath shines so bright it burns. I know what he can do to me if he’s truly angered.

“What. Changed?” His voice is pleasantly calm, but I shiver like a cold wind has filtered through the pavilion.

“Eris changed,” I gasp out. “That’s what. She ended the tear in the Void that was draining all of us, and everyone’s powers and memories started returning. I knew that every god left on Olympus would come looking for you, dragging you back into a life you never wanted.”

“So you kept me from Olympus. Made sure my memories wouldn’t return.”

He still doesn’t know I tried to get Lethe to give him more Oblivion, and I keep my mouth shut on that count. I’m in enough trouble without that extra bit of truth between us right now.

“I kept you where you were happiest,” I say instead. My eyes narrow. “Did Nemesis and Lethe try to take you back to Olympus? Keep you safe behind their adamantine walls?”

His grip on my hair slackens, all the confirmation I need.

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