Page 13 of Dark Restraint

Her mouth drops open. “You’re asking too much. Do you have any idea of the security they have around—” She clamps her mouth shut, but it’s too late. She’s given herself away.

“You’ve already tried it.”

“I haven’t tried to get the blueprints, no.”

It’s a dodge, and not even a good one. I’m curious about what she was searching for, but there’s plenty of time to get the answer to that later. I pull out my phone and text her. Even though we’re sitting right across from each other, she checks it and frowns. “What is this? An address?”

“Be there tomorrow at midnight.” I rise slowly, letting my shadow fall over her. “If you don’t come to me, I’m going to come to you. Again. I don’t give a fuck what extra security they have in that building. If I have to cut every single one of them down, that blood is on your hands.” She’s too good of a person to let that stand. I’m counting on it.

She glares. “Why are you doing this? You don’t normally toy with your prey.”

“I told you before. The rules don’t apply to us. Be there, Ariadne. On time. You won’t like what happens if you try to call my bluff.” It kills me to walk away from her. We’re so fucking close; it would take nothing at all to toss her over my shoulder and haul her out of here. She’s mine. She should be with me, not some flouncy fuck in his high-rise apartment. She doesn’t have his ring on her finger yet. Maybe that should reassure me, but I saw the headlines. I know what she intends.

Even so, taking her now would be a mistake. I don’t have an exit plan in place. I might be formidable, but in the end, I’m only one man. If both Minos and the Thirteen rally their forces, there’s nowhere in the upper city or countryside I can hide with her. I need to be able to leave the city, and for that to happen, the boundary has to come down.

We’ll play this little song and dance to completion. In her heart of hearts, she knows I won’t hurt her, or she wouldn’t have come this morning. No matter how defeated she looks, I believe that. She’ll get me those blueprints, and Aeacus will do what Aeacus does best and bring down Dodona Tower.

In short order, I’ll have everything I’ve spent my life pursuing.

Ariadne and my freedom.

8

Ariadne

I can’t stop shaking. I sit in that coffee shop for nearly an hour after Asterion walks away, staring at my empty cup and replaying his words. My brother said he intends to kill me. The dead guards last night were a clear enough threat to confirm it. Asterion didn’t contradict any of it. He might be a monster in so many ways, but he doesn’t lie—not to me. If he had no intention of following my father’s orders, surely he would’ve said as much. Surely he wouldn’t have made a point of proving that he could get to me even through Dionysus’s formidable security.

He really intends to get what he wants from me and then fulfill my father’s order. Dodona Tower is a bastion of the upper city. An attack on that will crumble the power of the Thirteen even further. I know I’m capable of acquiring the blueprints, for all that the cybersecurity in Olympus is formidable. But just because I can doesn’t mean I should.

I changed sides. I’m marrying Dionysus. If I were a true ally, I would go straight to him with the information I have and let him know the address and time I’m supposed to meet Asterion tomorrow. All it would take is a couple of Athena’s strike teams and Asterion would be no more. I would be safe, or as close to it as I’m capable of being. Being married to Dionysus is hardly my idea of a perfect future, but at least I’d be alive. I might even be safe.

Gods help me, but I can’t do it.

If it was anyone else… If my traitorous heart didn’t keep getting in the way… If, if, if.

Asterion isn’t bluffing. If I don’t go to him tomorrow night, he’ll come to me again, and he’ll kill more people to do it. The statement about blood on my hands was blatant emotional manipulation, but even recognizing it doesn’t mean I’m immune. I don’t want anyone else to die.

No, damn it, that’s not the full truth. The full truth is that I want Asterion alive, and I’m willing to let others fall to make it happen. He’s not asking for the blueprints of this building to plan a surprise party. It’s obviously part of my father and Circe’s continuing attack on Olympus. It’s only a matter of time before they bring down the barrier.

Then she’ll come and we’ll probably all die. I wish I had more faith in Olympus at this point, especially since I’ve changed sides, but they’ve been a step behind her this entire time. They’re too fractured, even now, when their only chance is to cooperate with each other.

“Fancy meeting you here.”

I jolt as a familiar woman drapes herself across the chair that Asterion vacated. Hera. She looks as good as always, her long dark hair slicked back and her lean form draped in loose menswear that looks intentionally rumpled. She peers into Asterion’s mug and then uses one sharp-nailed finger to slide it away from her.

“What are you doing here?”

“I was just in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by.”

I blink. Surely she doesn’t expect me to believe that. There’s no such thing as coincidences, especially now. Which means… “You’re having me followed.”

“Of course I am. I took a risk bringing you across the river and setting up the marriage with Dionysus. I would be a fool if I didn’t check up on my investment. Especially after that little scare last night.”

If that’s true, then she knows what I’m doing here and who I met. I search her expression, trying to divine what she’s thinking. Is she about to turn me in? Maybe she’ll kill me herself. For all her polished exterior, she seems the type who’s not afraid to get her hands dirty. I press my hands flat to the table and strive for calm. “What do you want?”

“A lot of things.” She taps her sharp nails on the table. “But from you? You’re perfectly positioned to further my goals. The Minotaur wants the plans for Dodona Tower? I’m more than willing to sit back and let it happen…for a price.”

This table is situated back from the others. Asterion and I spoke softly enough that no one should’ve been able to overhear what we were talking about. I fight down a shiver. I don’t know how she managed to get that information, and I doubt she’ll tell me if I ask. I sit back. “Everything has a price. Do you think I don’t know that? There’s no point in playing coy. Tell me what you want, Hera.”

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