Page 9 of Dark Restraint

I know how much that hurts him. I would spare him that if I could, but my brother’s feelings ultimately matter less than ensuring I didn’t have anything standing in the way of doing what needed to be done. There’s no point in secrecy now, though. It’s finished. “I was pregnant.”

“You were…” His voice trails off, and silence descends. I wait him out. My father might call my brother a fool, but he’s not. He is reckless and wild, but he grew up in the same household I did. He’s more than capable of following things to their logical conclusions. “You should have told me,” he finally says. “I wouldn’t have sacrificed you for our father’s ambitions, Ari. I’m not so desperate for his approval to stoop so low.”

“I know,” I say gently. “But this isn’t our city, and I needed to make sure no one knew I was pregnant before it was taken care of. If we went somewhere in the upper city, Father would have heard about it. He might have even stopped me.”

Icarus curses again, but softer this time. “I should have been there for you. You shouldn’t have had to go through that alone.”

This is the part of my brother that my father can never exorcise. At his core, Icarus is a good man who just wants what’s best for those around him. My heart wobbles in my chest, and I have to sit on the edge of the bed to steady myself. “It wasn’t as bad as all that.” Mostly. In some ways, it was worse. I spent a day or two in a small apartment in the lower city with Medusa and Calypso, who were kind enough in their own way, but the distance between us was clear. They didn’t treat me as an enemy to be destroyed, but their warmth was only surface level. I don’t blame them for that.

At least I wasn’t alone.

“Ari.”

I sigh. “Okay, at some point, I’m going to have a very long and intense cry over it. Not with regret, but just… It’s a lot.”

He’s silent for several long moments. “It was his, wasn’t it?”

No point in pretending I don’t know who he’s talking about. I’ve never spoken aloud about my fascination with Asterion, but Icarus is too smart not to pick up on things. He’s made comments over the years, but they’ve been lightly teasing, invitations to confide in him that I’ve never taken him up on. Talking about my feelings threatened to make them real in a way I couldn’t take back.

Joke’s on me. What happened in the maze isn’t something I can ever take back. In my heart of hearts, I don’t know if I want to take it back. How unforgivably selfish of me. “Yes. It was his.”

“No wonder he’s been such a fucking monster since you disappeared,” he says slowly before his tone sharpens. “You need to be careful, Ari. Father came in today ranting about your wedding to Dionysus. He wants you dead.”

I stare at the intricately patterned wallpaper and wait for the words to penetrate. Surely he didn’t say what I think he just said. I knew my father would never forgive me for betraying him, but… “What?”

“Dead, Ari. Like six feet under. There was no way to misunderstand him.” He hesitates. “He told the Minotaur to do it. And the Minotaur, well…he agreed.”

6

The Minotaur

Aeacus is one of Circe’s men who snuck through the barrier on a shipping container a few weeks ago. He’s a short man with medium-brown skin and a shaved head. He’s older than me by about a decade, and he’s got a weathered look that says he’s seen some shit. Half his crew were murdered by Hades two weeks back, right before the secondary barrier between the lower city and the upper city became impenetrable. No matter how Minos blusters, I know damn well that losing so many people wasn’t part of the plan.

Aeacus points me to a map spread out on the table in the dingy apartment where he and his remaining team are living. “Here.” He touches Dodona Tower. “This is the next target. It will take some time to get things in place, but it’s the heart of the upper city, and Circe wants it crushed.”

A solid move. It’s where the rich and powerful gather, wanting to see and be seen. They think they’re sharks, but in reality they’re a bunch of peacocks. Zeus and Hera even have thrones that they perch on, pretending they’re royalty. Taking down that building will be as big a blow as any we’ve managed so far.

I don’t particularly like the way he’s looking at me right now, though. Intently. Expectantly. “What do you want me to do about it?”

“You still have access, don’t you? I need blueprints.”

Whether I have access is up for debate. I haven’t tried to enter the building since the assassinations started. There was a small chance I’d maintained clearance while Theseus was a member of the Thirteen, but since he defected, he took what little protection Minos’s household maintained with him.

There is more than one way to skin a cat, though. And this is just the excuse I need to put things into motion without Minos questioning it.

I turn for the door.

Aeacus clears his throat. “Where are you going?”

“You need blueprints, I’ll get you blueprints. I’ll be back when I have them.” I walk out the door. He shouldn’t let me get away with that, especially not in front of his people. All it takes is one sign of weakness, one kernel of disrespect, and a hierarchy comes tumbling down. I don’t know how long he’s been the team leader, but I doubt he’ll maintain the position for long.

That isn’t my problem.

It only takes a moment to orient myself on the street and start making my way toward my destination.

Minos and the rest of them believe I’m all brawn and no brains. I’ve given them no reason to think otherwise. But I’ve spent half my life watching how Minos operates. He’s a mean bastard, especially to those he decides aren’t worth charming, but he never attacks when coercion can accomplish the same goal. It’s a lesson I’ve considered countless times over the years. It seems like a waste of energy when the thing you want is right in front of you, but maybe he has a point.

I’ll never be charming, but no one expects me to be duplicitous.

---