Page 42 of Sweet Obsession

“That makes sense in times of peace. Not in times of war. We have to be decisive.” He leans forward suddenly, making me flinch. “I’m not going to argue with you, Poseidon. I know my wife came to you with the same reasoning and you agreed with her. The difference is that she’s only Hera and I’m Zeus. If we can convince Hades to join us, we have the power to protect the city.”

Only Hera.I might laugh if the situation wasn’t spinning wildly out of control. “Hades will never stand with you against the Dimitriou women.”

“Not even if it protects his people? If the upper city falls, the lower city stands no chance. Their barrier might appear to be holding strong now, but it won’t hold forever. We both know Circe is too smart to have left something like that to chance.”

He has a point. I don’t like it, but he does. I swallow hard. “I can’t fault your logic, but it’s all theory. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter who holds the reins for Olympus because we’re outgunned by our enemies.” I clear my throat. “And Circe will never bargain with a Zeus.”

“I’m aware.” He taps his finger on the gun again, and even knowing it’s coming, I can’t help flinching again. “My wife agrees with you. She would bargain with our enemy to save herself and her family. She’d open the gates and sacrifice every person in Olympus as long as the people she cares about are safe.”

He’s not wrong.

Zeus continues, apparently not needing an answer from me. “I’m not going to bargain with Circe.” This time he does smile. I really wish he didn’t. It’s disconcerting in the extreme. “I’m going to kill her and every general she has fighting at her side. And then I’m going to sink those fucking ships before they have a chance to attack.”

My mind races at the possibility of going forward with this plan without the majority vote by the Thirteen. It’s risky in the extreme, but if we could pull it off… Without the ships, there is no attack. I don’t like the idea of the loss of life that will result, but I like even less the potential loss of life in the city. At least the people on those ships signed up to fight. They’re soldiers, not civilians. Probably.

But… “You’re proposing a coup.”

“Atemporarycoup.” He holds my gaze. “Athena and I have an agreement. I’m not going to use this situation to set myself up as dictator.”

There’s so much going on beneath his words. I suck in a sharpbreath and try tothink. Athena is smart and savvy and ruthless to a fault. She’s not going to give up her power to a coup willingly, not unless Zeus is being honest about it being temporary. “Athena is participating in this?”

“Yes.”

I clear my throat. I’ve been embroiled in more plots in the last year than in the last fifteen combined. All because of Zeus and Hera. “What about your wife?”

“Let me handle my wife. She’s none of your concern.” He shifts slightly. “Just know that I’m never going to let this happen again, even if I have to kill most of the Thirteen and hand select their replacements. One way or another, wewillbe united once the threat of Circe is removed.” He picks up the gun, not quite pointing it at me but the threat is clear. “So I’ll ask you again—where does your loyalty lie?”

There’s only one answer. There’s only ever been one answer, no matter how my striving for it has taken me down strange and stranger paths. “I want what’s best for Olympus.”

“Glad we see eye to eye. We’ll discuss the specifics later today. I’ll text you the location.” He moves toward the door but stops before opening it. “Bring your little captive with you when you come.” He walks out into the night, closing the door softly behind him.

I stand and stretch carefully. There isn’t a sliver of a chance that I’m going back to sleep now. I should be focusing on everything Zeus said—on hiscoup—but Icarus steps out of the bathroom, derailing my thoughts.

Just like that, his betrayal comes crashing back. “Give me myphone, Icarus.”

23

Icarus

I don’t have any strong sense of allegiance to Circe, but fuck if she doesn’t have a good point about the corruption in this city. She’s all but literally knocking at Olympus’s gates, and the people in power are all too busy stabbing each other in the back to do anything useful in response.

I might be doing a bit of stabbing myself, but it’s not like I’m one of the people supposed to be running this place. And Ididn’tbetray Poseidon, no matter what he obviously thinks.

Poseidon holds out his hand without looking at me. “My phone,” he repeats.

My skin heats with shame even though I wasn’t doing anythingwrong. I pass the phone to him. “I wasn’t betraying you.”

“I didn’t ask.”

My shame gains new weight and intensity. He has no reason to trust me. AndIhave no reason to mourn the intimacy we shared in the bed only a few feet away. I could have waited to call Deo. I could have talked it through with Poseidon first. He knows I have blackmail that could help Olympus.I’mthe one who told him about it. All I had to do was ask for the phone and I bet he would havegiven it to me, no questions asked. He probably even would have left the room and let me make my calls in privacy—or at least the illusion of it.

But I wasn’t thinking about any of that when I snagged his phone and slipped into the bathroom.

Something flutters beneath my sternum. I know better than to fight to make someone see me when they’ve already decided they know everything they need to. Iknowbetter. But I still find myself saying, “I told you I had blackmail on Circe’s generals. I couldn’t use it unless I contacted them. So that’s what I did.”

He keeps watching me, but there’s none of the warmth I’ve come to associate with him. I didn’t even realize how much I enjoyed it until it’s gone. I wait for him to condemn me or yell or tell me I’m worthless, but he simply waits.

This isn’t a tactic my father ever employed. He was a volcano constantly on the verge of eruption. He might have been able to charm and coax people outside our household, but he saved the worst of himself for me. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that it left scars, that I’m already tensing in preparation for Poseidon to cut me down to the bone.

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