Page 63 of Sweet Obsession

“Here.” Something presses against my lips and I open without hesitation because it’s Poseidon offering.

Spicy flavor explodes on my tongue. Ginger. It’s so strong, it almost burns me, but it does help the seasickness. “Thanks,” I manage.

By the time I open my eyes, the relative light from Olympus’s proximity feels distant. I cautiously look back to see the city twinkling in the distance. It didn’t seem like the ships were that far offshore, but I guess distances are tricky on the water.

“The jamming devices are doing their job,” Athena murmurs. I don’t know how she can tell that. I can barely see anything at all.

I glance at Poseidon, close enough that I can pick out his familiar features in the near-perfect dark, and find him grinning. He catches me looking and shrugs. “I like being out on the water, even in these circumstances.”

“You would love Aeaea.” I say it without thinking, without considering the implications. “At least the sea surrounding it.”

He seems like he might respond, but he doesn’t get a chance. “Stop here.” Zeus doesn’t raise his voice. He doesn’t have to; the motor is damn near silent even as the person at the helm obeys, easing our pace until we’re only holding our location instead of moving forward.

Now, we wait.

Even with the clothing Poseidon provided, I’m so cold, I can’t stop shivering. Zeus seems not to feel the weather. He stares at the ships as if he can sink them through sheer willpower. I’m not certain he can’t.

“Fifteen minutes to midnight,” he finally says. “We move in twenty, regardless of whether we get a signal or not.”

“Understood,” Poseidon says.

We all understand. Fifteen minutes has never seemed like a particularly long time, but as we sit in the bobbing waves, ginger practically burning my tongue, it might as well be years ticking by. Poseidon sits at my side, but he’s a million miles away.

To distract myself, I stare into the darkness, trying to pick out any indication of the ships. It’s an impossible task. They aren’t pleasure vessels with large windows to shine their light out across the water. Poseidon found it strange that Deo and the others were personal owners of what amounts to military ships, but on Aeaea, themilitary is privatized. It’s just how things are. I never questioned it, but now, sitting here freezing my ass off while we try to break the siege on Olympus, I wonder if maybe Ishouldhave questioned it.

I should have questioned a lot of things.

Something vibrates against my leg and I flinch instinctively. He pats my thigh. “It’s my phone.”

“Right. Of course.” It’s everything I can do not to dig it out of his pocket myself to read whatever text just came through. It has to be from Deo. Ithasto be.

He shifts away just enough to pull his phone out—the screen already turned down so low that I can’t read it—and sighs. “They’re leaving.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Athena mutters. “Five minutes.”

“Poseidon.” The woman, I’ve already forgotten her name, leans forward with a tiny screen lit neon green. “They’re moving.” She points to one of the tiny dots among the lines.

We sit silently and watch four of the dots peel away from the fifth, taking varying angles and moving toward the open ocean. It’s…happening. I did it. I haven’t failed. This might not be what I originally planned to use the blackmail for, but it’s actually serving a noble purpose instead of a selfish one. With only one ship to contend with, Poseidon has a better chance of living to see sunrise. He’ll be okay, in part, because ofme.

“It could be a trap,” Zeus says.

“It could be. But it’s not.” I don’t deserve the faith Poseidon puts in me. I’ve done nothing to earn it. It still feels good. Especially when the little dots don’t turn back. They seem to be picking up speed, though it’s hard to tell for sure. Poseidon touches my back,a light brushing of his palm between my shoulder blades. “Icarus came through for us.”

“Apparently so.” Zeus doesn’t sound particularly pleased, but he never sounds like anything but ice. “Let’s go. The others will see the same thing we are and will be shifting positions.”

One ship. They still outnumber us, but even if I haven’t spent much time among the normal people in Aeaea, the ones who existed outside the guarded gates at my father’s property, I still know the reality they live in.

It’s honestly not that different from Olympus’s civilians—worse, in some ways. Ironic, that. Circe doesn’t seem to care that she’s allied with people who, if given half a chance, would have done exactly what the Thirteen did in Olympus.

But then, vengeance has a way of narrowing focus and allowing for all manner of compromises of one’s ethics.

“When we reach the ship, stay in the boat with Ceto.”

Zeus speaks before I can protest. “No, he’s coming with us.” There’s no give in his voice, just a command he obviously expects to be obeyed without question.

He should know better. Poseidon shakes his head. “Absolutely not.”

“It’s entirely possible that this is all an elaborate maneuver to get the three legacy titles on their knees in front of Circe. I’m not taking any chances. He comes with us.”

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