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And with those last words the doors to the elevator close.

Since Josie disappeared the other night, I’ve felt empty in a way I’ve never felt before. Like the loss of her presence made my lungs collapse, and I haven’t quite recovered. It makes me angry and intrigued. I’m not sure how much longer I can go before I scour the city and drag her back kicking and screaming. I scrub my hands over my face and focus back on the conversation.

I’m leaning against a bookshelf next to Hades, watching him pace back and forth across his office. Minos and Hermes stand near the door, and I know they wish they could just escape. So do I. He’s not usually in a mood. Hades is actually quite pleasant contrary to popular belief, but when it comes to Eris, our ex-associate, nothing could upset him more.

“All of you got this ridiculous engagement invitation?” he barks.

“Hand delivered,” I confirm.

Hades holds it up, inspecting it like it’s laced with poison. The red ribbon hangs from the wax seal, and the top is torn. He didn’t even use a letter opener in his fit of rage.

“This couldn’t possibly be a coincidence,” he reasons. “All these years with this stupid boy cowering at her feet, and now she wants to marry him?”

“Maybe he finally got on her nerves, and she’s doing it to shut him up,” Hermes says bitterly. It elicits a quick chuckle from Hades, and he takes a step back from the proverbial edge.

“How someone could stand that frigid bitch is beyond me.” He tosses the invitation into the fire. “Persephone says we have to go.”

“What?” The three of us chorus.

“I tried to reason with her. She says that it’s ‘in bad taste’ if we don’t.”

“Eris is the bad taste,” Minos points out.

“While that may be, she’s right. I’ve played out all the scenarios in my head. Eris deals in strife, and we have no idea what she has been up to since departing from our ranks. Refusing her little engagement invitation will be asking for trouble, which is exactly what she wants. So we’ll go and play the part. I, the gracious king, and you all, her former consorts.”

Hermes and Minos voice their displeasure under their breath. I stay silent. Something is wrong. Years ago, Eris used to work with us as a bookkeeper. She somehow wormed her way onto the counsel and eventually quit to become a representative of Elysium, where the wealthy and pretentious live. When she left, she took her little man pet with her.

Eris always wanted to live in high society. Marry well and live in a mansion. She always treated him like shit and commanded him around like a puppy. Now she’s marrying him? It just doesn’t make sense.

“What say you, Aedonaeus?” Hades asks.

“Well,” I gather my thoughts. “This doesn’t sit well with me, and I’m not sure why. I suppose they could be in love. That’s certainly a possibility. She has always craved attention, and maybe she thinks this is how to get it.”

I stare into the fire. “I think Persephone is right. The only way to pacify Eris is to attend the engagement party and play the stupid game to get through the night. We may dislike her, but we really don’t have any reason to hate her other than the fact that she is a thorn in our side. Who knows, maybe we’ll have a good time.”

Minos scoffs. “She leaves and I’m being punished.”

“We’re all being punished, Minos,” Hades interjects. “So it’s settled then. We’ll entertain the vapid woman for a night and hopefully never see her again.”

“There will be a wedding,” Hermes reminds us. We collectively groan.

Hades drops into his chair, knocking his head against the desktop repeatedly. “Any more delightful revelations?”

“I went to the museum and saw the box,” I tell him. His ears perk up, listening intently.

“And?”

“It appears that the mysterious donor does, in fact, have it. Just not on display for the public.”

I don’t know the significance of the box, but now that I know it seems to include Josie I want to tread carefully. Ever since he heard it had surfaced, he has been possessed with the need to find it. One time he was close, but it was snatched out from under him. He claimed Eris had it for a long time since we suspect she has ties to the black market. I don’t know why she would want it. For now, it’s under the watchful eye of the museum, and I can deal with it later.

“Eris doesn’t have it?” he asks.

“It doesn’t appear that she does.”

“Now I just feel like a self-righteous prick,” Hades groans.

I chuckle. “That’s because you are.”