26

Poseidon

We meet Orion at my office in the shipyard below the apartment we slept in last night. Icarus insists he doesn’t need to rest, but he appears to fall asleep roughly three minutes later, slumped over my desk with his head pillowed by his arms. It makes my back ache to look at him, so I carefully scoop him up and lay him out on the threadbare couch in the corner.

Which is the exact moment Orion walks into the room. They raise their eyebrows at me but don’t comment. It’s just as well; I don’t know what I’d say. I can’t pretend I’m not starting to care for Icarus. It’s inconvenient at best and disastrous at worst, especially with the information he shared this morning. I don’t want to be the next in the line of people he’s seduced while attempting to find safety. I want him to want me, full stop. A fool’s dream.

I motion for Orion to take the chair across from my desk and then drop into my seat. “How many people can we spare without damaging the line of sentries?” It’s tempting to pull everyone in, but that feels shortsighted. Circe hasn’t attacked and we have no evidence that she’s left the Penelope after the meeting with Hera, which means she’s waiting for something. I originally thought it was an attempt to instill fear because she knew the Thirteen wouldn’t unite to attack first, but now I wonder. Surely she’s not giving us time to evacuate the civilians?

“Half, give or take.” Orion leans forward and props their elbows on their knees. “I have them in three-person teams taking four-hour shifts.”

Smart. It’s a good way to keep them fresh and prevent sloppiness. I pinch the bridge of my nose and try to think past the exhaustion weighing me down. “Okay, pull a third of them back, one from each team.” I lay out the basis of the plan, watching Orion’s expression and body language all the while for some indication that they think it won’t work.

Orion gives me no sign of doubt. They nod. “We’ll need to know the numbers the others are bringing to be sure, but there should be more than enough boats to make it work. We only need one of our people on each. Smaller is probably better for this purpose. It keeps us maneuverable and stealthy.”

“That’s what I was thinking. Have Polyphemus ensure that there are jammers on every boat we take out. This won’t work if they see us coming.” It’s tempting to keep talking circles around this, but until I have more information from Hades and Zeus on the numbers they’re sending, until we know if Icarus’s information is enough to make Circe’s generals abandon her… There are too many factors. Better to wait and reconvene after sunset. “See it done, and then get some rest. We’re all going to need it.”

“Will do.” Orion rises. Their gaze tracks to Icarus, but they don’t comment on him as they turn and walk out of the office.

I want nothing more than to stretch out on that couch next to him, molding my body to his, and let sleep take me. But thinking about the evacuation reminds me that I haven’t had an update about the overall situation in Olympus in over twenty-four hours. I take a deep breath and dial Demeter.

For once, she doesn’t make me wait. “Hello, darling, how are you holding up?” Her voice is filled with warmth. I’ve never been able to tell if it’s genuine or not.

The last thing I want to do is make small talk, but it’s one of those strange societal expectations. The house might be on fire around us, but we still have to exchange pleasantries before we can get around to calling for a bucket of water. I clear my throat. “As well as can be expected. You?”

“I’m tired.” She sounds almost honest in this moment, almost vulnerable. “It’s been a long few weeks, and things promise to get more complicated before the end. I’ve only managed to get one of my daughters to listen to reason and evacuate, and even then she only did it to appease me. I’m worried.”

It wasn’t too long ago that Demeter and I were lovers. It started almost like friendship, and we were months into sharing a bed before I realized she intended to use sex to manipulate me, to get one of the legacy titles in her corner. She was never overt about it, but Demeter is one of the most ambitious people I know, and she rarely attacks a problem head-on. Our current Hera comes by her ruthlessness honestly.

So, no, I don’t trust this apparent vulnerability, even if it would be reasonable for the current situation, even if I sympathize with a mother trying to get her daughters to safety. “I’d like an update on the evacuation.”

“Of course.” Papers rustle in the background. “We’ve got about sixty percent of people out of the city. Some are choosing to stay, but a lot of the rest don’t have personal transportation, so we’re having to ferry them in groups via bus. It all takes time.”

No matter Demeter’s faults, she takes care of the people of Olympus. It’s how she got the title in the first place, winning an election by popular vote after the last Demeter passed in his sleep. I have no doubt she’s doing everything in her considerable power to help. “Is there anything I can do?”

“You’ve been performing admirably.”

“Demeter.” I take a breath. I had no intention of asking her this, but I can’t quite stop myself. “Why did you vote against going to war? I’d like an honest answer.”

She’s silent for a single beat. “I know what you and the rest of the Thirteen think of me, that I’m power-hungry and ruthless in my ambition.”

“Aren’t you?”

“Well, yes.” She laughs a little. “But I do nothing without reason. If I’d voted yes, Zeus would have launched an attack before we were able to evacuate the city. More than that, even with a majority vote, the minority among the Thirteen are still more than capable of digging in their heels. We’d have instantly bit off more than we can chew, and the civilians would pay the price.”

She’s…not wrong. She’d also travel back to Olympus to stage a riot herself if she knew what Zeus, Hades, and I are planning. I sigh. “Circe won’t be content to squat out there in the water forever.”

“No, she won’t. And we should all be worrying about why she’s still out there.”

It’s nothing more than I was thinking earlier, but hearing it echoed in Demeter’s voice has the small hairs on the back of my neck rising. I wanted to attribute Circe’s hesitation to her giving us a way to remove civilians or to her arrogance about the Thirteen’s constant squabbling, but it doesn’t feel right. She’s already created a tumultuous and unsafe environment in Olympus with her machinations, which has put civilians in danger, directly and indirectly.

“Demeter,” I say slowly. “Post sentries around the borders of the civilian camp.”

“You think she’s going to send some of her soldiers to harm the civilians the same way she did Hades in the lower city.”

“It’s possible I’m being paranoid.”

She chuckles. “Are you truly paranoid when our enemy has proven to be clever and ruthless?” She pauses for a beat. “We are keeping order in the camp, and that includes guards around the edges to dissuade anyone from taking advantage.”

I release the breath I’d been holding. “That’s good to hear.”

“We both want the same thing, even if we’re going about it in different ways. We’ll figure this out and then we’ll crush the bitch.” Voices in the background. “I’m sorry, Poseidon, but I’ve got to go.”

“Be safe.”

“You too.”

I set my phone down but pick it back up almost immediately. I don’t like what Hera is attempting, don’t like not knowing how far she’ll go, but there’s one part of this whole thing I don’t understand, and I won’t be able to move forward until I do. Before I can talk myself out of it, I call Zeus.

Like Demeter, he answers on the first ring. “Problem?”

I’ll never admit it aloud, but it’s a strange sort of relief to deal with Zeus during this time of crisis. He doesn’t bother with wasteful small talk. “Before we move forward with tonight, I have a question, and I want an honest answer.”

“A plan that will benefit all of Olympus.”

I flush, but I’ve been dealing with the Thirteen for twenty years. I’m not going to fold over a sharp question, no matter how valid. “Yes.”

He sighs. “Very well. Ask.”

No going back now. “To hear you tell it, you knew of Hera’s rebellion from the start and chose not to intervene until now. Why? Why did you allow Hera’s plans to move forward?”

His silence reigns as the seconds tick by into minutes. I check and make sure the call hasn’t dropped—or he hasn’t hung up on me. Finally, he says, “Because I was the only one she intended to kill.”

I don’t want to understand…but I do. I laugh hoarsely, and then louder, the sound gaining a thread of hysteria. He waits me out, once again silent as I try to regain control of myself. My chest feels too tight, my brain not firing properly. What are we doing among the Thirteen?

“Are you done?”

Apparently I am. “You and she really are on the same side, aren’t you?”

“My wife doesn’t see things that way.” He continues before I can ask another question. “It’s a moot point. Her values have changed and she’ll let the city burn to save her mother and sisters. I won’t, no matter how little the city in question appreciates it. Are you satisfied?”

“Yes.” There’s no other answer. He’s right. I agreed to Hera’s initial plan to kill Zeus for the same reason—to save the city. Now that she’s stepped over the line and her priorities have narrowed so dramatically, I can’t continue to side with her. “We’ll have your boats ready. If things go well, you’ll only be fighting one ship’s worth of leaders instead of five.”

“We’ll see.” He hangs up before I can say anything else, which is just as well. There’s nothing else to say. We only have to get the pieces in order.

I turn my chair to survey Icarus. His chest still rises and falls in a steady rhythm. Orion will deliver the clothing I requested in the morning. Until then, there’s little to do but wait. I lean away and lace my fingers behind my back, popping my spine. I can’t help the faint groan that slips free in response.

“There’s room on the couch, big guy.”

I smile even as I tell myself not to. “I thought you were asleep.”

“I was.” He yawns and rolls to his side, creating a tiny sliver of space that will certainly not fit me. “Come here.”

I pause long enough to set my alarm on my phone and then arrange myself on the couch. Not next to him but pulling him up to sprawl on my chest. I like him like this, fitted perfectly against me, his weight a comforting pressure against my chest, keeping me firmly in my body. I stroke my hand down his spine. “Comfortable?”

“Yeah.” He presses his face to my throat and inhales deeply. “Thank you. For…everything. I don’t deserve your kindness, but I’ll try to deserve it. I promise.” His words go syrupy and slow toward the end, trailing off into a cute little snore.

I’m not sure he was truly awake through this whole conversation, but I hold his words close all the same. I kiss his temple and wrap my arms carefully around him. “We’re going to get through this, Icarus. You’re going to get through this. I promise.”

No matter what it takes.