Never anyone else's.
So this could only mean one thing.
"Is Susan your ex?" I demanded accusingly. "She is, isn't she? And you only made up all those stories about her so I'd never want to speak to her again, and then your secret about your secret affair will always be safe—-mmph."
Hadrian had pulled me close and covered my mouth with a long, deep kiss. I tried struggling at first, but Hadrian only deepened the kiss in response, his tongue pushing in, and...I was lost. And easy. So much so that by the time he lifted his head, I cried out in protest and pulled his head back down for another kiss.
He chuckled against my lips before indulging my silent plea.
The Gorgon started making retching sounds, but we both ignored her.
When Hadrian lifted his head again, I tried to protest once more, but this time he only shook his head. "I have to go, love."
"You can't," I said quickly. "You...you...you need to stay here to protect me."
"Actually..." His lips twitched. "I think you've never been safer."
My jaw dropped. "So all of that earlier...you really were lying?"
"No."
"Then—-"
"In fact, I'd go as far as saying she's even more evil now."
The Gorgon was a fanatic who killed men for fun...and Hadrian thought it was safe to leave me in her company?
My head just started hurting when I tried making sense of it, but before I could ask Hadrian to do another ELI5, he had already kissed me goodbye, and I was left sighing in his wake.
"I'm kinda missing him already."
Disgusting.
"I just love him so much. He's so—-"
The Gorgon's tongue snapped out towards me, and I jumped back with a yelp.
Get moving, sssstupid. Or are you sssso ssstupid you forgot we had a thief to catch?Chapter NineLittle Iron sprang energetically into flight as soon as he took in another drop of my blood, wings flapping so fast I soon found myself in a mad dash just to keep up. I took a peek at Ssssusssan and felt rather disgruntled that she didn't seem out of breath.
It's probably the air, I tried comforting myself. Underworld's air might be so hot it could burn the flesh off your bones, but it was pure and clean. Zero pollution, and so it figured residents like the Gorgon had stronger lungs while my poor lungs, weakened daily by smog, felt like it could burst at any moment.
We are here.
I nearly wept in relief at hearing the Gorgon's words, not because I was unfit or unhealthy. I was just very, um, excited to get to our next clue and catch our thief.
Little Iron dove back into the pocket of my dress while I lifted my head to see where the partridge had taken us. A red-and-black tent had been erected on a grassy field, and flashing on top of it was a hologram of a woman dressed in a colorful robe and holding a shimmering crystal ball in her hand.
I turned to the Gorgon, incredulous. "Is this for real?"
Those are the colors of the Oracle of Tyche, ssso yes. It is...for real.
The Gorgon hissed the last words out like they tasted foul on her tongue, and I almost rolled my eyes until I remembered what Hadrian said about Sssusssan.
"Thank you for the clarification," I said instead. I'm sure Hadrian had his reasons for thinking I'm safe with Sssusssan, but I'd rather not take my chances. One wrong word could trigger her next murder spree, and guess who was comfortably within reach to serve as her first victim?
Can you read that?
Ssssusssan pointed at the Greek characters that were now swirling inside the hologram crystal ball.
It's in Greek, duh, I almost retorted, but then I remembered - thousands dead, and just one snake-haired woman to blame.
So I opted for the high road once again. "No, I do not."
It sssays they are closed for lunch.
I usually hadn't any problems with L-words, but that one hurt. Empty-stomach-suddenly-hurting-and-growling kind of hurt, and when the Gorgon grimaced at this rather uncouth expression of hunger, I said defensively, "It's been hours since I last ate!"
And that was how we ended up in a nearby cafe, with the Gorgon sipping tea while I demolished the local meat dish she recommended. "This tastes so good," I gushed. "What is it exactly?"
Cccentaur.
I almost threw up.
I was joking, ssstupid. That's just sssteak, with ssspecial Underworld spices.
"If I find out you're lying, I swear to G—-" I almost said 'God', caught myself in time, and said instead, "I swear to Gaea, I'm going to..." My voice trailed off. What could I say that would scare a Gorgon like Sssusssan?
I ssswear it by the river Ssstyx.
Since that was the equivalent of having her words notarized, I relaxed in my seat, relieved that I didn't have to make up some lame-ass threat to a Gorgon who could probably drain my blood with a single hiss. And honestly, this steak was to die for.