I don’t mean to get separated from the group. I was walking next to Dionysus and realized my shoe strap was coming undone. In the fifteen seconds it took me to fix it, the rest of the group cleared out, leaving only the hulking Minotaur behind. I don’t know why it surprises me that he keeps his deep-red hair long enough to brush his shoulders, but it does. It’s startlingly beautiful, glossy and thick, and only contrasts with his harsh features and the scars that cover his face. There’s a new one healing from where Helen—Ares—cut him in the last trial.
I tense, waiting for him to say something biting, but he just looks up and eyes the clear night sky. “Walk with me.”
Under any other circumstances, I would decline. He’s a strange man and obviously dangerous, and I have no intention of getting murdered before Zeus can pay me. If I do, he’s likely to say my side of the bargain isn’t fulfilled and then Alexandra gets nothing.
But he can make the same argument if he finds out I turned down a prime opportunity to get close to one of Minos’s family members.
Really, I only have one option. “Sure.” I can’t make myself sound happy about it, but I turn and head back toward the maze. The Minotaur is huge—he’s got to be nearly a foot taller than me, if not more—but he matches his stride to mine without any apparent effort.
I have absolutely no interest in entering the confined quarters of the maze, so I veer when the path branches, walking farther away from the house. I keep waiting for him to say something, since he’s the reason we’re out here, but he doesn’t speak.
I catch sight of a body of water in the distance. A pond, judging by its size. I stop short. “If you’re planning on trying to murder me, you’ll probably succeed, but I am an excellent screamer and you won’t get away with it.”
The Minotaur stops and looks at me. I can’t see his eyes clearly. The lights that made the maze navigable don’t stretch out to here. I only have moonlight to judge, but it sure seems like he’s amused. “I’m not going to murder you.”
Did he put an emphasis onyouor is the adrenaline surging through my body making me hear things? “That’s what a murderer would say.” I don’t know why I’m arguing. There’s something akin to panic fluttering at the back of my throat. I am not equipped to deal with this. The backbiting and politics, maybe, but this man went after Achilles Kallis, one of the best warriors Olympus has to offer, like he wanted to kill him. Like he’d killed before. “Why did you bring me out here?”
“Cassandra?”
I spin around as Apollo strides down the path. He looks calm and collected, but he’s moving fast enough to almost be running. He doesn’t slow down when he sees us, either. He narrows his eyes. “It’s time to go in now.”
“Until next time, Cassandra.” The Minotaur turns in the opposite direction and stalks into the darkness.
I stare after him.What the fuck was that?I open my mouth, but Apollo shakes his head sharply. “Let’s go back to the room.” He practically hauls me off my feet, moving too quickly for my shorter legs to keep up.
I finally have to dig in my heels and force him to stop entirely. Hegrowlsat me. “Move, Cassandra.”
“No.” I pull back, fighting down a shiver that’s certainly not desire when he doesn’t release my wrist. “Either slow down or let go, because I’m tired of you dragging me along.”
For a moment, it looks like he intends to argue with me, but he finally huffs out a breath. “I’ll slow down.” He maintains his hold on my wrist as he turns back toward the house, but this time, he checks his pace so I can keep up without struggling. We still make it back to the room in record time. Apollo hustles me through the door and slams it behind him. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Of all the things I expected him to say, this wasn’t on the list. “Excuse me?”
“The Minotaur is dangerous.Everyoneat this party is dangerous. You can’t simply waltz off into the dark with them without telling someone where you went.”
I know this is fear. Apollo would never yell at me without good reason, but my own residual fear gets ahold of my tongue. I don’t even try to stop it. “I don’t need a babysitter, Apollo. You brought me here to do a job, and I’m going to do it.”
“Not at the expense of your safety.”
A bitter laugh erupts from me. “Right. As if I’ve ever been safe in Olympus.”
He focuses in on me, narrowing his dark eyes. “This isn’t harsh words and gossip, Cassandra. This is dangerous.”
Oh good gods, he’s like a dog with a bone. I throw up my hands. “You don’t thinkIknow that? The Thirteen murdered my parents and then covered it up to look like an accident.” I’d been young and naive and too shell-shocked to think clearly in the aftermath. It’s the only excuse I have for going to the police. Not that it helped. They all but laughed me out of the station.
Apollo narrows his eyes. “Then you have no excuse for wandering off with the Minotaur. He could have killed you and shoved your body somewhere on the grounds, and I wouldn’t have known any differently.”
Like Hermes’s plus-one?
I shut that thought down fast. We don’t even have confirmation that there was a plus-one to begin with, let alone that they’re missing. Dionysus might have misunderstood or not been informed when the plan changed.
Either way, it has nothing to do with this conversation. “I knew the risks when I agreed to come here. So did you.” I’m done with this conversation. As grateful as I am that he hunted me down to ensure I was okay, I don’t need to be lectured on the dangers of Olympus by a man born with a silver spoon in his mouth. A man almost universally beloved by both the public and those who hold power.
“Don’t walk away from me, Cassandra.” He doesn’t move from his position, but his firm voice stops me cold. “If you want to be done with this conversation, then say so. But don’t storm out in the middle of it.”
The rebuke stings. I spin to face him. If he wants a report, I’ll give it to him. Honestly, this should be a relief. For a little while there, I almost forgot that Apollo is nothing but my boss. I should thank him for reminding me.
I straighten my spine and stare at a point just off his right ear. “I don’t need you to protect me, Apollo. I’m here to do a job. Dionysus shared no useful information during the maze, aside from the fact that Hermes may or may not have invited a guest and they haven’t shown. I’m still considering information about why everyone is here, but based on the party guests and the prize, I would wager Minos plans to set up at least one of his children with single members of the Thirteen. I did not gain any information from the Minotaur, which seems to indicate that whole performance was foryourbenefit and you walked right into it.” My voice trembles, and I concentrate on firming it up. “That’s all I have to report. I’m going to wash my face and change.” When he doesn’t speak, I snap, “That means I am, in fact, done with this conversation.”