Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 101264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Still… Can’t hurt to try. We didn’t manage to find the security room in our predinner explorations, though we did map out a portion of the downstairs floor plan.
Dionysus laughs uproariously as Hermes wraps up the story. I wait a beat and then lean forward, all interest and intent. “Is it true this used to be your house, Hermes?”
“Guilty as charged.” Her smile warms several degrees when she looks at me. It was that warmth that first attracted me to her. So much about her is farce, but when she enjoys a person’s company, she doesn’t pretend otherwise. “But I’m a city creature right down to my soul. It’s a shame to let such a lovely place waste away beneath dust and sheets, so when our friend Minos mentioned he was interested in purchasing a home, I offered mine up.”
Our friend Minos.
I have to fight not to narrow my eyes. There’s a bit of an ironic lilt to those words. There’s absolutely no way that Hermes considers Minos a friend; he’s far too similar to the last Zeus, and I’m intimately acquainted on her thoughts about him.
My voice comes out too sharp. “I would have thought a house owned by the vaunted Hermes would be less mundane.”
Dionysus coughs into his cloth napkin, almost managing to cover up his laugh. “She called you mundane, love. Fighting words if I ever heard them.”
“Cassandra does love a fight.” The warmth on Hermes’s face doesn’t fade, though her expression goes crafty in a way that used to thrill me. It usually meant a whole lot of fun or pleasure in the future—often both. Now it just makes me wonder what she’s hiding.
“Hermes—”
“You know me.” She doesn’t quite sink insinuation into the words, but it’s a near thing. “What would make you think I’m the type of person to just hand away my secrets for free? If you suspect there’s more to this house…go find it.”
I don’t have a chance to come up with a suitable response, which is just as well. In all the time I’ve known Hermes, I’ve never managed to outwit her, and I highly doubt I’m going to start tonight. She as much as admitted there’s something to find, but it would also be just like her to pretend this house held great secrets, only for me to discover it’s just as mundane as it appears to be. With Hermes, you can really go either way.
The table falls silent as Minos stands. He smiles at us, his gaze seeming to meet each person’s in turn. Neat trick. He’s had some public-speaking training because he manages to project his voice to the whole room without seeming to lift it at all. “Thank you for honoring me by attending this event. I hope you’ll indulge me further tonight with a little game.” His smile warms.
Gods, he’s good at this. We saw it a bit at dinner the other night, but I hadn’t realized how good. He’s holding the entire room enraptured. Even Dionysus has stopped nudging Hermes with his elbow and is focused entirely on Minos.
He spreads his hands. “Through the back door, you’ll find a hedge maze. I’ve left a little something in the center for whoever gets there first.”
A hedge maze.
I can’t help glancing at Theseus and the Minotaur. The second Ares trial was a maze, and it was the trial that eliminated Theseus—and was responsible for his current limp. Surely it’s left bad memories? Especially with Atalanta here, another competitor in that tournament. I can’t tell from his expression. He seems to permanently glower at everyone except the woman with the boisterous laugh at this side, and even she only gets a small curve of his lips in response.
Another look around the table shows that we’re missing Ariadne and Icarus, who must have slipped out at some point. I frown. It makes sense that Minos’s children wouldn’t participate, but he seems the type to care about appearances and so he’ll want to keep his family and people close.
Everyone starts standing, and Apollo is quick to pull out my chair. He presses his hand to the small of my back and guides me along with the stream of people out of the room and down the hall to the French doors leading to the backyard.
Dionysus huffs out a laugh as we follow a winding path through carefully curated trees to the entrance of a tall hedge maze. “Really, Hermes?”
Hermes shrugs. “It seemed romantic at the time. Turns out it’s just creepy.”
“Imagine that,” he says drily. “You came out here at night, didn’t you?”
“Of course I did. What’s the point of a hedge maze if you can’t explore it at night and look for ghosts?”
Aphrodite laughs. “Don’t tell me you believe in ghosts.”
“Everyone should believe in ghosts.”
I lean harder against Apollo. “We’re playing?” With everyone occupied, it might be a good idea to use this opportunity to continue exploring without worrying about running into someone who’s going to ask questions.