Page 25 of Dark Gods
"Little girl?" I laughed, tapping my nails on the table as an outlet for my irritation. Putting a fork through his giant hand would definitely land me on the Headmaster's shitlist, but I wasn't willing to take the option off the table completely. "Honey, you wouldn't last a day where I'm from. You might be the Big, Bad Wolf here amidst a bunch of school boys, but if you want a real fight, I'm game. All you have to do is say the word."
He watched me for a long while, neither blinking nor speaking. It became harder and harder to hold that gaze, but I knew that was his aim and refused to look away. I knew posturing when I saw it.
"You know, the tough girl routine might have gotten you pretty far back in Manhattan, but we play by different rules here," he finally said in a calm, almost friendly tone as he leaned back. The challenge, for the moment, was over, but I knew better than to think I'd won. It was a stalemate at best. "It's not about who's strongest or even bravest. If that was true, the Council of Gods wouldn't be headed by a withered, paranoid old man."
I raised an eyebrow. It was rare to hear anyone speak of Cronus in such diminutive terms, even if everyone thought as much. Even my mother spoke his name in reverence. "Aren't you his son's guard dog?"
He gave a lopsided smirk that would've made his handsome face charming, if I didn't already hate him so much.
Aw, who was I kidding? There was room for lustandspite where the Triad was concerned.
"We all have our roles to play," he answered casually. "The one afforded to you is cushier than most, and yet you chose to make things so difficult for yourself. And to what end?"
I shrugged. "Why don't you ask your friend? He's the one who threw the first punch."
"Hades says a lot of things to a lot of people, and the ones who take the bait never end up in a good way," Fenrir said, staring me down intently. "You, however, have a unique advantage the others lacked."
"Oh?" I asked, trying to sound disinterested. It helped that I was still tired enough to yawn organically. "And what's that?"
"You're engaged to him, which means if you apologize and let him save face, he'll have no choice but to forgive you," he answered. "You want my advice? Get down on your knees and grovel." His gaze flickered over me appreciatively and for the first time, I saw a different kind of hunger in those piercing eyes. "Even he won't be able to resist that."
I laughed a little, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “How sweet of you to offer your guidance. And don’t worry, there will be plenty of groveling, but I’m afraid the three of you are going to be the ones on your knees. I’m looking forward to it.”
He snorted, taking my glass and gulping the rest of my juice down, which pissed me off more than just about anything he and his buddies had done yet. He set the empty glass down and gave me a look of challenge as he stood. “We’ll see about that. Least you can’t say you weren’t warned.”
With that, he walked off and it wasn’t a bad view. Guy was stacked like a bodybuilder coming and going.
I’d say one thing for the Triad, at least they were all pretty in their own way. It was just going to make breaking them all the more fun.
12
Hades
It was Sunday night, so I was in the boys' dorm lounge with Loki, Fenrir and half a dozen sycophants shooting billiards and getting drunk. Ariadne approached me, her dark hair framing her face in a freshly cut bob and her cheeks already flushed with booze.
"Hey," she said in a sultry little voice, her hand crawling up my arm as I leaned back in my throne. Well, luxury recliner, but same difference. It was mine and everyone else knew better than to touch it. Even Loki, who was half-conscious on the settee next to mine, staring off at whatever hallucinations the herbs he'd just smoked were conjuring on the ceiling.
"What do you want?" I asked boredly. I didn't hit on drunk girls, and Ariadne was last semester's news anyway. I registered the disappointment in her blue eyes at my chilly response, but it was kinder than leading her along. She'd known going into our brief fling last year that it could never lead to anything remotely serious, but that never stopped them from pining.
I wondered if my bride-to-be had any idea that every girl in school had already hated her before she transferred in, and well before she became the White Rabbit.
Then again, she was probably just arrogant enough to think she'd earned all that ire with her wit and charm.
"I was just wondering if you had any more of those herbs?" she asked timidly, nodding to Loki.
I snorted, reaching into my jacket for a small plastic pouch. She reached for it and I pulled it back at the last moment. "I need you to do something for me."
"Anything," she said, the word a breathy sigh on her plump pink lips.
"You sit next to Kore in second period, don't you?" I already knew the answer, but she didn't need to know how closely I'd been watching my betrothed.
The disappointment was plain in her gaze, but she nodded.
"I want you to get close to her," I said, taking another swig of honeymeade since I was already losing my buzz.
Her eyes widened. "But she's the White Rabbit. If people think we're close..."
"You'll be protected," I assured her.
