Page 41 of Deadly Games
I realized they weren’t letting me up without a fight, so I settled in and decided to enjoy the fact that they were both close, even though I couldn’t help but worry about Fenrir and Hades. I knew they both would have laughed their asses off if I ever admitted as much, and I’d certainly never hear the end of it.
“Something felt different about this time,” I said warily, regretting my words when I realized how intently they were both watching. “Like we…integrated.” I could tell that didn’t provide the clarification I’d hoped from the way they were still looking at me. “I know how that sounds, but…”
“No,” Dionysus said quickly. “No, it makes as much sense as any of this.”
“I have a theory,” Loki finally said.
“Oh?” asked Dionysus.
“Maybe Eris isn’t separate at all. I mean, Kore is half Ares, so it’s possible that’s just another repressed aspect of her power,” he mused. “No offense, but I’d be surprised if it was limited to a super green thumb.”
I gave him a halfhearted glare. “Not much taken.”
His mischievous smile reassured me that things were going to be okay between us more than any words of comfort ever could.
“It’s an interesting thought,” said Dionysus. “We’re definitely going to need all the power we can get to stop Cronus.”
I hesitated, looking over at him worriedly. “Dionysus, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, and I’m so glad you’re here, but I don’t want you involved in this any more than you already are. Being connected to me isn’t just a matter of getting bullied anymore. If anyone found out you were even here…”
“She has a point,” Loki agreed. “You’re courting treason.”
“Courting?” Dionysus scoffed. “I’d say treason and I tied the knot the moment I agreed to keep your coup against Cronus a secret.”
I sighed. “Still. You haven’t done anything that can’t be undone yet, and we haven’t even found the fourth consort.”
Dionysus’ face went blank and something about the way he was watching me made me uneasy.
“What?” I asked.
“About that,” Dionysus said, his voice tense with uncertainty. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was blushing and he seemed suddenly incapable of meeting my gaze.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Loki muttered.
“What?” I demanded, looking between them. “Will someone tell me what I’m missing?”
“I think it’s me,” Dionysus finally admitted. He winced, as if he was afraid of whatmyreaction was going to be.
Disbelief. That was the only thing I could muster. And a self-defeating glimmer of hope, because as impossible as it seemed, that was the only answer that would justify the traitorous feelings I’d been harboring for him for longer than I wanted to confess.
“What? That’s… that’s not even--” I sputtered, trying to collect my thoughts. When I finally managed, the finished thought I blurted out was more lacking in art than I’d hoped. “But you’re gay.”
Dionysus’ face flushed to the point where his embarrassment was undeniable, as implausible as it seemed on my behalf. “There’s more than just gay and straight,” he mumbled.
“No argument there,” Loki said, clearly amused by the turn the conversation was taking. He was never more his old self than when he was having fun at someone else’s expense. Dionysus seemed to be a favored target of his mischief, which made me wonder if things were really as over between them as they both wanted to believe.
“I don’t get it,” I finally said, desperate to understand and afraid that if I rushed to any conclusions, I’d be putting our friendship in even more jeopardy.
“I love you, Kore,” Dionysus said softly. “For a long time, I tried to tell myself it was just as a friend, but…”
My throat tightened, making it impossible to speak even if I had the words. It felt like a small eternity before I had the composure to do anything other than stare at him like an idiot. “You do?”
“I know you don’t feel the same way, and I wouldn’t have said anything if it wasn’t for all this,” Dionysus said, grimacing. “But I think I’m supposed to be part of this. Even if I’m not, I’m not leaving you.”
His words made my heart race, and my mind was a flurry of thoughts I’d kept buried for so long they all wanted out at once. The one that finally won out was, “I do.” When the confusion in his eyes didn’t fade, I clarified, “I love you, too. Not just as a friend. I just didn’t want to risk making things weird, especially after the kiss…”
“Kiss?” Loki raised an eyebrow. “This is news to me.”
Dionysus glared at him. “That’s none of your business,” he snapped before turning back to me. I realized only then that my hand was in his, and I couldn’t remember who’d initiated it. I just didn’t want him to let go. “Are you serious? You’re not just saying that?”
