Stone Heart (Dark Olympus 2.50)

I just fucked up spectacularly.

I can’t believe I fell for the seduction routine. I can’t believe I’m still falling for it, because I can taste Calypso on my lips and there’s a not-insignificant part of me that wants to follow her right across the River Styx and into the lower city.

Athena would never sanction it. Not even to tie up this loose end. The lower city is traditionally the territory of Hades, except there hasn’t been a Hades among the Thirteen for something like thirty years. The last one died in a fire, and there was no heir. Or at least that’s how the story goes. It’s so far above my pay grade as to be laughable.

But, for whatever the reason, the rest of the Thirteen don’t cross the river and don’t meddle in lower city affairs. If Calypso truly intends that as her destination, she’s effectively beyond Athena’s reach.

It means I’ve failed.

I close my eyes and sit with the conflicting feelings that brings. I knew from the start that killing Calypso felt wrong; I wouldn’t have hesitated otherwise. I certainly haven’t in the past, even when the deaths at my hands began to feel like a weight too heavy to bear.

I’m…relieved.

By the time I’m able to wiggle my fingers and then, a short while later, struggle to my feet, I have no answers. The temptation to follow Calypso is strong, but it’s just as foolish as the impulse to kiss her earlier was. I don’t fault her for using all the tools at her disposal to ensure her survival, but I’m not naive enough to believe the offer was genuine.

I sigh and dig my phone out of my pocket. There’s no help for it. I have to report in. I take a deep breath and exhale slowly. When I dial Athena, I almost feel like myself again. Almost.

She answers on the first ring. “What the fuck happened, Medusa?”

I keep my tone even. “She was gone when I got here. It looks like something tipped her off because she packed her things and she’s gone.” A lie, but I am not telling Athena what really happened.

“Gone, and with all of Odysseus’s money in the mix.”

Clever woman. I find myself smiling and have to concentrate to wipe the expression from my face for fear that it will be apparent in my tone. “That’s a shame. How did she access his accounts?”

“That’s not important.”

Which means that this, too, is Odysseus’s arrogance coming back to bite him in the ass. I bet he gave her a debit card or something, never once assuming that she could use it against him. She’s working fast, too. She must have someone at the bank, because clearing him out isn’t something she can manage at an ATM.

Athena pushes forward before I can figure out if I’m supposed to respond or not. “Find her, Medusa. Retrieve his money and remove her.”

I turn to the large windows overlooking the center of the upper city and frown. I can’t exactly explain that I know Calypso’s plan, but maybe… “She’s too smart to stay in the upper city if she’s cleaned him out. She’ll cross the river into the lower city.”

“Normally that would be enough, but these are special circumstances. Go after her, but do it carefully.”

I straighten. Maybe I should have anticipated this, but I’m honestly surprised. “We’ve never chased someone across the river before.”

“I’m aware.” Her tone doesn’t invite further challenges to the order. “Get it done.” She hangs up without another word.

I stare at my phone for a long moment. This felt bad before, but now the weight of Athena’s order threatens to crush me. Calypso was clever and ruthless and she could have easily killed me instead of just paralyzing me. She spared me, flirted with me, and made an escape that should have been enough to secure her freedom.

“Why did you steal from him?” Even as I voice the question, I suspect I know the answer. She wanted to make him hurt even a fraction of the way he’d made her hurt. Even if she was as practical about the whole mistress thing as she seemed, I didn’t imagine the shock she experienced when she discovered it was Odysseus responsible for my being in her apartment with murderous intent.

She wanted revenge, and I can’t blame her for it.

This is wrong.

I press my hands to either side of my head and curse. I owe Athena everything. I don’t always understand her motivations or her actions, but when push came to shove, she had my back. Ignoring this order, failing to do as she commands, means spitting in the face of everything she’s done for me. She took me in, she taught me the skills I needed to survive, and she’s ensured I’ve wanted for nothing in the intervening years. More than that, she’s ensured I’ve never had to deal with the Thirteen again after that disastrous experience with Poseidon.