Heart Read Free

was
asking me.
    It hadn’t been a request; he had given me a
directive… an order. And for some strange reason, I felt compelled
to obey.
    I ignored that confusing feeling and dug my
toes into the sand. I would never go there. I wanted nothing to do
with that place or what it represented. Besides! Hello! Nix!
    “No.” That was all I gave him. I shouldn’t
have to explain myself to him. He knew it was impossible, so I
didn’t know why he bothered to ask, or, er, command. He knew I
would never willingly put myself back where Nix could find me.
Hermes knew how desperately I fought to break free.
    He’d even offered to help me escape once.
    It was almost laughable that he’d come back
after all these months and suggested the idea.
    “Ivy, you don’t have a choice.” His tone
changed from light-hearted and entertained to deadly and serious.
His tawny eyes flashed with the promise of some great power I
couldn’t understand because I’d never experienced Hermes with his
power. I didn’t have any idea what he was capable of or how it
could hurt me.
    And the power I did know of made this
conversation completely pointless. If he wanted me on Olympus, all
he had to do was think the thought and we would be there. He was
the messenger god. He could go anywhere, transport anyone
anywhere.
    And yet he stood before me, with his hands
tucked into his pocket and fire in his eyes, but did nothing.
    “I have a choice,” I argued. “I always have a
choice.”
    Some of the anger dissipated in his
expression and made room for a wry smile. “My, how much you’ve
grown up on your own.”
    “Yeah, yeah. All those after school specials
finally started to sink in. But it’s true, Hermes. I’ve gotten my
taste of freedom and I will never give it up. No matter how much I
have to lose. No matter how painful it becomes. I will not go back
to that world. I won’t go back to Nix. Nothing could make me.”
    “Not even Orpheus?”
    Nausea boiled in my stomach, rolling through
me with dizzying power. “What?”
    “If Orpheus were in danger, would that bring
you home?”
    “What are you saying? Is he in danger?”
    He took a step forward but stopped before he
reached the water. “What about your mother? What about Honor?”
    I moved forward too until we were only a few
feet away. I couldn’t bring myself to leave the water, but I had to
see his eyes, I had to know if these were lies or threats.
    Of if they were truth.
    “What are you talking about, Hermes?”
    “Did you think Poseidon would let you go? Did
you think he wouldn’t retaliate in some way? Or in every way?”
    “Stop being vague. Just tell me what’s going
on.”
    He let out an impatient sigh. “He gave your
mother to the Fates.”
    I braced myself for something to happen… for
my heart to hurt or my anxiety to skyrocket. When nothing did, I
had to admit that even though she had helped me, at least in her
way, I still felt no sympathy or loyalty to her. What did I care if
Nix gave her to the Fates?
    What did that even mean anyway?
    “Is that supposed to mean something to
me?”
    Hermes winced and held out his hand like he
meant to touch me. His gaze dropped to the water and then back to
me. He retracted his hand before I had the chance to decline his
touch forcefully.
    “She’s your mother,” Hermes reminded me
needlessly.
    I laughed darkly. “Yeah, and that has always
meant so much to me. And her.”
    “Everyone has an agenda, Ivy. Poseidon has
his and the Fates have theirs. Your mother is not safe.”
    “What’s yours?”
    “Excuse me?” He lifted his hand to finger his
tie. He fiddled with the knot, straightening it.
    I watched him fidget and felt my question
take purchase. “What’s your agenda, Hermes? If everyone has
one, then what’s yours ?”
    He watched me for several long minutes.
Neither of us said anything and eventually the silence became
awkward. I entertained the idea of pushing past him and stomping
into my house, but morbid curiosity