“Not for another two minutes,” Cook says gruffly. I didn’t know he was already on the ship. He didn’t know how hard I’d hug him when I ran down here. Not to hide from Poseidon’s brothers. To give him space. He asked for that without speaking. I would have liked to see it—brothers meeting up again for the first time in a long time. But it wasn’t mine to witness.
If everything goes well, I’ll see it again someday.
If everything goes well, I’ll see a lot of things again someday. Like Poseidon at ease. At peace.
The new kitchen in the new ship is much larger than the old one. It’s wider, with more wood paneling. It still features a pass-through window, but instead of steel stools lining that window, there’s a dining area on the other side. A sturdy hardwood table bolted to the floor. Comfortable chairs. A window to let the light in.
It’s a place people might gather and eat.
It’s where we’ll be eating soon enough.
Cook shoos me away from the stove, and I go for the fridge. He’s already separated fresh berries into separate bowls. Since he won’t let me actually cook anything, I’m in charge of putting all these berries together into one larger bowl. I’m certain no one will notice the fruit, but I want everything to be perfect.
Buddy stirs from his spot in the corner while I line the bowls up on the counter and hunt down a serving bowl. It’s a pretty blue, not stainless steel, and I don’t ask how it got here.
It goes on the end of the row. The strawberries go in first. Then blackberries. Cook takes the rolls out of the oven. It’s almost time. I went back to Poseidon’s quarters and put on a clean dress before I came here. I brushed my hair. I look fine.
I’m in the process of tipping the blueberries toward the bigger bowl when a hand comes down on my wrist, stopping me before a single berry can fall over the rim. It’s a big, male hand, elegant somehow, and it does not belong to Poseidon.
“Have those touched anything else?”
I look up into the face of the man who belongs to that voice. Poseidon’s is like the sea. Rolling and deep. Rough, sometimes. His brother Zeus has a voice like music. It reminds me of being invited to a party. Smooth and strong. Exclusive. I recognize him from that old picture. His eyes are the same, but no part of him is boyish. I momentarily forget to breathe. He is not more striking than Poseidon, or more handsome, but I’ve never been so close to someone who is so like his brother.
Not on the surface. No one would ever mistake them for blood relatives. But Zeus, like Poseidon, takes up an inordinate amount of space in the room for someone who’s muscular but lean. He’s not particularly wide. He’s just the tallest man I’ve ever seen, other than Poseidon. I’m pretty sure he is. Or at least he seems like the tallest. The most powerful.
Equal. He’s equal to Poseidon, in every way except one.
“My apologies.” The smile that warms his face is both charming and dangerous. I know immediately that he won’t be dangerous to me, but for other people, this smile has been a warning sign. “I’ve been rude. My name is Zeus. I’m sure Poseidon has spoken of me often, as his favorite brother and the one he loves the very most.”
I laugh out loud at him. I can’t help it. “He’s mentioned you once or twice.”
“This will sound absurd.” Another easy smile, glittering with suppressed danger. He looks like he’s made of money, or treasure. Sunkissed skin. Bronze hair. And a truly astonishing amount of gold in his dark eyes. “But I do need to know if those berries have touched anything else in the kitchen.”
“They haven’t,” calls Cook. “Kept them separate. Container to bowl.”
“Thank you.” Zeus takes the bowl out of my hands and reaches for an industrial roll of plastic wrap hanging from the underside of the storage cabinet. He pulls out a length and wraps it around the bowl, again and again until it’s completely covered. Then he puts the whole thing back in the fridge. “You’re in charge?” He asks the question to Cook over my head.
“Yes.”
“No blueberries while we’re on the ship. If you throw them out, I’ll pay to replace them after we leave.”
“I’ll do you one better.” Cook retrieves the bowl from the fridge and carries it to the door. One shout. “Jason.” Jason appears instantly. Cook gives Jason the blueberries along with a strict set of orders. They’re to be gone within the hour, and Jason’s to bring the empty bowl directly to Cook afterward. “No fucking around,” he says.
Jason agrees, smiles at me, and disappears.
Cook returns to the oven. “Someone have an allergy?”
“Yes,” Zeus answers. “And I’d rather not stab him with an EpiPen in the middle of a family emergency.” He smiles, golden and easy, though what he’s doing right now is serious. “I was never here.”
He leaves without a backward glance.
Five minutes later, Poseidon ambles in. He’s acting calm, but I can tell from the set of his shoulders that he’s nervous for dinner. I pull him into a kiss.
It’s meant to be short and reassuring, but it goes on so long that Cook leaves the kitchen. Poseidon comes up for air and glances over the dishes on the countertop, waiting to be taken to the table. “Okay,” he says. “Let’s have dinner with my brothers.”
Zeus and Hades arrive when we’re setting out the food, bickering about something to do with a doctor. I don’t hear much more than that, because they also arrive with an oversize dog that obviously belongs to Hades.
Buddy stands next to me to meet them, tail wagging. Hades’ dog is not like Buddy. He’s huge. Big enough to look almost normal standing next to someone as tall at Poseidon and his brothers. And black as night. He stands beside Hades, alert and steady, like a soldier guarding him. Buddy drops his front paws, as if he wants to play. The larger dog raises an eyebrow, unimpressed. Hades nods, and the black dog comes forward. They do that nose to butt sniff greeting that dogs do, before Buddy wanders to me, eyes bright.
Poseidon gestures broadly. “Sit down and eat.”
“Manners,” says Zeus, and he does not sit down. “Introduce us properly. We want to meet Ashley.”
“What’s the point if you already know her name? Ashley, this is my brother Zeus. He’s an insufferable gossip. That’s his defining feature. Zeus, Ashley.”
Zeus pretends we haven’t met and shakes my hand, turning it in his to brush a kiss over my knuckles. He’s over the top charming, and I laugh.
Poseidon slaps his hand away from mine. “Jesus Christ,” he says under his breath. “And this is my brother Hades. He’s the meanest bastard you’ll ever meet, but he’s soft for Persephone.”
Hades glares at him, and for the first time, I see his eyes. They are black, which is impossible. No one’s eyes are black. I let myself look for a second longer so I can figure out what’s really going on, which is that his pupils are enormous. Oh my god—they’re blue. His eyes are supposed to be blue, to go with his blond hair and sharp jaw. He’s dangerously handsome in clothes that match his eyes. The animal part of my brain sounds a warning at all that black.
He stops glaring at Poseidon and shakes my hand too, and my stomach rises from where it had fallen to the floor. “A pleasure to meet you.” His voice sends a shiver through my spine. Hades sounds cold and hard, like diamonds. Untouchable. But that’s not all he is. I know enough about him to see past his icy shell. Not far past, but enough. He releases my hand. “Conor, come.”