I gulped as my dulled mind tried to think. What had I said when they asked that question hours ago? It was all beginning to blur together. My whole body trembled, and he smiled at me. He knew he had me.
A knock on the door interrupted whatever he’d been about to say. He turned as it swung open and a man in a white collar shirt that stretched over his belly stepped in.
“We got a witness to the whole fire thing.” The fat man jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. “You wanna talk to him?”
The detective glanced in my direct and back at him. With a snort and the shake of his head, he lifted his folder and stood.
“Looks like you have a reprieve,” he said.
As the door shut behind them, I leaned back in my chair and let out a long breath. That had been way too close for comfort. In the end, it didn’t really matter. Once Aunt Dahlia heard, the cleanup crew would descend within days, including a slew of lawyers. I’d be safe from the state only to be shunted back home to a different prison entirely. Somehow, I couldn’t conjure the fear I’d felt a few weeks ago when Aunt Jo had threatened the same thing. Nothing overcame this void within me. I rested my head on my arms and closed my eyes as the minutes ticked away.
The door opened again, and the detective stared down at me with narrowed eyes. His mouth was pressed in a thin line, and he tapped his fingers against the side of his leg. With a grumble, he walked to my side of the table and unlocked the cuffs around my wrists.
“You’re free to go,” he said in a gruff voice. “The witness has identified a fleeing assailant from the fire.”
I stood, rubbing my cuff marks and licked my dry lips. I kept my head down as I followed him through the crowded, loud station, past the desks piled with papers, and into the front lobby. Hermes stood with his hands in the pockets of his pants. He’d lost the suit jacket sometime since the funeral and his dress shirt was wrinkled and his sleeves rolled up. Still, the jolt of my heart broke through the void as our eyes met.
Oh.
“Mr. Chaplin was kind enough to come forward as a witness,” the detective said. “We may still have some questions.”
I gave the detective a halfhearted smirk. “Is that a hint not to leave the city?”
The detective just gave me a cold stare. Hermes touched my elbow, causing me to jump as I spun in his direction. A tingle raced up my arm from where his fingers brushed my skin, and my heart squeezed in my chest.
“Come on, Cassi,” he murmured. “I’ll take you home.”
I sat in his car with my head against the window and my hands clasped in my lap as he drove through the darkened streets. Everything passed in a blur and all I wanted to do was slow it down, to take in everything I would soon miss.
“Why?” I asked.
“I really was at the cemetery, looking for you,” he said. “The rest I had to make up, to get you out of there. It shouldn’t be a problem. They’ll believe me.”
I didn’t expect anything less from the god of liars. “That didn’t answer my question.”
He sighed. “Because even gods look after the people they care about. Though you and Serenity are driving me crazy.”
“You didn’t look after her mother.”
His lips pressed in a thin line. “Serenity’s mother was stupid, and she pushed things beyond what she could handle.”
“Serenity said she waited for you until she couldn’t take it anymore.”
“It was only supposed to be a brief interlude.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I admit I didn’t handle things the best way. It’s why I’m here to try and make things better with her.”
I stared at my hands as my heart twisted inside in my chest. “Is that how you see things here? Another brief interlude?”
“I told you before, you’re different.”
I closed my eyes as a lump formed in my throat. “None of that matters. We can’t be together. The Fates wouldn’t allow it.”
Hermes raised his eyes with a long sigh. “The Fates have a lot less say than you give them credit for.”
“We’re all bound by Fate.” I rubbed the flaming tail of the fox tattoo on my wrist. “I tried really hard, and it didn’t work.”
What would Aunt Jo think of me now? Would she happy the willful little girl was ready to give in? Would my mother? I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth as a sob tried to tear itself from my throat. Hermes swore softly and pulled the car next to a sidewalk in front of a row of darkened houses. He gripped my shoulders and turned me toward him, sending tiny shocks through me.
“Listen to me, Cassi,” he said. “Fate is what you make of it. We were all given free will. Anyone who says differently is either ignorant or trying to manipulate you.”
Aunt Jo would snort and call him a fool and a lying god. She’d been so adamant about the plans the Fates had for us. I think they were the only gods she trusted enough to give her life for.