Cassandra bandaged her father’s cheek together as best she could. Athena might have done a better job, but it felt like she should do it. He was her father.
For the next hour, Athena talked to Cassandra’s parents in a low, reasonable voice about mad, unreasonable things. They scoffed at first, and then their eyes bugged out of their heads. Ares showed his wounds. Athena showed her feathers. At one point, Oblivion rose up on its hind legs and spoke. They told them everything. What they were. Who their children were. When Athena told them about strangling Cassandra to death in the woods, her mother put her fingers to her mouth and wept. Slowly, the gods’ tricks reversed from lies to truth.
“We should go now, to the clinic.” Athena stood. “You can go yourselves, if you think you can handle it.”
“Yes,” her dad said. “We’ll tell them I was working in the garage and my hand slipped.” His eyes were tired, and mostly vacant. They passed over the mess and carnage in his house. He pulled Cassandra’s mom to her feet and clamped his arm around her shoulders.
When they walked past Cassandra it was as if they’d never seen her before.
Her mom stopped.
“But—Henry is still our Henry, isn’t he?”
Athena frowned. “Cassandra is still your Cassandra. Don’t misunderstand.”
“Of course,” her mom said. They walked out and got into the car.
“Will they come back, do you think?” Cassandra asked.
“They just need time,” Athena said. “Like you did with Aidan. They’re your parents.”
“Your father abandoned you,” Cassandra said.
“Yes. But he was a god. So, sort of a shit to begin with.”
Cassandra felt the goddess’ hand on her shoulder. Past them in the den, Thanatos moved through the room righting chairs and collecting bandage wrappers for the trash. So much had been broken. So much to repair. And Cassandra wouldn’t be there for any of it.
“I heard what you said to the Moirae.” She turned out of Athena’s grip and looked at her dead-on. “I was there. I could hear, even though I didn’t care.” She remembered the euphoric, blurry feeling of having them in her mind, of being on the inside of her own face as if inside a mask.
“You don’t need to worry,” Athena said. “They agreed to the deal. I’ll take your place.”
“That’s not what I was going to say.”
“Listen, it doesn’t matter. This is our mess. And besides, I made a promise to Aidan.”
25
BLOOD STAINS
When Athena returned to her house, Hermes greeted her from the couch.
“Where’ve you been? What’s all the excitement?”
The shock of hearing his voice made her knees buckle, but she got her legs underneath her fast enough when he looked ready to jump from the couch and help.
“Stay!” She pointed. “Stay there. I’m fine. None of the blood is mine. Most of it is Ares’.”
“Most of it?”
She went to the couch and pressed her hand to his forehead.
The fever was gone. He’d kicked all of the ice packs onto the floor like a child.
“You’re so difficult,” she said, smiling. “You wake at the worst times. I wanted to be here. I didn’t want you to wake up alone.”
“I knew I wasn’t alone. Packed into all these blankets? And my mouth still tastes like broth.”
“You must want real food. And maybe a hot bath? Or a warm bath?”
He put his hand on hers.
“I want to know what’s happening.”
“No. You don’t want to know that,” she said, trying to spare him. But he made a stern face, so she told him anyway.
“I’ve slept through my part,” he said when she was through. “I wasn’t here to keep you from making false promises.”
She squeezed his thin hand. He wouldn’t be there to stop her from keeping them, either.
“Where’s Ares?” he asked.
“Hanging around outside Cassandra’s house. He’s convinced that her parents are going to return with the National Guard. And he’s worried about Panic.”
She hoped the wolf made it. They owed it now, and Ares and Oblivion, too. Even Cassandra knew it.
“Isn’t he injured?” Hermes asked.