Apathy's Hero: A Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy (Truth's Harem Book 3)

by Allyson Lindt

  “Two,” Icarus cut her off. “I’m with you on this, but I have to stay with the electronics, to ensure you stay on the air.”

  A shadow of a frown passed over Lexi’s face. “That makes sense. I’ll have two of the most powerful non-gods from the history books with me. I’ll tell the world my side of things... Yeah, I guess that is all there is to the plan. Zeus can come after me still, but the longer I keep out of his reach, the more people who step up with us, the greater discord it sews.”

  Cerberus would rather kill Zeus outright, but he saw the merits in the idea, and he was pro-keeping Lexi safe. “Next steps?”

  “We need the bracelets to bind us all together, a location to film from, and something really compelling for me to say.” Lexi listed off the items.

  And they needed to pray that whatever Zeus still had up his sleeve wouldn’t kill them.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Actaeon should have asked Lexi to conjure him up a book to read. He could give Lord of the Rings another try. Could she create entire books without knowing them word-for-word?

  Pondering that was better than waiting while Icarus and Lexi created the bracelets to keep the four of them together.

  Actaeon had tried watching Cerberus play something. It was a computer game with animated goblins and orcs. Watching someone else play was worse than trying to figure the game out on his own.

  So he’d left them upstairs and was down in the saloon, observing people come and go. In addition to the stair troll, he’d met a pair of elves, a Sphinx, and a door-to-door milkshake-machine salesman from nineteen-fifty-two.

  “Do you have a few minutes?” Lexi settled a hand on his shoulder.

  Her touch didn’t quiet his racing thoughts, but it did ease the tension coiling in his muscles. He intertwined his fingers with hers. “Sure.”

  She tugged him toward the kitchen. “Someplace more private?” Timidness leaked into her request.

  That wasn’t like her. His curiosity piqued, he followed her into the other room.

  She was wearing the jeans and T-shirt she’d had on the first time he met her. It was both strange and comforting to see her like this, knowing she’d chosen it.

  He leaned against a nearby counter. “What’s up?”

  “This is going to seem weird, and I don’t want it to, but...” She jammed her hands into her pockets and stared at her feet.

  This was definitely unusual. He placed a finger under her chin and raised her gaze to his. “What’s going on?”

  “The thing is, Icarus was thinking bracelets were too clunky, especially if fighting happens. Which, odds are good, regardless of what we plan for. And he figured out how to condense the magic, and it doesn’t take the same kind, because we’re strengthening an existing bond, not forcing one against our wills...”

  “Lexi.” He brushed his lips over hers. “It’s okay. Whatever it is.”

  She pulled her hand from her pocket and opened her palm to display two thin rings—titanium with a gold hue. “There’s one for each of you, and three for me. Rings, because they’re unobtrusive. And symbolic. But they fit whatever finger you put them on, so you can wear yours however you’d like. You can put it on your toe if you want.”

  “Show me your left hand.” He knew what he’d see. And there it was, on her ring finger, a thin band with a blueish sheen. Icarus would be wearing its mate. Cerberus’ probably had a red tint, and he didn’t have it yet.

  Actaeon grasped the fingers on her left hand and kissed her knuckle over the ring. “Of course I’m going to wear it on my finger. I know I have a bit of proving myself to do, but I want to be by your side. We belong to each other. I’m not just giddy about that; I’m proud of it. Of you. I’ll gladly bind myself to you, for today and tomorrow and eternity.”

  Pink spread across her cheeks. “I feel like we’re exchanging vows.”

  “In a way, we are.” He plucked the smaller ring from her palm and slid it onto her finger. “I’m not going to give you some cheesy TV-show line, like heroes mate for life, but I see us all together for that long.” He pressed his lips to hers, memorizing the spark and sinking into the perfection of it.

  When he broke away, she watched him with her bottom lip caught between her teeth. “I don’t know if I can compete with something so heartfelt.”

  “It’s not a competition. That’s a component of what makes this work so well. It takes all of the parts to make the whole.”

  Lexi laughed. “That’s the kind of thing I’m talking about. Here’s the thing... My life has been a jumbled bundle of insanity since I met you. Not that you were the catalyst, but it feels like you were.” She rolled his ring between her fingers, staring at it. “If that sounds like a bad thing, it’s not. I can’t say I’m happy with how Aphrodite interfered, but I’m pretty pleased with the results.”

  “Even with gods trying to kill you?”

  “Even with. I figure they were working on it, regardless. This way, I don’t have to face it alone, and I don’t have to hide and hope it passes. I’m grateful I’m doing this with you. Not just fighting the gods, but also discovering this world I’ve hidden from for so long. And living life. And... everything.”

  He dipped his head to hover his lips near her ear. “Plus the sex is good.”

  “The sex is incredible.” She slid the ring on his finger. “And I’d love you even if it weren’t.”

  He wrapped his arms around her waist, and she leaned her face against his chest. “This entire thing terrifies me.” Her voice was muffled.

  “Me too. But I believe in what you stand for, and it’s worth the risk.”

  TENSION RATCHETED THROUGH every inch of Lexi, as she stood in front of the house Dad was sacrificed in. It didn’t matter how many reassuring touches or squeezes Actaeon and Cerberus gave her. Nervousness had latched on and wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

  Icarus had appropriated a camera across the street, focused it on her, and given her a microphone. He’d done a little tweaking and assured her she’d be broadcast to everyone, in acceptable quality. He also promised that the rings would keep each of them rooted where they wanted to be, by strengthening the connection between them and her.

  Actaeon suggested she wear the gown she’d worn to Zeus’ gathering.

  She wore her old clothing instead. It felt right, given the situation.

  “You’re live,” Icarus said in her thoughts.

  She took one more breath and focused on the camera. “Hey, all. Sorry to interrupt your evenings or days or mornings, depending on where you are. I promise not to take too much of your time.” Despite her fear, she kept a confident mask in place. “Most of you have seen me before, courtesy of the other gods. You’ve heard their opinions of me, but none of it is true.

  “The fact is, I’m not one of them. I was born post-enlightenment. I grew up outside of the system, like so many of you with godly parents. I don’t want to kill anyone or oppress anyo—”

  Thunder boomed, drowning her out, and the sky went black.

  Zeus was here.

  “You’re still broadcasting. He can’t take this off the air. If he wants to confront you, he needs to attack you in front of the world.” Icarus’ words weren’t reassuring. Zeus didn’t seem to have any qualms about publicly executing her.

  A sharp tug yanked Lexi’s heart, and traveled to her ring finger, aching through her entire body. Cerberus flickered to transparent, and then solidified.

  Actaeon squeezed her hand, and the pain vanished. Warmth spread from her finger, and blossomed inside. The rings worked.

  Another crack of lightning lit up the sky. Zeus appeared on the sidewalk, about fifteen feet away. And then Lexi was in front of him. Her heart dropped into her stomach at the unwilling relocation.

  “I’m tired of your games.” Zeus’ voice rolled over her like a storm, crackling along every hair on her body.

  An invisible hand gripped her throat and lifted her off the ground. She struggled to draw a breath. Every i
nch of her ached from being suspended by the neck. Would she suffocate before he popped her head off?

  Where were Actaeon and Cerberus? She felt twin tugs focused on the rings, but they weren’t by her side.

  “We can’t get to you,” Cerberus said. “He’s doing that fucking forcefield thing he did at the banquet.”

  Well, shit. Apparently keeping them nearby wasn’t enough.

  “I’m sorry.” Worry and anger filled Icarus’ response.

  She didn’t have enough mental capacity to talk to them and focus on getting away from Zeus at the same time. It wasn’t anyone’s fault but Zeus’.

  Zeus studied her, brow furrowed but expression a blank mask otherwise. “You won’t die like this. I can do it for hours. Days. Centuries. You’ll suffer until you learn to ignore it, and then I’ll switch to something else.”

  She tried to claw at the invisible force, but it was intangible as well. She kicked her legs furiously. He held her just out of reach.

  Pounding filled her eardrums. Her frantic pulse? No, it was more. Fists hammering on an invisible wall.

  She couldn’t talk. Couldn’t think beyond panic.

  What felt like fingers dug into her chest, and her heart constricted painfully. She screamed at the agony. It didn’t matter that there was nothing to see. She fucking felt it.

  “You can’t stand against me.” Zeus sounded matter-of-fact. “I’ve saved this world. I will not let you destroy all I’ve worked for.”

  And she refused to be steamrolled into submission. Defiance sparked inside, faint, but growing. It wasn’t only her own. The glow spread through her limbs. The bright icy white that mingled with her power and enhanced it.

  “And I won’t let you take this world from its inhabitants.” She forced the retort out.

  The grips on her throat and heart tightened, and a new level of agony spiked through her. She tried to scream, but her voice was gone. Her air vanished.

  Cerberus’ worry blended with the pain. Icarus didn’t speak in her thoughts, but she felt half-formed then rapidly rejected ideas for freeing her.

  Lexi fought harder against nothing. She twisted and turned and punched, hoping to connect with anything.

  Zeus gave a dry chuckle. “I don’t need a specially crafted prison to lock you away. You’re nothing compared to your father. I can bind you in power and pain for eternity. Your lovers will never find you, and you’ll never be a hassle to me again.”

  “Fuck you.” She forced out the gravelly retort.

  Actaeon circled the forcefield, looking for a way in. She didn’t need to see it, she could feel him hunting.

  The sentiments were wonderful, but they didn’t help. She needed them inside with her, not out there.

  But they were here. It didn’t matter that they couldn’t reach her. She felt all three of them. She dove past the panic inside, forcing herself to ignore the pain and threats. She focused on the warm glow that ran between the rings and her heart, and dropped every barrier she kept in place between herself and the men.

  The rush blinded her for an instant. Intelligence and love and strength surged, drowning her in the wash.

  She refused to pluck a single strand, and let instinct take over instead.

  “No more defiance? I find that hard to believe. You’re not broken yet. But you will be.” Zeus held up a clenched fist.

  Now.

  Lexi didn’t know who spoke. She summoned her swords.

  Zeus wide-eyed shock was priceless.

  She swung in an X and cut off his extended hand in the middle of the forearm.

  His fury erupted in an eardrum shattering roar. She dropped to the ground, landing in a half crouch.

  A new hand appeared when the old one had been.

  It didn’t matter. The distraction was enough. Actaeon and Cerberus stood by her side— Actaeon with an arrow digging into Zeus’ throat, and Cerberus in hellhound form, all three heads snarling.

  Stop him. She felt Icarus’ words as much as heard them.

  Actaeon fired. His arrows struck a new invisible wall that only encircled Zeus.

  They wouldn’t have killed him anyway, but it would have been fun to use him as a pincushion.

  “Play all the games you want.” Zeus’ cocky tone was gone. She swore fear flickered behind his eyes. “The four of you are nothing, compared to what I can do to you.”

  “Six.” Serenity appeared behind Zeus, wielding a pike.

  Conner stood next to her. “Us post-enlightenment kids have to stick together.”

  “Is that the only reason you’re here?” Lexi’s confidence was starting to feel real.

  Conner shrugged. “I think it’s a pretty good reason, but also because you’re so much better than most of these assholes who think they should be in charge.”

  “This looks real good on camera,” Icarus said.

  Aphrodite appeared on the sidewalk, a few feet away. She smiled at Lexi as she strode toward them. When she was a few inches away, she said, “I’m so proud of you, child. And whatever it is you’re doing here, I’m on your side.”

  No shit? Lexi choked back her disbelief. “Thank you.”

  The storm grew louder, and the sky darker. Large drops of rain struck the pavement, rapidly becoming a deluge. Icarus kept the cameras rolling, though Lexi had no idea what to say next.

  A new figure appeared in the middle of the street, hidden by the sudden wrath of the weather. When Heracles stepped into view, her stomach dropped into her shoes. Of course Zeus would send his champion to do his dirty work.

  Actaeon’s tension rolled over Lexi. This was one of those variables they didn’t plan for. But they should have.

  Heracles strolled up to her, never glancing at Zeus, and knelt at her feet.

  What the fuck?

  “I’ve watched this madness for too long.” Even on one knee, he didn’t have to look up far, to meet her gaze. “I’ve been lied to. Manipulated. I was promised your safety at the celebration, and you deserved better. I won’t serve Zeus any longer. Whatever you need, any of you”—he looked at each of the gods in turn—“I stand by you.”

  “No.” Zeus’ voice rolled with the thunder. “You can’t make promises to these people.”

  “I’m not promising them anything but to do my best not to be an asshole,” she said.

  Zeus snarled. “Leaders aren’t best friends. We drive civilization. We make the difficult decisions.”

  “We don’t have that right.” There was no reason for Lexi to hold back or filter her words. She hadn’t yet, with Zeus. “People can make up their own minds.” She tried not to hold her breath for his follow-up people are too stupid for that.

  Instead, Zeus smiled condescendingly. “You know nothing about this world. About faith. About what it takes for a god to survive and thrive. Tonight’s circus is proof of that.”

  “I’ve learned more in the last few decades than you have since the beginning of humanity.” That wasn’t completely true, but she didn’t buy that Zeus had access to some great secret of godhood she wasn’t privy to. Treating people right seemed like a decent bar for anyone, regardless of lineage.

  “Do you think you’re going to kill me?” Zeus asked. “You can’t. Even if you could, the structure would crumble.”

  She didn’t have the strength for that. Not here, and not now. “I’m not going to kill you. But the structure will find a way to become something new, with or without you. All of us are proof it can be done. But keep in mind,” the words popped into her head, “I am death. You’ve destroyed hundreds of thousands of lives, and they live in my realm. I can give them the peace you never did. Not because I want their adoration, but because they deserve better than you offered.”

  Zeus shook his head, disgust distorting his features. “Enjoy your five minutes of fame. No one stands against me for long, and you’ll have less time than most.”

  He vanished, and the storm went with him.

  Lexi was at a loss. All the words and bravado were gon
e, and she didn’t know where to turn or what to say.

  “You don’t need to say anything else. Feed cut when he left,” Icarus told her. “You were incredible.”

  “Let’s go home.” Cerberus said as he grasped one of her hands, and Actaeon took her other.

  Home. She loved the way that sounded. She grasped the mental thread that tied her to Icarus, and blinked them back to the beach house in Greece.

  The four appeared in the living room, and Lexi dropped her façade. Adrenaline spilled through her veins, making her legs wobble. She gasped at the onslaught.

  “Hey.” Cerberus let go of her hand to wrap an arm around her waist, and slid behind her. Comfort flowed through their bond. “You were brilliant.”

  “I was terrified.”

  Icarus stood in front of her. He rested a hand on her cheek. “So were we. You handled it.”

  “You were incredible.” Actaeon squeezed her hand. “But I knew you had it.”

  Icarus scrubbed his face. “You are such a liar. You wouldn’t have had it.”

  “Yeah, but I’m not a god.” Actaeon winked at her, the fell back onto the couch, pulling her with him.

  Lexi landed in his lap with laugh. She heard the truth in his teasing, and it helped chase away her tension.

  Icarus sat next to him, and pulled her legs to cover hers.

  Cerberus sat on the floor. He turned so he could rest an arm on her leg and see everyone else.

  This was good. Who the fuck was she kidding? This was amazing. But it didn’t change what they’d done. The world outside this house was going to suffer the backlash of tonight.

  Over the next couple of days, she watched with her men while the consequences unfolded. TV news painted her as a deadly traitor. She wasn’t surprised, since media was all god-moderated.

  A lot of the internet didn’t care for Lexi either. She was the very visible face of a position they’d all thought dead until Hades escaped. To them, she represented the loss of life, and now the loss of comfort as well. She was disrupting the status quo.

  The overwhelming support caught her off-guard, though. People cheering her for taking a stand. The first rounds of comments were anonymous, but as hours ticked away, the cheers had faces and names.