by Staci Hart
He cupped her face. “Together, always.”
Prologue
“SUKIYAKI, HUH?” DILLON PICKED UP a package of long, skinny white mushrooms off his counter, eyeing them with uncertainty.
“Yup, and you’re gonna love it.” Kat took the mushrooms and pecked him on the cheek.
Owen laid a cast iron skillet on the burner, and Kiki made her way to the sink to wash vegetables.
“Okay,” Kiki said, “Dillon, you slice up the ribeye nice and thin. Kat, get the skillet going and cut up the tofu, and Owen, you cut up the kikuna.”
“Um…” Owen looked around.
“That.” She pointed at the leafy greens next to the sink with a smile.
“God, you’re so bossy, Kiki,” Kat said over her shoulder as she heated oil in the pan.
“Don’t mess with me in the kitchen. Anyway, Sukiyaki is all about family. Everyone helps, everyone chats, everyone eats.”
“Does your mom cook a lot of Japanese food?” Dillon asked.
“Not a ton, but Dad taught us how to make Sukiyaki, except he only uses Kobe beef. I love you guys, but I’m not about to spend eight hundred bucks on meat,” Kiki answered with a laugh.
“So, Kat,” Owen said as he chopped the crisp greens into chunks, “how was your last shift at McClennan’s?”
“Not too bad. It was harder than I thought it would be to say goodbye. We went through so much there.” Kat moved to stand next to Dillon as he sliced the steak. “No reason to stay now that I can race again.”
“Now, if we could only get Kiki to quit too, we’d be in business,” Owen said, smiling.
“Now look who’s bossy?” Kiki took the steak from Dillon’s cutting board and slid it into the pan with a hiss. “I’ll quit as soon as I start at NYU in the fall. What would I do in the meantime without a job? Go shopping with Dad’s credit card and get mani-pedis?”
“You do that anyway.”
“Ha, ha.” Kiki stuck out her tongue at her sister and poured warishita sauce over the ribeye. “Okay, bring the goodies over and put them in blocks, like this.” She laid the noodles in the corner of the pan with a pair of chopsticks, then slid in the green onions next to them. “Make it all nice and pretty.”
They all added their ingredients, and Kiki put the lid on the skillet as Kat and Dillon set the table.
Dillon followed Kat, laying napkins and chopsticks next to the plates she set down. He asked over his shoulder, “Did you figure out what you’re going to major in, Kiki?”
“Not yet,” she answered as she scrubbed the cutting board. “I figured I’d give myself a year to get used to it all. I’m a little late in the game.” Her brow dropped a little.
Owen kissed her hair as he walked by with a tray of sake. “Don’t worry. I’m going to be in school for a solid decade, so we can suffer together.”
Kat and Dillon smiled at each other as they sat on the bench at their long table. She slid in close and leaned into his side, content and calmed just by his proximity, listening to the chatter of her friends, her family, the rumble in Dillon’s chest when he laughed. Kiki’s cheery voice from the kitchen among the clink and clang of knives and dishes in the sink. The smell of the familiar dish that reminded her of home and togetherness. In that second, she knew that years from then, she would remember every detail.
Kiki made her way into the kitchen with skillet in oven-mitted hand. She set it on the table and removed the lid with a flourish.
Steam puffed out of the skillet, and the delicious smell magnified by about a hundred times behind it. Dillon actually salivated and noticed with a grin that all four of them were leaning in toward the food.
“Dig in,” Kiki said as she sat.
Dillon grabbed his chopsticks, not certain how the meal worked or what he was supposed to do. He looked to Kat, who smiled reassuringly and dug in. She grabbed a little bit of everything and piled it on her plate. Owen shrugged at him from across the table and followed suit, and Dillon did the same.
Kat dipped her meat into a small dish filled with what looked like melted butter, though the consistency was a little off.
“What’s that?” He pointed with his chopsticks.
“Raw egg,” she said and dipped a strip of steak in. “Want some?” She looked like she already knew the answer.
“Yeah, I think I’m good.”
She snickered. “I figured.”
Owen raised an eyebrow. “That sounds like a dare, brother.”
“Ha. In that case …” Dillon dipped a strip of his own beef into Kat’s eggs and popped it into his mouth. It was surprisingly not disgusting.
Kat looked surprised and not surprised at all. “Now I know your weakness, and I’m not afraid to exploit it. I will now be goading you into doing a variety of things that I know you don’t want to do.”
Owen laughed. “It’s so easy.”
“What a bunch of comedians.” Dillon took another bite, and he and Kat made faces at each other. “When does your mom move?”
Kiki lit up like a light bulb. “In a few weeks. I can’t believe she’s selling the house. Like, she’s really going to stay here and open a new studio.”
“I bet your dad is even more excited than the two of you combined. I can’t even imagine what it’s been like for them to live apart for almost thirty years.” Dillon’s eyes were on Kat, on her black hair that fell down her back, on the tiny freckles strewn across her nose and cheeks, and when her green eyes found his, he was truly unable to comprehend being so far from her all the time. He hated to be away from her for a full twenty-four hours, never mind months at a time, for decades.
Kat smiled and laid her free hand on his thigh. “They’ve been happy for all this time just having each other, but I know they’ve dreamed about the possibility for so long. I don’t think Mom ever believed it would really happen.”
Dillon rested his hand on hers as she continued.
“I’m so happy she’s going to be here, because having her stuck in Vegas with all of us here is freaking depressing.”
“Just think of all the family dinners we’ll have, boys,” Kiki teased as she took a bite of mushrooms and noodles.
Owen and Dillon exchanged uneasy glances.
Kiki bumped Owen with her elbow. “Dad’s not that scary. Promise.”
“Maybe not to you, but to the men who date his daughters, he’s terrifying. Nobody wants to piss off a Yakuza boss with unlimited access to firearms and muscle,” Owen answered.
“Don’t worry,” Kiki said as she batted her lashes. “I’ll protect you.”
“Thanks, babe. That’s actually comforting.”
They chatted as they ate, and Dillon kept stealing Kat’s eggs, even when she tried chasing him off with the click of her chopsticks, and even if he was grossed out by how good it tasted. They ate until every scrap of food was gone.
Kiki leaned into Owen with her hand on her stomach. “I am so full. I should have quit at least ten minutes ago.”
“Worth it,” Owen answered as Kat stood and stacked Dillon’s plate on her own. He held up a hand to stop her. “We got it.”
“Don’t be silly. Kiki cooked.”
Kiki smiled up at her sister with pink cheeks. “We all cooked. Head up to the roof. We’ll be there in a minute.”
Dillon stood and grabbed more plates. “Let us at least clear the table.”
Kiki rolled her eyes. “Jesus, having two of you is impossible. Make them go, Owen.”
“You heard her. We’ll be up in ten.”
Dillon touched the small of Kat’s back and looked down at her, amused. “They really are pushy.”
“How else would we ever get our way with either of you?” Owen asked.
Kat laughed as she turned for the stairs. “Good point.”
Dillon followed her up the stairs to the rooftop. It was a cool night, and low clouds hung over the city like a blanket, illuminated from the lights below. Buildings disappeared into them, and he imagined that they went on forever,
up to the stars.
He sat on a floor pillow on the deck, and Kat sat between his legs, leaning back against his chest as they watched the clouds float slowly over them. Her head rested against his shoulder, and he laid his cheek against her hair. She let out a sigh, and he felt himself smile.
“You staying tonight?” Dillon asked.
“If you’ll have me.”
“I’ll have you every night, if you’re willing.”
She nestled a little closer. “I’m willing.”
He couldn’t read the hidden meaning clearly, even though he knew it was there, knew what he hoped she meant.
“Dillon, I think I’ve met my match in you.”
He chuckled. “I know the feeling.”
“Don’t laugh,” she said smiling. “I mean it. I’ve never felt something so … I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like everything in my life can be measured by the time before and after you, and the time before you … I don’t want to go back there.”
Neither of them moved, just breathed together for a few minutes with their eyes on the city.
“I don’t want to go back either.” Dillon finally spoke, though his words were thick in his throat. “You’ve given me something that I thought I could never have. I thought I’d let go of the possibility, but then I met you. When I lost you, I thought … I knew love changed me, and I would never be the same. Not without you.”
She shifted, and he pulled her into his lap, her legs slung to the side as she leaned into the crook of his arm and looked up at him. Her hands cupped his cheeks, and her lips slipped gently into a smile. “I love you, Dillon, and I never want to be without you again.”
He leaned down and brushed his nose along the bridge of hers, feeling the weight of her in his arms, feeling her breath against his lips, and when he kissed her they knew the exact sum of their hearts and the love that lay inside.
———— Greece ————
“Douche Von Gobblecock.”
Perry busted out laughing from her beach towel and sat up, propping herself on her elbows. She lifted her face to the high,Greek sun. “Okay, okay…um….Dongle McDicklicker.”
“Oooh. Good one.” Dita stretched out on her stomach, slipped her sunglasses off, and rested her chin on the back of her hands. “Penis McFrankfurter.”
Perry giggled as she sat and twisted her long, dark hair into a fresh knot. “I’m pretty sure Ares would not be amused by our new nicknames for him.”
Dita’s chest tightened at the sound of his name. “I thought we agreed not to say Fitz Von Landingstrip’s actual name?”
“Sorry. I’ll get used to only using Beaver Du Cockburn’s sobriquets.” Perry laid back and adjusted a balled up towel under her head.
“Sobriquet? Really?” Dita glanced over at her with an eyebrow up.
“What? It’s a legitimate word.”
“No one has used that word conversationally since France in 1890.”
Perry lifted her chin. “I think it sounds fancy, and I don’t apologize. Abraham Dickchin.”
Dita snorted. “Oh my gods.”
They fell into content silence as the sun beat down on them, and Dita closed her eyes, hearing nothing but the waves as they hit the shore and hiss as the water slipped away again. Tension left her with every wave, and she tried to empty her mind of Ares, replacing it with the sounds of the ocean, wishing she could lay there forever.
Perry spoke after a few moments. “So how not-ready are you to go back tonight?”
Dita watched the sea grass sway in the breeze in front of her, not wanting to meet Perry’s eyes. “I can’t even answer that. I feel like I can handle it right now, but then I think about seeing him again, and I’m just not sure what I’ll do.”
“Do you have a plan?” Perry dug her toes into the sand at the end of her towel and wiggled them until they showed again.
“Mmm, sort of.” Dita lay her cheek on her hand.
“It doesn’t involve picturing him naked, does it? Because I don’t think that will help you.”
“Ha, ha.” Dita knew exactly how lame her ‘plan’ was. “I’m just going to pretend like he doesn’t exist.”
Perry’s chin dropped, and she looked at Dita over her wayfarers. “That’s your big idea? To ignore him? I have serious doubts about the solidarity of this plan.”
“Me too, but it’s all I’ve got. Help me out by whispering dirty dick names in my ear.”
“That I can do.” Perry looked back to the clouds.
Dita flipped onto her back, unable to get comfortable. “I really don’t know what else I can do. The next round starts tomorrow, and I doubt Artemis will give a shit that I don’t want to be around Preston Dabutt.”
A laugh shot out of Perry. “I love this game.”
“Me too.”
The breeze skated across Dita’s body, and she closed her eyes against the sun, thinking over everything that would happen when she returned to Olympus. It had been almost two weeks, and she still wasn’t ready to go back, but there was no real choice in the matter. It was time. She couldn’t hide any longer, couldn’t avoid turning the page. She was alone for the first time in thousands of years, and that fact terrified her.
Everything was lost, including herself.
“Dita, you know, you really freak me out when you don’t talk.”
She opened her eyes and blew out a breath as she stared up at the sky. “I know. I don’t like it either. I just don’t know what to expect. I have to go back, but I don’t think there’s any being ‘ready.’ So, my flimsy plan is to go back to Olympus, avoid him, and try to keep myself busy. Luckily, I have the competition to distract me. Needling Artemis should be a great diversion.”
Perry looked sideways at Dita from behind her shades. “I dunno. You two have more in common now than you ever have before.”
“Sort of, but does that really matter? We’ve never seen eye-to-eye. She treats me like I’m useless, like love’s useless. I just can’t fathom how she can deny one of the most powerful forces that exists. It can heal, hurt, start wars. End wars.” Dita sighed. “We’ll never get along.”
“Probably not, but I’m sure she has her reasons for feeling the way she does. She may be wrong, but everyone feels the way they do for a reason. It’s all about perspective.”
Dita pouted. “Ugh, you suck. Can we just not like her? Please?”
Perry held her hands up. “Fine, fine.”
“Okay, this is what we’re going to do,” Dita said with finality as she settled back in. “We are going to spend the rest of the afternoon on the beach. Then, we are going to have a last, legitimate Greek meal, during which we will get very drunk.”
“I like this plan,” Perry said with a nod.
“Then, and only then, will we face the music. Hopefully Colon Peniston will be off fucking himself, and I can just slip into Olympus unnoticed.”
“Operation Ostrich. Head in the sand with your feathered ass in the air.”
“Exactly.”
“I mean, until you get eaten by the lion you didn’t see coming.”
Dita shook her head. “You’re so morbid.”
Perry shrugged. “I’m the Queen of the Underworld. Morbidity comes with the title.”
Day 1
DARKNESS PRESSED IN ON HER from every direction as she stumbled with splayed hands, though her powers were useless. No sound reached her ears, and the void was maddening. Her eyes strained against the black, but all she found was nothing, so heavy that it was a living thing, squeezing her until her lungs burned. She dropped to her knees, though they never found the ground as she fell down and down.
Dita shot out of bed with a gasp and pressed her hand to her chest. Her heart banged against her palm as if it was trying to escape.
Nightmares had plagued her in the weeks since she’d left Olympus. Adonis was forever lost to her, and Elysium with it after he drank the Lethe and forgot his human life, forgot her. The comfort of his arms through the portal of her dreams w
as gone, replaced by vivid nightmares, lucid dreams that left her broken when she woke.
Ares was at the helm of each, and he lurked in the back of her mind, slithering and snaking through her thoughts, leaving no room for peace. The threat of him was a tangible thing, and she pictured him over and over, huge and red in wrath, felt his fingers around her neck as he choked her, told her he’d never let her go.
Dita touched her neck at the thought as Bisoux pulled himself toward her on his stomach. She took a breath to vent the pressure in her chest.
“Bonjour, mon ami.”
She scratched behind his ear, and he leaned into her hand.
Dita lay back down in her warm bed and pulled the fluffy covers up to her chin, burying herself in a cocoon of down and Egyptian cotton. She daydreamed about staying there, wistfully wondering how long things would stay the same, if her problems would all just disappear. But Dita knew she was at the end of the line when it came to avoidance. Once she left the confines of her sanctuary, it was all over. The bubble would pop.
Reality.
She burrowed even deeper in her bed, and Bisoux curled up against her chest. Soft daylight came through the artificial windows that hung on the walls like paintings, an invention that had been waiting for her when she’d returned from Greece. Heff knew how much she hated living underground with him, but she was mandated to reside there by Zeus, and that was a fight that just wasn’t even worth it.
Dita gazed out the window as she tried to motivate herself to get up. The next round of the game would start within hours, and she’d have to face all of Olympus. Part of her wished she’d come back sooner and eased into life, but she’d prolonged her return to the last possible minute. The fanfare of the beginning of a game was stressful under normal circumstances, but after being absent for weeks in the wake of everything that happened, all eyes would be on her.
Being in the spotlight wasn’t something that usually bothered her, but she knew for a fact that she was the headline of everyone’s conversations. Who knew what they assumed, because they would assume. Gossip was so much more entertaining than the truth, and even though she hated being the object of negativity, all she could do was hold her head up and face it.