The King of Hearts - Jovee Winters Page 0,30

the irony of such a joke is lost on you, I suppose.”

I frowned.

“Anyway,” he batted the moment aside. “You called. I came. What do you need, my boy?”

He was solicitous. Maybe too much? Should I trust him? Dare I?

But what other choice did I have?

I had to learn what mother was planning against Psyche.

My front teeth ground together with my indecision.

“Let me make this easy for you, my boy. You wonder whether you should trust me.” He snorted. “Of course, you should not. You should know better than any of us that you cannot afford to trust anyone upon on Olympus. Unless, of course, it’s that blowhard do-gooder Hades. Though all the world imagines that he and not the King of the Gods is actually the true evil. Zeus has an excellent rep man, I swear. The whole word believes him to be the good one and Hades the devil himself.” He guffawed. “You see, trust no one. You are right to be wary of me, but I can offer you consolation. What I want, does not involve you or even your bloody mother, in anyway.”

Curiosity bloomed within me. I sensed immediately that what he wanted had something to do with pleasing a female. I cocked my head. It wasn’t love… or maybe, it was, but it wasn’t quite true yet.

He narrowed his eyes. “You are reading my heart. I feel it. You’re searching for the truth, but you will not find it. I won’t allow it. Still, you know I do not lie to you now. I do want something, but what I want will not harm you or your precious human in anyway.”

“You are a difficult man to read, Uncle. Does anyone on Olympus know just how formidable of a foe you could be?”

In answer he merely lifted one brow.

My respect for how well he’d hidden his truths rose just a little. To all the worlds Dionysus was considered frivolous and silly. Much like Apollo. But where Apollo truly was frivolous and silly, Dionysus was proving himself to be anything but.

I wet my lips. “Okay, Uncle. I will not expose you. But I want your assurance that what we do now remains between us two, only. Have we a deal?”

He nodded. “Deal.”

The air trembled with the awareness of our sacred pact.

“So, you’ve called me here, tell me why.”

Taking a deep breath, I allowed myself, maybe for the first time to actively double cross my own mother.

“I need to learn what it is she’s got planned at the festival in three days’ time. I know that whatever it is, it is meant to bring great shame and possibly even harm to Psyche.”

“And you wish to stop her, of course.”

I shook my head. “I have to make her believe I am still on her side. I cannot stop this, not without exposing my true motives to my mother and placing Psyche in great peril. I ask for your discretion in this matter, Dionysus. If there is a measure of goodness in you at all, help me keep that innocent woman safe.”

He pursed his lips, stroking his chin, as he eyed me studiously. Several heartbeats passed before he finally spoke.

“Fine. I will do it. I will become your eyes and ears upon Olympus, and when this is done, I will come to you for my own favor.”

He held out his hand.

We’d already sealed the deal in words, but I couldn’t contain my nerves as I stared at his hand. I was mother’s right hand. I’d never betrayed her. Ever. Even when I’d felt sick at my stomach by the many sins she’d already committed.

But then I thought of Psyche. Of her sad, beautiful eyes. She’d never seen me as I really was, and yet her touch had been true. Her intentions pure. I’d read it in her heart. She’d recognized something in me that resonated within herself too.

I felt a connection to her that made no sense. It defied reason. Comprehension. Or even sanity.

I took his hand and shook it with conviction.

He gave me a lopsided smirk. “She must have gotten beneath your skin to make you betray your mother. I doubt anything else could have.”

I waited for the flair of guilt to worm through my gut, but it never came. All I felt was a desire to save her. To make sure she didn’t become just another one of my mother’s cruel casualties.

Eros

I spent the whole of the next day planning mother’s ceremony. I’d not caught a single glimpse of