Rogue Descendant (Nikki Glass) - By Jenna Black Page 0,5
than Cyrus had. I found I couldn’t help smiling at him, despite my determination to be cautious.
“I’ll let you off with a warning,” I said. “But if you could get to the point without too much preamble, I’d appreciate it.”
He nodded, leaning forward in a way that signaled the fun and games were over and he was being serious. “I’m the first to admit that Konstantin won’t win any man-of-the-year contests. He certainly won’t win father of the year. But he is still my father, and even though he’s stepped down and removed himself from the public eye, I still consider him an Olympian. I talked to Anderson last week, and when I got off the phone with him, I had the impression we had both agreed that he would make it clear to his people that my father was not to be harmed.”
My years of working as a private investigator had given me both a good poker face and a nice touch of acting skill. I didn’t think my expression gave anything away, though Cyrus was watching me with great intensity. Funny how Anderson had failed to mention this “agreement” this morning when he’d tried to bully me into hunting Konstantin.
“I’m sure Anderson is upstanding and honorable at heart,” Cyrus continued without a hint of sarcasm, “but I find myself wondering if his hatred for my father might trump his honor. I wonder if he followed through with his promise to warn his people off. You, particularly, descendant of Artemis that you are.”
“If you think Anderson lied to you, then I suggest you take it up with him. No way I’m getting in the middle of that, and I’m not going to confirm or deny what he told us.” Cyrus looked like he was about to protest, but I cut him off. “I will tell you that I have no intention of hunting your father for revenge. That’s just not me. Does that make you feel better?”
He gave me a long, thoughtful stare. Trying to read me, I guessed. I’d told him the truth, even if I hadn’t exactly told him everything, and he seemed to read that in my face. He nodded and let out a little sigh.
“Thank you. That does.”
He looked honestly relieved, like he’d been worried about Konstantin’s safety. I knew there were all sorts of people out there, but I still had trouble understanding how someone could actually care about Konstantin. Fearful respect I could understand, but not affection. And yet I didn’t think it was fear or respect driving Cyrus right now.
“Anderson told me Konstantin killed all his children before you,” I said. “Why would you care so much about his safety? And what makes you think he won’t kill you, too, someday?”
Cyrus shrugged. “He’s my father, Nikki. I know he’s not a nice person, and I know he doesn’t have a good history with his children. But he’s still the man who raised me, and I think we both learned a lot from what happened with the others. I’ve made it clear that I have no desire to take his place, and while he doesn’t trust me completely, I think he at least for the most part believes me.”
“Um, correct me if I’m wrong, but you have taken his place. Haven’t you?”
He smiled blandly at me, and I understood.
“You’ve taken his place in name only,” I said. I should have known someone like Konstantin would never voluntarily step down. “He’s still pulling the strings.” I frowned. “And he’s okay with your decree that the Olympians not kill Descendant children anymore?”
It had always been the Olympian policy under Konstantin that when they discovered a family of Descendants, they would kill them all, except for children under the age of five, who would be raised to believe in the Olympian ideal—and would later be used as lethal weapons against other Liberi. That policy had been the first thing Cyrus had changed when he’d taken over.
Cyrus grinned wryly. “He doesn’t love it,” he admitted. “But since I don’t actually want to lead the Olympians, he had to make some concessions to get me to do it.”
I didn’t for a moment believe Konstantin had abandoned his quest to rid the world of all Descendants and Liberi who weren’t under his thumb, and in his mind, that meant killing children too old to be controlled. If he was letting Cyrus put a stop to the practice, that meant he thought of his son’s rule as nothing but a