Dionysus (Hades Series #1.5)

Chapter Thirteen - Dionysus

"I mean this in the nicest way possible," Evie begins, and I groan slightly. Here we go. "But why didn't you die?"

— — —

"So you mean to tell me," Evie rubs the sides of her head, looking tired. "That this is all happening because of you?"

"That's what you got from it all?"

"Yes." She deadpans. "Correct me if I'm wrong Spencer, but you've been wallowing in self pity ever since I left, and because of that you've been a complete asshole to everyone, and because of that you pissed off an over-reactive nymph."

I gape at her. "I didn't say any of that!"

"You've forgotten who you're talking to." She replies with a wry smile. "I'm not as oblivious as I used to be."

"That's not fair!" I complain, and she gives me a look. "Ok but real talk though, what makes you think that Chloe did anything more than set fire to Kenzie's house?"

Evie shrugs slightly. "Call it a hunch."

"Hunches aren't exactly helpful Evie." I scoff, shaking my head dismissively. "As I said to Kenzie, Chloe isn't dumb enough to steal from me. Besides which, I've done nothing to piss her off."

"Sometimes you're so oblivious that it physically hurts." Evie groans, letting her head fall into her hands dramatically.

I tilt my head to the side in confusion. "Why?"

"Never mind, you'd never believe me if I told you." She rolls her eyes. "What did they steal from you?" She purses her lips. "If I keep saying 'they' and 'them' I think I'm going to go mad. We need a codename for them."

My eyes light up. "How about J, because they're a complete jackass?"

"Yes!" Evie points at me. "J is perfect!"

"Oh my god." Kenzie mumbles from the kitchen, where she's taken it upon herself to clean every single dirty speck she can find. She abruptly left the table we'd all been sitting around about three minutes into my retelling of everything that happened (right about when I breached the subject of the fire), and ever since then she's been hiding in the kitchen, silent as a mouse. "I feel like I'm in the middle of a Pretty Little Liars episode."

That surprises a laugh out of Evie, and she grins at Kenzie. "Yeah but unlike the liars, we've got a god on our side, so I doubt J is going to be able to pull the wool over our eyes quite as much."

I wiggle my eyebrows at them both as I puff out my chest and flex my arms. Evie rolls her eyes exasperatedly at me, but it earns a small smile from Kenzie, which is what I'd been going for in the first place.

"What did they-J," Kenzie corrects herself with the slight shake of her head when I throw a look her way. "Steal from you anyway?"

My jaw ticks, and I clench my fists under the table so neither of them see how angry I am. "My thrysus."

Evie inhales sharply, her eyes going wide at my words, and I nod at her. Kenzie, on the other hand, just looks plain confused. "Your what?"

"My thrysus." I lean back against my chair with my arms crossed behind my head, smirking a little. Kenzie doesn't look any less confused.

Evie coughs. "It's pretty much a silly stick with vines twirling around it."

"Hey!" I glare at her.

"Why is it so important then?" Kenzie asks curiously, and I feign getting stabbed in the chest. "What does it do?"

"Everything." I say seriously.