Well. Except for Hades.
“Fucking me,” the woman said, eyeing me up and down. “Is that… wait. Oh.Oh, gods.” She started blinking profusely, her hand swiping across her forehead as memory apparently washed through her, and she muttered under her breath in Greek, her accent coming through thick.
The man with the beard sat back in his chair like gravity had shoved him into it. His wide eyes traveled to the floor, his hand rubbing his forehead. “Shit,” he mumbled before his gaze lifted accusingly toward Aphrodite.
“Aph…” he said expectantly.
“Oh, get over yourself, Zeus,” Aphrodite hissed, rolling her eyes.
I grabbed Gavin’s arm.
Zeus.
“What the fuck did you do this time?” Zeus snapped.
“I protected my son,” she sneered. “She was gone. He was lost. Maybe you would understand that if you lovedanyof your children.”
“He has too many for that kind of love,” the first woman mumbled behind her goblet.
“If we start getting into Zeus’s infidelities, we’ll be here another century,” Hermes muttered. “I know of a few that the rest of you don’t.”
“Hermes!” the woman snapped.
Nonetheless, Hermes just topped off his wine and held it up. “Cheers,” he said with a grim smile. “Of course, we could get into how you treat your children as well, Hera.”
The woman, who I realized was Hera, looked like she might throw her cup at Hermes’s face.
I leaned closer to Gavin. “Are things always like this?” I asked quietly.
“Yes,” he said bluntly. “Prepare yourself for the most horrible family reunion you’ve ever been to, then add in power complexes, never-ending wine because none of us can get truly drunk, narcissism, and a few dick contests, and you might come close to this weekend. Oh, and sometimes, Zeus likes to play murder mystery.” His eyes met mine. “I apologize in advance."
I almost laughed. “I do enjoy a good murder mystery,” I said. “I'm kind of hoping he wants to play now.”
Gavin ushered me toward Hera and Zeus, introducing me to them as Chloe, and Hera had tears in her eyes when she let me go. Zeus stood to give me a hug that caused my eyes to widen and Gavin to grind his teeth.
There were several other guests there, though Gavin didn’t introduce me to everyone, and I was glad about it. I was having enough trouble remembering the big ones I had met.
However, none of them seemed to have a problem remembering me.
Every person who saw me had the same reaction—a flood of memories that made them almost double over. Some were worse than others, but they all greeted us with smiles.
It was the weirdest experience of my life.
To be remembered by everyone around you, yet know nothing about them. I wondered if this was what people with amnesia felt like when waking up after a coma. Granted, I supposed that was me now.
It was going to be a long fucking weekend.
Persephone and I lounged in the pool for some of the afternoon while Gavin entertained Zeus. He had so many questions about the dating app and what Gavin had been up to since he’d been to one retreat that Zeus had practically tackled him into staying inside and talking.
“Fuck, I’m glad you’re here,” Persephone said as we lounged on the shallow ramp, only half our bodies under the clear water. “It’s been annoying the last few times. Arte and Hecate will be here tomorrow. You’ll like them. They haven’t been to the last few, either. Arte was helping out her brother there for a while. I don’t know if he's coming or not.”
“That’s… Apollo, right?” I asked.
Persephone nodded. “The local celebrity. Thinks he’s some great rockstar now,” she said, rolling her eyes. “He used to be so humble and nice. One day, he just snapped. It was tragic, really.”
“What happened?”
“Well, one thing that happened was your husband humiliating him with the whole Daphne situation.” She shrugged. “He genuinely wasn’t the same after that. I think that was why he chased that rockstar gig for so long. Sort of desperate to be a ‘bad boy’ like people thought of Eros as. Though, no man can come close to the reputation of a god responsible for sexual desire.”
