I snatch my hands away. “It was no game.”
“You do not need to seek revenge. Not when she is at peace. You do not need to keep her locked away?—”
“I am not the one who has ever locked my daughter away! She was not a prisoner here when her father gave her poisoned wine!” I’m blinded by his betrayal. All this time while I grieved, he knew. He fucking knew.
Hades’s black boots crunch on the ground as he stops at the threshold. Hecate removes the hood of her cloak unveiling the vision of the crone. Her wisdom brought her here. Bought them here. I swallow thickly, barely contained. I remind myself of what lies in my pocket. A potent dust of poisonous poppies. The wind would carry it for me. The deep sleep it would cause would haunt the gods’ dreams with their faults. Every memory they regret would play over and over again for centuries until they woke. My fingertips itch to simply allow it, but my gaze is caught by Hecate.
“Do you see the contradiction?” Hades states, his voice carrying past Aphrodite. “You demand that she stay here, never returning to me, though this is where the greatest threat to her life dwells? You want her to stay with the god who poisoned her? Who wanted her mortal, or better yet dead?”
“I need her with me,” I snap at him. “That is something you will never understand.” My gaze flicks between Hades and Hecate in front of me, and now Zeus is at my back. I stalk toward the edge, Aphrodite’s hand in mine as she pulls me from the center of the room so that the parties may be separated but see one another. Zeus at the throne, Hades by the entrance, and me at the edge of the hall.
And so war has come to me. Perhaps all I needed truly was patience.
“I do understand Demeter,” Hades tells me and it’s a lie! He cannot understand this pain. A crowd forms around Hades. A circle of spectators lies at the edge of our circle. These matters, hearings of sorts are never truly private—not on Olympus. And all the gods and goddesses will take a side. I hear their whispers. That I was crazed. Oh the looks on their faces though when they learned of Zeus’s betrayal. Was I not right to be crazed? Driven mad by deceit and loss.
Some of the crowd only want to drive those who argue into a hotter frenzy, as a sport. Some of them have an eye toward their own children and their own futures. Some of them want Zeus’s favor. Others want my favor so I may bless them with abundance. Whispers spread from the threshold, as well. Hades is here, they call to those who chose not to come. How could they resist such a spectacle. Hades has come from the Underworld to steal Persephone away again.
My hand stretches yet again at the thought, and I can imagine blowing the fine red powder in his direction. Hades himself moves toward me, glancing at Zeus as he does.
Come closer, you fool. Breathing heavily, I wait. I allow him to move freely. Come to me so that I may end this once and for all.
“I knew not what a sickness love was until I loved Persephone. She is all I think about; all I want. The pain her absence causes me is one that is worse than all of the hells I could manage. No, Demeter, she is not a daughter to me. She is my queen. And every day in the Underworld is torture without her.”
“Then you wish for us all to live in hell.” These men will drive me to madness. They cannot look past themselves. They cannot see what grief they are capable of causing, even when it is laid out in front of them. It is far too much to bear. “You wish for the Underworld to be here. You wish for the destruction of this place, and when Olympus has fallen, you wish for the mortal world to fall as well.” Murmurs rise within the space as fear flows freely.
Hades shakes his head and raises his voice for all to hear. “I do not want every realm to be the Underworld. I only wish to rule my realm with my queen beside me where she belongs. It is known. She is now the queen of the dead. I only wish to be granted what is demanded by law and not condemned to an eternity in hell. She took my hand in union, she ate the seeds that bind her to the Underworld. And yet, you claim I have no right to her presence. You attempt to keep me from her!”
Seething with rage, I cannot trust myself to speak at his accusation.
“And where does that leave us?” Zeus shouts, rising from his throne and pushing his way closer. Both men coming closer. I stay as still as can be. The Fates blessing me with a possibility I could not have dreamed of. Both of them at once, suffering the spell I hold in my pocket. “Where does that leave my realm and all the gods and goddesses in it? Do you think your precious Underworld would still stand without our work?”
A few voices rise to agree with Zeus. The two gods are too far away but as they posture and tensions rise, they grow closer and closer together, closer to me as well.
Come closer, I will. At the thought, Hecate’s eyes catch mine and my heart races. Do not interfere with my justice, witch!
Hades ignores the voices, carrying on about balance and Olympus's rule being the one true law. He narrows his eyes at Zeus. “If I were you, Zeus, I would be far more concerned about my own status.”
Casting my gaze out to where the gasps come from, I realize more gods and goddesses gather around. I would not be surprised if all of Olympus was here. Hermes and Eros peek from the corner, arrows at the ready. My heart races. Would they take aim at me if I were to do what I came here to do? I had not thought past my intention. Aphrodite reaches out for one of my hands, but does not take it. She is too struck watching the argument come to a head. Athena, too, has been swept aside by Zeus, but she leans around him, staring at Hades.
“Do you mean to declare war?” Athena breathes with narrowed eyes. More curious than angered. “Do you mean to fight Zeus for control of Olympus?”
“No,” Hades scoffs. “I meant to remind him—and all the gods and goddesses of Olympus—that if all of the mortal realm were condemned to the Underworld, there will be no one left to pray to you. Your existence would be futile.”
“If you take her back there,” I say quickly, before Zeus can bluster on again. “That is what will happen! The mortal world will not know life! There will be no new harvest. The mortals will die by the thousands.”
“That is what you would have as well,” Hades replies. “You are the goddess who went down to destroy the harvest. Is it the company of your daughter you want, or is it truly to have the mortal world as your hostage?”
“How dare you!” In a blinding rage I spear Hecate with my gaze. “There are those among us who knew where Persephone was taken and hid this from me. Who were they loyal to, I wonder? Was it Zeus, with his poison? Was it Hades, with his demons? What promises have been made in secret, when no one was listening? How many plans have they made against all of us, and we were only meant to suffer with no recoil?”
The faces of the other gods turn toward me. Their eyes flicker over Hades and Zeus and Hecate. They sneak glances at those around them. Discontented whispers rise in volume.
My heart races, and my stomach turns. It is sour from stirring up this kind of suspicion. It is not the way I prefer to exist in any realm.
I do not wish to turn the gods who bear witness of Olympus against each other, but I do not see what other choice I have.
Zeus announces, “I will defend Olympus as I always have.”
“You must!” Athena cries beside him. Her elegance only shaken slightly. “Or we are all caught in a web of lies and deception! We will defend ourselves! There is no threat you can make that holds ground, Hades!”
