The Twelve Revealed
Headmistress Stardust stepped into the front of the center balcony, where Zeus, my mate, and my mother were seated. Demeter shouldn’t be among the major players, but she’d earned her place siding with Zeus against my husband. And as my mother, the alliance had made her a key piece in this game.
Headmistress Stardust—Hecate, Goddess of Witchcraft and Necromancy—was a vision of grace. Her hair was coiled in an elaborate crown. Her summer-blue eyes blazed with prismatic fire as they swept the arena.
She’d been a good friend to Demeter for eons. Now I understood why she had taken the role of headmistress in this mortal realm—to watch me, to spy for Mother, and to keep the feuding gods who posed as professors from destroying her precious academy.
She wore a crimson gown that seemed to flow like liquid blood. As she raised her hands, silence crashed over the arena, and every eye trained on her.
“Students of Reaper Academy,” her voice rang out, magic amplifying it to every corner. “Today, you stand in the presence of greatness. Today, you are seen by those who shaped the very world you inhabit.”
She gestured toward the balconies. “I present to you the Twelve Olympians. The gods who command the heavens and the earth, who hold dominion over all realms.”
She pointed to each in turn. “Hephaestus, God of the Forge. Hermes, God of Messengers. Dionysus, God of Wine and Revelry. Hera, Queen of the Gods!”
Then to the right. “Athena, Goddess of Wisdom. Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt. Ares, God of War. Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Beauty. Apollo, God of the Sun and Brightness.”
Finally, the center. “And the most powerful in any realm—Zeus, King of the Gods and God of Lightning. Poseidon, God of the Seas. Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest.”
She paused, letting the weight of the names settle. “They have descended from Olympus, the city of the gods, to witness your valor. To judge your worth. To determine who among you deserves their inheritance. This trial is your chance to prove yourselves worthy of the divine blood in your veins.”
The only one she hadn’t introduced was Hades, as if he was a disgrace.
Every student dropped to their knees, heads bowed low. As one, they shouted, “We are honored! We’ll prove our worth!”
The words echoed through the arena, reverent and awed.
They’d been overwhelmed the moment they entered and saw the gods assembled. Never had they imagined they would be in the presence of a god, let alone the twelve most powerful gods all in one place. And now those gods had come to watch them fight.
To watch them die.
Every spectator in the lower tiers, hundreds of minor gods and goddesses, dropped to one knee as well, bowing their heads to the big dogs in respect.
I was the only one still standing in the arena.
I stood tall. Proud. Cold. My high ponytail whipped in the wind like a flame.
Before Persephone was married to Hades, she’d been a minor goddess. She’d be expected to bow to Zeus, to show deference, to know her place.
Everyone believed I was still just a mortal reincarnation. By their logic and rules, I should kneel. I should be awed, humbled, and grateful to be in the presences of magnificent gods.
But I wasn’t just Bloom anymore. The shy, timid girl was gone.
I bowed to no one.
Even in this mortal skin, I was still Queen of the Underworld.
I’d already defied them once by choosing Hades, the God of Death. What was a little more rebellion now?
For a heartbeat, I held Hades’s gaze across the distance. Pride blazed in his eyes. And desire that made my heart beat faster.
I looked away, scanning the crowd.
So many familiar faces. Some I had once called friends, back when I was young and naïve enough to believe they cared. Now every one of them looked at me like I was a betting chip. Entertainment. A game piece on a board.
I’d never seen how petty, how false, how bloodthirsty they truly were until Hades showed me. Even when the truth hurt.
Now they all stared at me with cold disapproval at my refusal to kneel, to bow. The major gods narrowed their eyes. The minor ones glared.
