Thessa let out a roar.My loyalty is to you both, from the moment I saw you.
For we knew there had never been a greater power than the one forged between you,Heles rasped, shaking her head in an act of aggression towards the gods before them.
Nyx’s eyes widened, and even Vulcan looked surprised. “Diombachrìogna,” he murmured, and Vane looked at him sharply.
“Why would you say that?” Vane asked his father.
Soren’s brow furrowed.What did he say?
Diombachrìogna… It means ‘doomed reign.’
“You sense it, though, don’t you?” Vulcan asked, his voice low. “You and Sora have always been destined for something greater. I suppose now, we know why.”
Juno looked sadly at Nyx and said in a hurried, hushed tone, “I tried to tell you?—”
“Enough!” Soren shouted, splaying her hands. A wave of dark ichor swept out from her palms, rushing past the gods’ feet. Juno jumped, but Thanatos looked vaguely pleased. “Stop bickeringamongst yourselves like children. We came here for a reason, and with or without your approval, we’re going to carry it out.”
“You want to end Kronos,” Juno said softly.
The air grew tense. There was still the question of the gods’ loyalties to Kronos. Soren was nearly sure they were all here because they were against him, or at least displeased with his reign. But for her and Vane to admit they wanted to kill him could still be dangerous until they knew for sure.
Juno waited, though, pushing Soren to say it first. Vane set a hand on Soren’s arm, a gentle warning to wait.
She didn’t listen. They couldn’t afford to be cautious anymore.
“We want to destroy him,” Soren whispered. “Iwant to rip his body and soul apart into so many pieces, there is nothing left to come back. I want you to tell me how.”
“Death,” Thanatos said, his lips lifting. “I see you have finally found the merits of its uses.”
A flash of a memory momentarily blinded Soren—her, arguing with her father.
“Death is too final a power!”
Thanatos laughed, the sound as cold as a grave. “Do you have any idea what you could be if you stopped being so afraid? You cannot change what I gifted you with.”
“I don’t want it.”
“You will.”
Soren blinked rapidly and whispered to herself, “That day in Mise, with the children. I had never killed anyone before then, had I?”
Nyx answered, her voice soft as midnight. “You always embraced my gifts as a youngling. You were my evening star, Sora, but I always knew that, truly, you had your father’s dark heart.”
“Fear is powerful,” Thanatos added. “But Death always comes for us.”
“As it will come for Kronos,” Juno said, touching her forehead. “We know it is possible to damn him with your mother’s mark, to end him with your father’s power. Doing so would make him yours alone. You would hold his fate in your hands.”
Soren bit her cheek, shaking her head. “I’ve never seen the mark, never used it on my own.”
“Yes, you have,” Thanatos said, a smile playing at his lips, as if he was enjoying this. “Do you really think we cared enough to dispose of that idiot prince? It was a smart move, though, I do admit. The princess is much more suited as heir.”
It took a moment for Soren’s mind to catch up. She grasped for Vane’s hand as she realized the truth, and he squeezed tightly, steadying her.
“Nell,” she whispered, eyes wide. “That was me?”
The gods all looked at her steadily, Juno nodding.
“There is one final problem,” the goddess of fate said, lips pressing together. “Kronos has always known you had the power to displace him.”
