No. I would not let my mind stray in that direction.
“Are you two down there whispering about Gaia?” Zeus barked from the far end of the table.
“I was just explaining the treaty to High Queen Selene,” Demeter replied. “She didn’t know the details.”
“Didn’t know? Ha! That explains a fucking lot.”
Demeter turned back to me. “We didn’t know you existed until just before Zeus found your mother lurking around his city. And then when she showed up, and he knew you were alive…”
Zeus had known I could take the throne when he killed her. His actions wouldn’t break the treaty. And when he’d thought she was the only one, she’d been safe.
So that meant none of them could kill me. Not unless they wanted to risk the wrath of the gods. I leaned forward and met Ares’s gaze. I cast him a serene smile. He could threaten me all he liked, but he couldn’t kill me. The displeasure of their god, Erebus, was one thing. The combined vengeance of the rest was quite another.
But Ares merely smiled right back, as smug and dismissive as the Fates when they knew something everyone else did not.
Like he knew.
His questions from that horrific night blazed through my mind. Ares had kept asking me about my father.
Oh gods.
He knew.
I sucked in a sharp breath and looked at Zeus, but he’d returned to his tales about Prometheus, ignoring me completely. To him, this conversation was over. It was old news. Nothing interesting. And nothing in his expression matched the threat in Ares’s eyes.
But if Ares knew, Zeus had to know, too. Was his nonchalance part of the game? Would he wait to see how I fared here before he revealed just how much he’d learned about my life and my family and Troy?
“Little bird,” Demeter murmured.
I blinked, calling upon the blood magic to calm my raging nerves. I couldn’t let them see how much this had rattled me, and yet…there was a slight tremble in my hands as I reached for my chalice.
“I didn’t know any of this,” I eventually said, smiling tightly at Demeter. “I don’t understand why my mother never told me. And Orpheus? Surely he knows, too, and yet he kept it to himself.”
“I imagine your mother meant to tell you but never got a chance. But as for your advisor, be careful who you trust.”
“Yes, people keep telling me that. And yet it always comes from someone IknowI can’t trust. You were there when Zeus trapped the Titans. I’m sure you keep your humans in wretched farms, too.” I stood and placed my chalice on the table.
“I understand why you’re wary of me. I would be, too. But know, High Queen of Troy, I do not engage in barbarism like Zeus.”
My heart pounded. “I hope that’s true.”
With lifted shoulders, I strode from the table without casting another glance at the Olympians. I’d wanted to avoid anything too confrontational on the first night, but there’d been too much pity in that room, too muchpoor little birdshining in Demeter’s eyes. A show of strength was needed.
When I reached the door, I fought the urge to look back at Ares. I could feel his eyes on my back. The way he’d looked at me…I was desperate to know how much he knew. A part of me hoped he’d follow me out the door, so I could corner him and demand answers.
But that would only give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d gotten under my skin.
Ares wanted me dead. He’d hesitated when he’d gone after me in the ruins, giving me just enough time to draw my wooden stake and point it at his heart. I’d replayed the moment time and time again, always wondering why he’d slowed.
And now I knew. At the time, he must have believed the gods would punish him for murdering the only remaining Titan.
Something had clearly happened since then to change his mind.
I needed to speak to Orpheus at once. Quickly, I hurried down the corridor.
“High Queen Selene,” a deep voice sounded from behind me. “You’ll get lost if you wander the halls alone.”
Heart pounding, I slowed, but I kept my gaze forward. “Go back to your party, Ares. I have no desire to speak to you right now.”
