Across the way, Selene’s body trembled. She wore her hair down, but had tossed most of it over one shoulder, so I could see part of her neck. A vein fluttered, frantic from a rapid heartbeat. I doubted she’d witnessed anything like this in Troy. Knowing what I did about her mother, I wasn’t sure if her reaction was excitement or disgust. Perhaps a little of both?
As if sensing my gaze, she looked away from the sacrifice and met my eyes. I mouthed my words, hoping she could understand them. “Your mother always hated this part. She often retched after Zeus made her drink.”
Every monarch was required to partake, but we each took a small sip and nothing more. Everything else was left by the feet of the statue for Erebus to take. At some point, the body and blood vanished. None of us had ever seen where they went. Whatever Erebus did with them, he did not say.
And we knew better than to demand answers from a primordial god.
And right now, I just didn’t fucking care. Every part of me ached.
Selene answered me by lifting her chin. The trembling had stilled, and I could no longer see the fluttering in her neck, though I was certain her calm was nothing more than a mask.
Zeus scanned the gathered monarchs, blood staining his lips and chin. And much to no one’s surprise, his gaze settled on Selene. “I believe the neophyte should drink first.”
16
SELENE
If there was one thing I was quickly learning about Zeus, it was that he was extraordinarily predictable. Of course he would choose me, especially after what Ares had just mouthed at me. He probably expected me to react like my mother, and truthfully, my stomach was roiling. That entire thing had been extremely unpleasant.
Vampires in Troy didn’t feed like that, even when they lost control. Blood was a delicacy. A luxury. Splashing it all over the ground like that…tossing chunks of flesh…
Deep down, Zeus was nothing more than an animal. The need for unrestrained violence buzzed in the edges of his eyes. He licked his lips, tasting the blood. And there was a tremble, just there, and his knuckles were bone white.
This was it. His greatest weakness. As much as he believed he was above all the rest of us, he was no better. In fact, he was probably worse. My hunger had never gripped me like this. I’d certainly never spit chunks of flesh on the ground.
Standing behind their columns, the Olympians turned my way. Expectant eyes watched my every move, and I could feel the weight of Ares’s attention on me. He’d told me about my mother for a reason. He wanted to watch me break right here beneath the eerie gaze of Erebus’s statue.
Squaring my shoulders, I walked to Zeus. With a wicked, blood-stained grin, he shoved a chalice of blood into my hands.
“One sip, then hand it back,” he commanded.
I lifted the chalice to my lips, titled back my head, and drank. As soon as the blood hit my tongue, hunger clenched my stomach. My eyelids fluttered, and my fingers tightened on the glass. Power shot up from the depths of the earth, filling my veins with static.
Clenching my jaw, I tugged the chalice away from me and shoved it back into Zeus’s hands. I met his gaze, as steady as I could. “By the order of Erebus.”
And then I returned to my place behind my pillar. I didn’t dare risk a glance at Ares, though I knew he was still watching me, likely waiting to see if I’d crack. But despite the gruesome start to the ceremony, the churning of my stomach had calmed. The blood helped. It always did.
Aphrodite was called forward next, then Hermes, then Demeter. One by one, each vampire monarch stepped forward and accepted their sip. When we were finished, Zeus called an ending to the proceedings and motioned us away from the statue. We were to abandon the body where it was, as broken and ruined as the fallen side of the amphitheatre.
Everyone was silent on our return trek to the palace. My mother had told me the Olympians were often giddy after the nightly sacrifice, revelling late into the night. But there was no sign of debauchery now. Heads were bowed; eyes were glassy. The memory of Hestia was a heavy cloud, drowning the ceremony in darkness.
At least the early end would give me time to find Orpheus and tell him what had happened. Hopefully, I could get him out of here, too. Because even if Zeus decided I was innocent,someonehad killed Hestia. Likely Hera. And I did not think it would take long for the fragile tension to shatter.
I needed to be ready for when it did.
Swallowing, I cast a glance over my shoulder. Ares walked with Poseidon. His brow was furrowed, and he looked lost in thought, like he was recalling all the moments he’d spent with his closest friend. He lifted his hand to his chest, placed his palm against the spot where I’d seen his tattoo the night before. And then I swore…a tear or two traced wet lines down his face.
Had he truly loved her that much? A pang went through my heart. The painful truth was that life was a beautiful, precious thing, and death transformed it into grains of sand that slipped through our fingers, often faster than we expected. But as vampires, we rarely experienced that, not like mortals did.
This was likely the first time Ares had ever lost someone important to him.
And unlike most, I understood exactly how he felt—how the loss carved a hole into your chest and left behind nothing but rot.
My eyes suddenly burned, tears welling in them. With a sharp hiss through my teeth, I blinked them away and returned my attention to the palace looming before me. I could not let myself feel sorry forAres, of all people. He’d tried to kill me when I’d been at my lowest. And I was certain now, he’d be the one to attempt to kill me again.
You must be aware of Olympians who draw you into their web, for one will attempt to take your life. He is death and fury. He is hate.
If that wasn’t Ares, I didn’t know who it could be. The others might not be my allies, but they weren’t the personification of death, fury, and hate, either. And based on everything I’d seen from Ares, he definitely was.
