Athena leaned sideways, her hands still gripping the hilt. “There’s been a lot of trouble here since you arrived.”
“It seems the trouble started long before I got here,” I said.
Athena was silent for a moment as we both watched Zeus come to a thunderous stop in front of Ares. His eyes were lined with red, amplifying his crimson irises. He scowled around at his fellow monarchs, then his gaze froze on Hera’s glinting smile.
“Yes, it certainly did.” Athena tensed. “Ready yourself. You’ve never seen Zeus truly angry, but I have. This might go badly.”
“You.” He only spoke the word, but somehow, it echoed through the amphitheatre like a thunderous boom.
Hera’s brow arched. “Is there a problem? You’re the one who’s late, my love.”
“Oh, don’t you dare.” He started toward her, but Hermes and Ares remained in place, blocking them from going near each other. With a snarl, he spat at Hermes. “Move aside. This doesn’t concern you.”
“It concerns all of us. We can’t fight like this now. If you two want to have it out, you need to wait until the sacrifice is over,” Hermes said with a quiet calm that defied logic.
Every caress of the wind, every rustle of clothing, every furtive look exchanged between the monarchs—it all crackled with tension. The ancient power of the gods thrummed beneath my feet, sinking into my bones. It almost felt as if the very world itself slowed to a stop, like the fate of everything hinged on this moment.
Zeus’s nostrils flared. And his jaw tensed.
“Fuck,” Artemis murmured.
He knew. He’d scented it. Because of course he had. The Archon of vampire monarchs didn’t need to see a body to know death had visited this place tonight.
“Move aside,” he said with a lethal calm. “I won’t say it again.”
Hermes hesitated—only for the smallest of breaths—and then he closed his eyes and stepped aside.
“Zeus.” Ares reached for the Archon as he strode toward the sacrifice, veins in his neck pulsing. But Zeus ignored his friend. The grief on his face was palpable.
“I should have known,” he muttered, more to himself than to anyone else. “I should have known one day you would take your claws and try your damndest to rip me apart. You know why I was never loyal to you?” He whirled toward Hera, pain branded in his eyes. “Because you’re a wicked, vicious thing. You don’t know what it is to love.”
Hera scoffed. “Love?Oh, come now, Zeus. She was one of your little mortal playthings. You would have tired of her—sooner rather than later. And besides, what was it you said to Dionysos only two nights ago? Vampire gods are not to frolic with mortals.”
Zeus sneered, shoving the nearest monarch aside—Poseidon, who growled in response. He stormed toward Hera, his face twisted into a furious scowl. From beside me, Athena sighed.
“Here we go,” she muttered. Straightening, she walked toward the two of them, dragging the sword behind her. A line cut through the mud. By the time Zeus had reached Hera, Athena was already standing in the way.
When she held up a hand, he actually stopped. “Calm yourself, Archon. Remember the commands of our god.”
Zeus spit on the ground, but he made no move to go around her.
“Honestly, I don’t know what all this fuss is about,” Hera crooned. “I’ve followed the rules. I’ve done my duty.”
“The girl was mine,” Zeus bit out.
“No, she was born in Arcadia.Mykingdom.”
“She fled your fucking kingdom, Hera.”
“And since when does the Archon of the Olympians welcome mortals into his kingdom with open arms?” she countered. “Or is it just the pretty ones?”
Zeus’s face boiled red, but when he spoke, his voice was dangerously quiet. “When we leave this arena, I am going to—”
“Enough.” Athena closed her eyes. “We need to finish the sacrifice.” Snapping her eyes back open, she motioned me to join her. “Zeus and Ares, you need to drink.”
Tugging on my sleeves, I moved toward them. With every step I took, more of Gaia’s power thrummed in my bones, filling my head with static. And I swore, somehow, she was watching—witnessing what could only end in the breaking of the Thirteen Crowns.
And it excited her.
