Zeus curled back his lip, exposing his canines. “And she refused?”
“Until the very end.”
He shook his head. “She’s always been too stubborn for her own fucking good.”
“You knew that was going to happen,” Hermes interjected, shoving Zeus aside and stabbing my chest with his finger. “That wasn’t Erebus’s doing. It was yours.”
“No, I didn’t know it was going to happen. I have seen a blood moon in a clear sky before, and it burned bloodborn vampires in Troy. But it didn’t hurt me. So I thought it might be the same for all of you.”
I had certainly hoped it would burn them, though.
Hermes snarled, grasping for my neck, but before he could wrap his hands around my throat, Athena hauled him back.
“She knew,” he spat. “She knew!”
“It doesn’t matter,” Athena said, moving between us. “If Hera had been innocent, Erebus would have protected her from the blood moon. He is the ruler of the night sky, sohecleared the clouds. And what’s more, he left Selene unharmed. So let it be, Hermes.”
He ground his teeth, glaring at me. “I’m glad Hera didn’t debase herself by yielding to you. Fucking Titan.”
“All right.” Athena steered him toward the corridor. “Time to go cool off in your rooms.”
He stumbled forward a few steps, then squared his shoulders and stormed away. Zeus followed him, patting him on the back. Together, the two sucked up all the space. One with a tall and mountainous frame, and the other with wicked horns that cast long and sharp shadows across the floor.
As soon as they were out of sight, Athena wheeled toward me, her lips thinned. Out of all of them, she seemed like the most level-headed, the most intelligent, and the least vicious. The least likely to torment mortals and delight in it. And the most likely to see through my perfectly constructed mask.
“I had no love for Hera, but her death will have repercussions I don’t think you’ve anticipated,” she said.
I frowned. “You say that as though it’s my fault she died. Zeus was the one who insisted on that trial. I realize I was his target, not Hera, but—”
“No.” She shook her head. “I think Zeus wanted Hera gone. She pushed his buttons too many times, and then she went too far by killing his mortal lover. I’m sure Zeus is thrilled she’s dead. His greatest antagonist is gone, and he has a second crown. All without breaking the peace treaty.”
My stomach turned.
Athena nodded, as if sensing my dread. She’d likely heard the uptick in my heartbeat. Then she glanced around, leaned in, and put a hand on my arm. “I understand why you hate him.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I parroted, as if by instinct.
She gave me a knowing look. “He murdered your mother, Selene. And while you have crafted an impressive ice sculpture of a face—most of the time—I can see the anger burning in your eyes.” She held up a hand when I started to object, cutting me off before I got a word in. “You are a vampire. You love deeply, especially your family. Of course you hate him. But I know you have come here to do your damndest to keep the peace. Likely to protect Troy from him. So just remember that next time something like this happens. Don’t be so eager to hit Zeus where you think it will hurt him. Because you’ll more than likely be giving him what he wants.”
For a moment, I said nothing, the only sound my thundering heartbeat. It didn’t seem like she held much love for Zeus, either. She was trying to warn me about him. But Hera had done the same, and she’d turned out to be no better than he was. Still…there was something different about Athena. And Iwantedto trust her.
I was starting to realize I truly did need an ally. Maybe even two or three. And I certainly didn’t count Ares as one, despite what he’d done that day at the cove.
Eventually, I found my voice. “Why are you telling me all this?”
“Because of something the Fates once told me.” Her expression turned grim as she turned toward the archway leading outside. A soft crimson light coated everything, seeping through the thickening mist. I followed her gaze and breathed in the scent of petrichor. It reminded me so much of home. Of my mother. Of everything I’d come here to protect.
Athena was right. I’d jumped at the chance to take out an Olympian without the risk of being strung up on a wall and tortured eternally, like Prometheus. But the mortals of Arcadia, Hera’s kingdom, were no closer to freedom than they’d been before. And now Zeus held two crowns instead of one.
Still, with one dead, I was one step closer to my goal.
And for that, I could not regret what I’d done.
“The Fates certainly do like to tell a lot of people a lot of things,” I mused.
A slight smile crested Athena’s lips—perhaps the first one I’d seen her wield. “They’re an odd little trio. Atropos, in particular, is one of the few beings in this godforsaken world who makes me feel…uneasy.”
Atropos, the cutter of the thread of life. She knew when someone would die or murder another. Out of the three, she handed out prophecies the most. She seemed to delight in letting people stew in tormented thoughts of their deaths.
