Ares returned, hovering in the doorway with a haunted expression on his face. “Zeus has summoned us.”
“I heard. Are you all right?”
He frowned. “He normally isn’t so short with me.”
“I’m sorry. He’s a bastard, Ares.”
“I know.” His jaw tightened. “And I’ve been thinking about what you said, how standing back and letting something happen is just as bad as doing it myself. You’re right, of course. You are so, so right, and I despise most things he does. I just don’t know how to turn my back on him, Selene. I wouldn’t be here in this room with you if it weren’t for Zeus.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re forever indebted to him.”
“I know. There’s something else, too. Something I haven’t said. But it’s a long story, and I don’t think he has the patience to wait on us today.” He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “And first, we really need to get off this damn island.”
Things were tense in the megaron, though I’d expected nothing less. The servants had cleared away the food and drink, and all that remained was nine angry—and frightened, even if they’d never admit it—Olympian monarchs. When Ares and I walked into the room, a kaleidoscope of reactions greeted us.
To my relief, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Dion looked thrilled. Even Hephaestus looked relieved. Apollo seemed unaffected, but gave us a welcoming nod. Athena had a similar reaction, but she rarely showed much emotion, regardless.
But Artemis, Hermes, and Zeus looked positively incensed.
“Sit,” Zeus ordered, motioning at the two empty seats on his side of the table.
Without a word, I followed Ares to the chairs and took a seat. I didn’t particularly want to join his side of the table, but now was not the time to make a scene. Of course, I’d armed myself again for the meeting. I’d put a stake in one scabbard and a steel blade in the other. One could never be too careful in a place like this. Zeus noticed, but he didn’t comment.
“One of you needs to fix this,” he said when everyone had sat down. “Give me a successful plan that can get us past those fucking wolves and off this island, and I’ll have one hundred mortals from my marketplace shipped to your kingdom. And if this plan is good enough that none of us gets killed in the process, I’ll throw in five of my breeders.”
I sat up a little straighter. Everyone else did as well. This was an unexpected offer, and I couldn’t help but search my mind for an idea. I needed to win this. If I did, I could save one hundred mortals from his farms.
It was a tempting offer.
“All right, here’s one,” Hermes said, kicking his feet up onto the table. “We wait it out. Eventually, the wolves will get bored and leave, or they’ll try to rush the palace. Bam, they’re dead. It’s not like we don’t have enough food to wait it out.”
Zeus glowered at him. “Wrong. We don’t have enough food. The sacrifices have gone missing.”
All at once, I’d never been more grateful for my training. I kept my face a mask of calm and painted on false hints of curiosity. Inside, I was cheering. Orpheus had actually gone and fucking done it. He’d freed the sacrifices. They were as safe as they could be until I figured out a way to get them off the island.
Artemis shifted in her chair. “How are theymissing?”
“Looks like someone went into the tunnels and released them,” Zeus said. “If I were to guess, it’s whoever’s in league with the wolves.”
A few mumbled conversations broke out around the table. In the corner of my eye, I caught Ares looking at me. I met his gaze. There was a clear question in his expression.Did you do this?I shook my head in answer, ignoring the twinge of guilt. After what we’d shared, I hated lying to him, but I worried he’d feel compelled to tell Zeus.
I leaned forward, curious to witness the reaction to my suggestion. “What about leaving through those tunnels? Do they go anywhere?”
Demeter sighed and waved her hand dismissively. “Those lead to Tartarus, little bird. And we don’t want to go there.”
The world seemed to open up beneath me, like the gaping jaws of a beast. My breath fled from my lungs as I tried to make sense of her words. She couldn’t have just said what I’d thought she’d said. It couldn’t be real.
Maybe I was asleep.
I blinked my eyes, but nothing changed. I didn’t emerge from a deep slumber, awakening in the arms of my handsome enemy. I was still here in this godforsaken place, surrounded by the people who had trapped my entire family in another realm.
In Tartarus.
Ten alarmed faces looked back at me. Demeter covered her mouth with her hand, wincing and looking away.
“Did you say Tartarus?” I whispered.
Artemis hissed across the table. “What the fuck, Demeter? You’re an idiot.”
