I guess it’s time for another approach.
???
A day passed.Erebus did not seek out Nyx, nor she him. He knew that Zeus had not left the Underworld. Instead, he had gone straight to Hades. There was something about having Zeus in his realm for more than a few hours that was off-putting. He knew that there wasn’t brotherly love lost between Zeus and Hades, but the fact that Zeus had spent the night as his brother’s guest was…unusual.
Erebus would never say that his relationship with Hades wasbad;it simplywas.Nyx had long decided to let the god take management of the Underworld, carefully putting Thanatos, Hypnos, and Hecate alongside him. Hades was many things, but he wasn’t weak-willed. If he had decided on something, then there would be no going back. There had to be something in it for him if he was allowing his brother these war-games.
It only took a shift in the wind, and Erebus knew that they were on the move. There was a subtle shift in power, a reallocation of sorts, and Erebus grit his teeth as he realized Poseidon was sliding through the rivers of the Underworld. The brothers were all here, together. And they were coming for Erebus. He made no move, continuing to stare out at the banks of the river while he waited. The darkness started to ebb from Erebus, causing pockets of night to cover the sky above him. He made no effort to reign them in, but as he was lost in his thoughts, there was a sudden wave that broke the surface of the water.
Poseidon stood up slowly, his body morphing from the foam of the current as he became corporeal. Droplets of water fell down the folds of his tunic, dripping down the bracelets on his wrists. His eyes were serious, creased, as though he was already angry as he glanced around the pockets of blackness in the atmosphere that Erebus made no attempt to control.
An excellent start to this meeting.Erebus felt walls going up around his thoughts.
“Erebus.” Poseidon’s tone was respectful as his feet hit the shore, even if his expression was cautious. “My brothers are coming.”
Erebus knew that he was on edge, but he didn’t appreciate the warning—as if he didn’t know everything that happened in the Underworld.
“I’m aware.” He raised an eyebrow, a silent challenge to Poseidon as he called his shadows back to him. They wrapped around him like a torrent, quickly vanishing into Erebus’s body as the sky cleared. If the show of power affected Poseidon, he said nothing. His expression was calculating.
“They want you to join with Zeus.” The god of the sea had a warning tone in his voice as if there was something going between them unspoken.
“I must say… I’ve never felt so wanted in eons of my existence.”
“That seems like it would be a blow to Nyx.” Hades’s voice cut through the tension between Poseidon and Erebus, only to immediately add to it. Erebus turned, eyeing both gods that walked towards him. Hades seemed unbothered as if this was something that he did every day. Zeus, on the other hand, looked like he hadn’t slept all night. Erebus supposed he’d hadn’t, so far from his sparkling Mt. Olympus and lying down with the dogs of the Underworld.
Woof, you bitch.Erebus’s own thoughts surprised him with the childish animosity that they held for the God of lightning, but he garnered that they weren’t unwarranted.
They were dressed casually. They had not shown up in armor or anything else that would convey a war council. Erebus rightfully assumed that they wanted to be disarming. Hades’s head-to-toe black flowed over the ground, mimicking shadows and providing sharp contrast to Zeus’s white. They looked like two utter opposites: Hades dark-haired and smirking easily, Zeus blonde as the sun and agitated. Poseidon was somewhere in between the two as they came to flank their brother.
“What a family reunion.” Erebus’s voice dropped to a growl as he stared at the brothers. They were only gods, but they were the three most powerful gods. He felt his shadows began to unfurl from him once more with an unholy desire to drown them all. Maybe set Poseidon on fire.
“Erebus…” Zeus’s voice was calm, coaxing. It was a new look for the boy-king. “We need you.” Erebus felt his eyes go wide. Had he not sent Zeus away yesterday after he had refused to accept any responsibility?
“Do you? It seems that you have been a busy man, recruiting people from all over the realms to join your patricidal crusade.”
“Now, you insolent—” There was a sudden flush in Zeus’s face. Lightning crackled on his fingertips and the atmosphere exploded in power. All at once, it seemed like each of the men lit the fuse that they had been nursing. Darkness enveloped the meeting as lightning struggled to break through, and waves began crashing angrily against the river’s shore. The Underworld responded to Hades’s power, the ghosts of the unclaimed clamoring leagues behind them at the borders of Styx. Chaos descended as the elements raged against one another until darkness choked them all out. Not a word was exchanged between the gods and the primordial.
Erebus waited until it was silent, and he pulled back his shadows. The brothers looked a little more frazzled, but not entirely shaken. Hades, especially, had a smile that was threatening to split his face in two. Poseidon looked cautious, tense, as if this was a situation that he had been trying to avoid entirely. Zeus looked like an angry—no, a petulant—teenager.
“Call meinsolentone more time…” Erebus’s voice reverberated through the air as his eyes glowed white, shadows threatening to spill from him once more. “Speak your piece and be gone.”
“Listen here,” Zeus started, his face flushed, when he got a sharp elbow in the side from Hades. Poseidon threw him a warning glare as the river picked up behind them. Zeus sighed deeply before he started again.
“We need you, Erebus. I know that you don’t like me.” He held up his hands in surrender. “Look beyond me, though. Kronos is threatening all of us. He is eating the rest of his children.”
“You are scared of him.” Erebus stated the fact, repeating it for no other reason than to remind everyone of Zeus’s insecurities out loud.
“We all should be.” Zeus nodded. Erebus was shocked, even if he didn’t show it, to see Zeus admit his failures out loud. “Think of Nyx.” There was a pang that went through Erebus’s chest at the mention of his consort.
“She has given her answer, and where she goes, I will follow.”
“You have said that.” Poseidon’s eyes went to Zeus in a sharp reminder to keep his mouth shut. “We do not wish to come between the two of you, but don’t you want to do what’s best for her?”
“What’s… What is best for her?” Erebus’s voice lost its edge.
There was something inside of Erebus that had begun to shatter. He didn’t know what to do to fix his relationship with Nyx anymore, and these past two days, he had been afraid that there was nothing that he could do. There was only one thing that could ever bring Erebus to his knees…and it was Nyx.
There was a subtle glance that went between Hades as Poseidon, something unspoken that even Zeus missed.
