“I can see why Helios brought you his son,” she murmured, her eyes nearly downcast. “You have a very kind heart.” The queen seemed almost taken aback, and she froze where she was standing. Hecate continued, “Trust me, I know what lies in a woman’s heart.”
The queen was pulled out of her reverie, dipping into a bow towards the immortal.
“I’m honored, Goddess.” Her smile reached her eyes. “There is no finer compliment from no greater judge of character.”
Hecate tilted her head in acquiescence, and the queen backed away a few paces before turning and disappearing down the hall.
Hecate watched until the woman’s fleeting figure was gone and took a deep breath, shutting the door to the room. It was expansive and finely decorated, and she knew that it was likely kept for other members of visiting royalty. She waited for a few beats to ensure that there were no servants in the wings…and once she was sure, she sank down to her feet and let her glamour dissolve.
Hecate cried.
And cried.
And cried.
Until the sun had set, and the only comfort she could find was in Nyx’s presence in the night sky.
? ? ?
When Hecate blinkedher eyes open, she knew that something was wrong. At some point the night before, she had pulled herself into bed and fallen asleep. The sky outside was an unnatural color, parts of it were spotted with dark clouds of navy, while the horizon was decorated in swaths of green and orange. Hecate could sense the powers in the heavens and knew that Nyx had retreated to the Underworld. Eos and Astraeus were still in the sky, pulling and pushing against one another in a way that was ripping the horizon in pieces.
What in the gods’ name is happening?Hecate got out of bed, kicking away the sheets, and stepped towards her open windows. She could hear the shocked cries of people within the city walls, screaming and shouting in peril that the sun hadn’t risen.
Oh, Helios…Hecate was barely able to contain her nearly instantaneous rage.What the hell have you done now?Her opinion of the god had deteriorated swiftly over the past few weeks, but if he was now holding back the sun in retribution… She wouldn’t hesitate to finally call the entire pantheon into settling this skirmish. Hecate let out a low growl and started heading for the door, preparing for a fight; she tightened the belt around her waist and pulled her hair back, twisting it into a braided crown around her head.
“FuckingHelios.”
“That’s quite a welcome,” a deep, baritone voice called out to Hecate from the corner of the room. As soon as it spoke, she felt the umber power of Helios’s magic, and she knew that he had arrived seconds before—otherwise, she would’ve felt his power.
Hecate spun on her heel and nearly hissed at him. He held up his hands in mock defeat, a blank look on his face. “Don’t you normally have snakes that do that for you?”
“Tread lightly, Sun God.” Hecate put the emphasis on his title like it was an insult. “You’ve created quite the mess here.”
“I thought you needed me to help you clean upyourmess.” He smirked, leaning against the wall. He had one foot propped up against it, and his arms crossed over his chest, every inch of him emanating a light glow. Hecate shook her head, those telltale red sparks dancing over her skin again.
“You’ve already given away immortality to this family as a reward for making them raise your children,” she sneered, looking down her nose at him as she stepped closer. “Then you made them forget Circe. Aeëtes wonders why he wasn’t good enough to be raised as a god…”
“He doesn’t have any power,” Helios shrugged, “I could tell.” Hecate’s face nearly short-circuited with anger.
“He doesn’t have anypower?”The words came tumbling out of her like a vortex. “You gave away your son because you didn’t think that he would bepowerfulenough for you?”
“He would never last in Olympus, Hecate.” Helios rolled his eyes, and Hecate felt another wave of righteous power roll of off her. Helios answered in kind, the bright aura around him increasing, and they heard the stones of the palace begin to creak in response.
“How dare you?” She gritted her teeth. “I cannot believe that you’d give up a child because you didn’t think that they would serve you enough as a pawn!”
Helios seemed unbothered. “I’ve heard his father’s prayers. He doesn’t even want to take over the crown here. He has no ambition.”
“Thank the gods for that!” Hecate spat, her power pooling around her feet. “Aeëtes is nothing like the other gods, you selfish bastards. He isgoodand kind and…” Hecate stopped, her words trailing off as the hurt that he had inflicted on her came rushing back. Helios raised an eyebrow as he watched her countenance change and the color drain from her face.
“Interesting.” Helios shrugged again. “I suppose you have always been interested in rather macabre and boring things.” The last of Hecate’s control went out the window, and she snapped her fingers, tossing her hand in Helios’s direction. Her two large dogs emerged from the cloud of magic at her feet, both of them lunging for Helios. He let out a sharp yell as they bit his wrists and pinned them against the wall. Helios’s light flared brighter still around him, but it had no effect.
“Listen to me.” Hecate crossed the rest of the space between him, getting in his face. She squared her shoulders and stared at him, both of her dogs refusing to let go. “You will tell me the name of Aeëtes’s and Circe’s mother. You will then walk out of this room and put thefuckingsun in the sky. You will restore Circe’s memory to her adoptive parent’s minds to at least give her a semblance of a family.” She pulled a small, black parazonium dagger from thin air, ironically gleaming in the light of Helios’s power. Hecate pressed it up against his neck until a thin line of ichor shone on the blade. “Do we have an understanding?”
There was a sudden obliterating blast of heat, knocking Hecate backward, so she fell on the floor. The dogs flickered with another wave of magic, their grip strengthening and managing to keep Helios in place as he struggled.
“I don’t have to agree to a single thing you say, you witch!” Helios cursed her, spitting on the floor at her feet. Hecate jumped back up, tossing the blade to the side. She rolled her neck and slowly started laughing. The sound made Helios’s stomach begin to twist as the heads of the virgin and the crone manifested. Her eyes rolled back into her head until they shone red, and tendrils of magic erupted from her fingers. The air around them was filled with the thick smell of cinnamon and death, the sky going red outside with the expanse of Hecate’s rage.
Helios’s eyes got wide, and he started nodding, the scent of his panic only making the dogs bite down harder. He yelped in response, trying to shake them off but to no avail.
