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The bored-looking one gave Claudia a cold, searching look, as if trying to decide where to stab her first.

‘We won’t be offended if you don’t know us,’ said Discordia. ‘There weren’t many statues or murals of us to begin with, even before Jupiter tried to remove us from the pantheon.’

‘No, I do know you,’ said Claudia. ‘I have studied mythology. You are the goddess of chaos… and you are the goddess of retribution.’

They clutched at each other, squealing.

‘She knows us, sister.’

‘We are known…’

‘Maybe all is not lost after all…’

They spoke fast, cutting into each other’s sentences.

‘We are so glad to be remembered. There are many who strive to forget us,’ said Discordia. ‘We are—’

‘We are the infernal daughters of Nox, the children of night. Our mother once tried to steal the mortal sun,’ said Invidia.

‘It’s a long story.’

They continued to weave around her. They didn’t walk but hovered mid-air, moving slowly and silently in a most ominous way, surrounded by curls of dark smoke.

‘Jupiter wishes to hide us away in shame, and so…’

‘We are stuck here in the dark, for always.’

‘If a god or goddess has no followers and no offerings, well…’ Invidia cut her finger across her neck like a knife. ‘We can—’

‘We can only exist, as long as we are venerated,’ said Discordia. ‘We must have followers, or we will cease to be.’

‘We risk being forgotten completely. It is a shame you are dead, or you could tell our stories.’

Invidia rolled her eyes.

‘Typical. We have one mortal supporter, and she is dead.’

‘It isn’t fair,’ said Discordia, reclining dramatically on a rock. ‘We haven’t done anything wrong.’

‘Didn’t you start a war among the goddesses?’ said Claudia.

‘It was a misunderstanding.’

‘They excluded us from their party on purpose,’ said Invidia, menacingly. ‘That hurt our feelings.’

‘All I did was throw a golden apple for the fairest so they would squabble over it and make fools of themselves,’ said Discordia. ‘I didn’t tell them to wage war over it, yet I am blamed for starting the conflict?’

‘We’re no worse than the sanctimonious Twelve and their greedy children, but they treat us like inferior beings,’ sneered Invidia.

Claudia wasn’t sure what Invidia had done to enrage Jupiter, and she didn’t volunteer it, but she imagined that it was very unpleasant. At the same time, Jupiter was known for being unreasonable. She may only have caused him mild offence to receive so severe a punishment, imprisoned in this nightmarish realm for all eternity.

‘I am really, truly dead?’ she asked, in a small voice.

She still felt strangely numb, far away from herself, as if her mind couldn’t quite grasp it.

‘What gave it away?’ said Invidia, gesturing around at the apocalyptic décor.

The goddesses cackled, baring their sharp little teeth.