I lurched forward, kicking sand free to reach her side, to offer comfort, something, but she was surrounded by gods who had her back. Aphrodite sagged against Ares, accepting Persephone’s hand squeeze with a whisper of thanks.
She didn’t need me to comfort her.
“Um . . .” Aphrodite glanced up, blinking fast. “So, like I was saying, if we can’t scrape up enough power to ‘port out on our own, we’ll signal you.” She motioned to Persephone.
“Signal her?” How far out of the loop was I? No one else looked confused. I bit the inside of my lip hard enough to draw blood when an irrational surge of jealousy filled me. “How?”
Aphrodite’s smile turned sad. “A divine cause of death.”
Athena must have seen the confusion on my face. “A god must personally respond to divine causes of death. Death directly caused by a god. It supersedes every natural law. So that’ll get Persephone behind the shield without exposing you to the breaking island or the armed demigods. She can get you out. But—” her voice turned sharp “—that’s assuming there’s anyone to kill. The demigods can’t die.”
“We have charmed humans on staff.” My saliva soured when I realized what I’d just offered. It wouldn’t be your first murder. My gut twisted at the reminder. I was terrified of what would happen if everything ever calmed down enough for me to actually process all I’d done. Glauce, the pregnancy, the betrayal, the betraying, the earthquake, all of it.
“I never said how long the stay on death would last,” Persephone said at the same time, pushing back a lock of golden hair. “I could let them go now.”
“Better to wait,” Poseidon argued, the salt-stiff wind rising with his voice. “The agony they’ve seen awaiting them if they make one wrong move will make them hesitate. If we’re as badly outnumbered as you say, we need every edge we can get. Psychological and otherwise.”
“Like Medea said, there are some humans on the island,” Aphrodite interjected. “There are probably scientists in the hidden wing. I can kill one of them. Meanwhile, the shield around the island going down will be your signal that we are safely tucked out of the way. Then you guys can lay waste to the rest of the island without getting within arm’s reach of that Steele. Flood it, electrocute it, scorch it, whatever it takes.”
Persephone’s green eyes met mine, looking every bit as troubled as I felt. “What about you?” she asked gently. “Aphrodite said you had terms for agreeing to help us. Did you want to negotiate for the demigods’ safety?”
“No.” My voice was firm, completely certain as my mind flashed to seeing Aphrodite, beaten and battered on the couch. Demigods had done that to her, emboldened by the support of the crowd. They’d let Narcissus use her as a scapegoat. I wasn’t stupid. If I’d left Aphrodite behind when I’d moved the island, Narcissus still would have thrown someone to the wolves to strengthen his hold on the islanders.
And it probably would have been me. I’d moved the island, caused mass destruction and general misery, and abandoned their beloved leader to the Pantheon.
Jason. I almost opened my mouth to ask about him, then thought better of it. I didn’t want to know.
“They’ve had chances,” I continued, wringing my hands together so tightly, I left red impressions on my pale skin. My knuckles cracked against the pressure. “More than one. Whatever happens next, they brought upon themselves.” Biting the inside of my lip, I thought through my next words. “I only have one condition. If you fill it, I’ll do anything you like.”
“What condition is that?” Athena asked, voice wary.
“Otrera and I—” I forced myself to stop wringing my hands together before I could break a finger. “Otrera’s one of the demigods, but she’s been helping. We want to be one of you. Whatever you did to Adonis, I want it to be done to us. We want to be gods.”
Persephone’s blond brow furrowed in confusion. “You’re already as strong as—”
“I don’t want to be some bizarre, half step.” The salty air stirred angrily at my interruption. “I want to be part of the Pantheon. I want to be one of you. I want to be a god of something and I want—I want—” I wanted to be a part of their family. To have someone. “Your resources.” I said instead, unwilling to lay that much of myself bare. I crossed my arms, giving myself a tiny hug. “I don’t exist on paper. I have nothing once this island crumbles. I don’t have charm. I can’t make it out there. Once I drop that shield, I want your word that you’ll do everything in your power to get me and Otrera off the island safely, that you’ll turn us into one of you, and give us a place in the Pantheon.”
They all exchanged a glance and came to a wordless decision. Speaking as one, they said, “Deal.”
Chapter XXXIII
Aphrodite
ATHENA OUTLINED Medea’s terms, listing caveat after caveat for her approval in a monotone voice that tried far too hard to sound uninterested. Gods couldn’t lie. If we misspoke, we’d be binding the Pantheon to a promise we’d never agreed to make and committing ourselves to a lifetime of hurt if we tried to break it. “Now,” she finished. “Does everyone agree to abide by those terms?”
I grinned wide enough to hurt my cheeks as each member of the Pantheon repeated the terms and conditions they would abide to, as long as Medea and Otrera held up their end of the bargain.
“If that’s all to your satisfaction.” Athena’s mouth twisted with a sour expression, like someone who’d just gotten a massive credit-card statement in the mail and was wondering if all those purchases had been worth it. She patted the back of her severe bun, a nervous habit I recognized. Her gray eyes met mine and she forced a reassuring smile to her face. “Let’s put this plan into motion.”
Medea left the dreamscape to tell Otrera how the meeting had gone. Once the gods were in close enough proximity to detect the shield dropping, I’d wake up and let Otrera and Medea know it was time to get moving. If Medea felt anyone tampering with the shield before then, she’d wake me.
As I glanced around, I felt my throat swell with emotion. I’d missed this place. These people. We sat at the same wicker table on the same beach in the same dreamscape we’d met in every single Pantheon meeting since Zeus’s defeat. Poseidon put an insane amount of detail into his dreamscapes. The beach, the sky, the sand, the smell of salt on the whipping wind, all crafted to perfection. It should have faded when he left to check out the coordinates Medea had given him, but Persephone had taken it on with an exasperated eye-roll so everyone didn’t have to relocate.
Persephone sat beside me at the head of the table, the seat next to her conspicuously empty. She managed a small smile for my sake, as she squeezed the hand I offered her. Hephaestus sat diagonal to me, right next to Hades’s empty chair, his mottled mess of a face twitching as spasms of power passed through it. He caught me staring and narrowed his eye at me with a scowl. Beside him Artemis, a petite huntress with dark features, flashed me a covert wave. I was glad to see she was back on her feet. Her powers had been knocked out by poison back when she, Ares, and I had been trapped in a cell by Tantalus. Athena sat next to her beside Poseidon’s empty chair. Then, immediately beside me, completing the circle, sat Ares. The muscular, dark-haired deity sat so close, his leg burned against mine.
I’d missed them all so much. Being powerless sucked, but the worst part of being stranded on the island was being away from them. When we’d joined forces against Zeus, we’d become a Pantheon again. But in the last few months, meeting together every night as we strategized against a common foe, we’d become something closer. Something that felt a lot like family. And the way they looked back at me, with varying shades of relief, made me think maybe, just maybe, they felt the same way.
“She really teleported the entire island?” Athena’s voice shook me from my reverie. “All by herself? Just how strong is she?”
I leaned forward, my arms biting into
the wicker table. “Strong. Maybe not as strong as any of the gods in this room, but she could overpower the few remaining minor deities. And there’s more.” Glancing at Hephaestus, I inhaled a deep breath of salt-tinged air. “She says it’s her blood that’s powering the Steele.”
Hephaestus let out a low whistle from his seat next to Poseidon. “I’ve been studying the Steele from the ambush, and—”
I straightened up. “What happened with that? Narcissus didn’t say anything to us until after the fact, and he didn’t go into detail.”
Athena snorted. “They sent a message through Orpheus that they’d like to meet with us to discuss the terms of the truce and exchange our hostages. Instead they showed up armed to the teeth and started throwing Steele. The demigods didn’t get within a foot of us before we removed the very air from their lungs.”
Air. I glanced at Persephone fast enough for my neck to object at the sharp motion.
The tiny blonde wouldn’t meet my eyes. “They were trying to kill us.” Her voice was so soft I had to lean closer to hear her. “What was I supposed to do?”
“Defend yourself,” I replied, searching for words that would help. But I knew what it was like to hate the things you’d done. Words didn’t help. “You did what you had to.”
Her green eyes filled with tears. “And now I’m denying them death.”
“We all agreed to that before the first truce meeting.” Athena sounded thoroughly done with Persephone’s guilt. “We needed to show the demigods that we were serious, that we wield serious power that can significantly impact their day-to-day life and everything thereafter. It should have made them think twice about whining about our ‘interference.’”
“Well, it certainly hasn’t defused the situation.” I dug my feet into the soft white sand beneath the table.
“I can’t believe we’re letting a demigod join the Pantheon,” Artemis said. “If Adonis is still—” She broke off when she saw my face. “This will make three.”
“It’s a word,” Persephone said. “It’s not like joining gives you anything.”
“I think there’s an implication of voice on divine matters,” Ares ventured.
“So what?” Persephone glanced around. “Why shouldn’t they have a voice? Divinity has shaped every single aspect of their lives. Besides, it’s not like having a voice matters unless there’s some crazy major crisis going on. We don’t interfere in people’s lives anymore. This isn’t ancient Greece. When we have a crazy big emergency, more input sounds better than less.”
I wasn’t sure about that. More voices tended to complicate things, but I smiled to show I appreciated her sentiment. She returned my grin with a smile so brilliant that for a moment, the entire dreamscape seemed to be drenched with the scent of wildflowers.
“We could use more numbers,” Athena agreed at last, her gray eyes thoughtful. “If this threat has taught us anything, it’s that we are too few and far between. And I’d rather have a loose cannon like Medea on our side. Lock her into some promises after her conversion. She could be a useful resource.”
My stomach gave a sour twist. They wanted to use her. That shouldn’t have surprised me, but the thought still made me feel sick.
“She just wants a place to belong.” Persephone gripped the edge of the wicker table. “We can give her that without chains, can’t we? Apotheosis is a bit extreme, but if we could talk to her, give her assurances that we aren’t just going to toss her out into the world to fend for herself, she might not want to become a god. Right now, she’s less limited than we are. Her power level stays the same regardless of worship, she can lie, she can—”
“Die.” Athena’s voice went cold. “There’s no reason to believe she’s immortal. Not without worship fueling her life force. She’d be a fool to walk away from a chance at full immortality, and while she seems rather naïve, she doesn’t strike me as a fool.”
Persephone frowned, looking troubled. “So, who wants to do the honors? It would basically mean being defenseless for months, right?”
It couldn’t be me. My powers hadn’t recovered from transforming Adonis. My mind flashed back to the horrific pain I’d felt through our bond, and my stomach twisted.
“That does seem to be the pattern,” Athena agreed. “But with only one other case to go on, it’s difficult to establish that as the norm.”
“So, defenseless for an undetermined amount of time then,” Persephone clarified, carefully releasing her grip from the edge of the wicker table. The wood groaned as the pressure released. I could see red lines crisscrossing her palms from where she’d held on so tight, but they vanished a second later.
“It can’t be you,” I said before she could offer herself. Before Athena could let her. My heart pounded at the near miss. “Or Poseidon. You’d be leaving your realms defenseless.”
“It should be me or Ares.” Artemis tugged on her dark ponytail, looking as though she’d rather be silent than offer herself for sacrifice. “Our powers are already unreliable because of the poison.”
“Exactly,” Ares agreed, reluctantly. “Apotheosis will give us some relief from all that unpleasantness without leaving the Pantheon itself any weaker. After all, we’re already down for the count.”
All too familiar with the agony of using power with that poison coursing through my veins, I shivered. Ares must have sensed my fear, because he pulled me to him. I buried my face in his shoulder, inhaling the scent of leather and burnt cinnamon. How he could possibly think to comfort me after he’d just offered to surrender his powers for months was beyond me, but I was grateful.
“That’s sound logic.” The relief in Athena’s gray eyes was evident. “And since we’re two down, we could initiate two. Go ahead and bring in this . . . Otrera immediately.”
The dreamscape rippled as Poseidon popped back in. “It’s not there.”
“What?” I straightened in my seat.
Persephone swore. “I knew it was weird that her coordinates don’t match anything Jason told us.” She clutched the edge of the table again with enough force to blanch her fingers.
I shook my head, surprised the demigod was still alive. But then, I guess he couldn’t die either, no matter what Persephone’s people in the Underworld did to him. “Medea said she and Jason didn’t have a chance to discuss these coordinates. That’s why she chose them. She wouldn’t have lied. There’s no—”
“I don’t think she lied,” Poseidon interjected hastily, he dropped into his seat and must have taken the dreamscape back over because the landscape sharpened and the scent of the ocean breeze grew stronger. “I think the island drifted.”
That made sense. The island was basically a floating shield.
Athena lifted an elegant hand to still me before I could panic. “Aphrodite, tell me everything you can about the island.”
I tapped my nails against the wicker table as Poseidon and I compared notes on temperature and a thousand other details that could pinpoint the general area. They probably would have found Ares and me a lot faster if we’d bothered to do this back when the island was in the first location, but we hadn’t known teleportation was an option for demigods at that point, so the search had been focused in the wrong patch of ocean.
“When did you collect that data?” Poseidon asked. “Tonight? Last night?”
I drew in a long breath, struggling to keep calm. “Last night, before we tried dreamwalking for the first time.”
“So, you could be anywhere by now.”
“Hardly,” Athena’s voice went nasally in condescension. “We have a starting point. With last night’s data, we have a trajectory. You should know the currents.” She glanced at Poseidon for confirmation. When he nodded, she continued. “So, we start looking. All of us. It shouldn’t take long.”
Persephone nodded. “Okay. We’ll get started. Ar
es, can you stay in the dreamscape? I’d rather Aphrodite’s group not move into position until we’re all in place.”
Ares nodded. “You got it.”
The second they left, Ares’s lips burned against mine, and I smiled as one kiss melted into another. Gods, I’d missed the taste of him. The feel of his arms around me. His voice. Everything.
“You left something out.” He tilted my chin up, his dark eyes meeting mine. “The way you looked when you got here. . . . What happened, Aphrodite?”
“It’s gotten bad.” My voice trembled as I filled him in on my treatment ever since I woke up on the beach. The angry mobs in the hospital. Calais’s attack, Adonis’s pain, my powers returning, and the feeling of Steele slicing across my skin. “I think the Steele Medea makes isn’t as potent as Hephaestus’s version, but it’s still doing something to me, Ares.” I swallowed hard, fighting to keep my composure. “I’m scared.”
His arms tightened around me. “Maybe you should take Hephaestus up on his offer.”
I drew back, brushing a lock of dark hair off his forehead. “You want me to marry him?”
Ares’s thumb burned along my jaw line. “It’s the only way he can share his immunity to Steele. It wouldn’t have to mean anything beyond that. Just think about it.” He drew me back to him, and I could feel his deep voice rumbling through his chest as he spoke. “It’s your call, no matter what. But I don’t want you to hesitate because of us. There is no us if you don’t survive.”
“I’ll think about it,” I promised, pulling the dark-haired deity back into a kiss.
All too soon, the dreamscape began to fade around us. “Time to go,” I murmured, moving away.
Ares frowned, glancing around. “This isn’t happening from my end.”
I jerked up, alarmed. If Ares wasn’t being woken up, that meant I was. “Tell them—” I managed to get out before a spasm of pain ripped through me, sending me into the waking world.
Venus Rising: Book 3 Aphrodite Trilogy (The Daughters of Zeus 6) Page 19
