Court of the Phantom Queen

by Liz Meldon

  Court of the Phantom Queen

  Lovers and Liars: Immortal Wars

  Book 1

  LIZ MELDON

  This book was given to Coral Black on Instafreebie.

  www.instafreebie.com

  Copyright 2017 Liz Meldon

  Published by Liz Meldon, Smashwords Edition.

  License Notes

  Thank you for purchasing this ebook. You warm Liz’s heart! This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, Liz Meldon, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to purchase their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

  COURT OF THE PHANTOM QUEEN is recommended for mature readers, and can be read as a standalone—though its story will continue in future novels. Lovers and Liars: Immortal Wars is a part of the Lovers and Liars universe, and is technically a prequel series to the Lovers and Liars serial.

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to my fantastic beta readers Melissa and Amanda, along with my phenomenal proofreader Phoenix, for helping me shape Athena’s tale into what it is today. As always, much love to my author besties group, my sun and stars, and my parents for being incredibly supportive of this journey. Last, and certainly not least, a great many thanks to my readers. You guys make it all happen.

  Table of Contents

  Glossary of Terms

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  About the Author

  Glossary

  Consider skimming this handy guide to refresh your mythology memory bank before you read. Any figures with an asterisk (*) beside their names play important roles in Court of the Phantom Queen.

  Greek/Roman Figures

  Aphrodite

  Greek goddess of love, sexuality, and beauty. Heritage is widely debated. Wife to Hephaestus and long-time lover of Ares. Very seldom faithful. Has a serial of her own with Norse trickster Loki in Liz Meldon’s Lovers and Liars. Known to the Romans as Venus.

  Apollo

  Greek god of music, poetry, oracles, medicine, sun, and knowledge. Brother to Athena, Ares, and Hephaestus (and many more). Son of Zeus and Leto. Twin brother to Artemis. Known to the Romans as Apollo.

  Ares *

  Greek god of war. While his sister Athena is also the goddess of war, Ares is known for the brutal physicality wars brings to those involved. He is less about strategy, more about violent bloodshed. Son of Zeus and Hera. Father of Deimos and Phobos and many others. Known to the Romans as Mars.

  Artemis

  Greek goddess of the hunt, the moon, and animals. Sister to Athena, Ares, Hephaestus, and twin to Apollo. Known to the Romans as Diana.

  Athena *

  Virginal Greek goddess of wisdom, craft (including weaving and various other arts), and war. Daughter of Zeus and Metis, she was birthed out of the side of her father’s head after he consumed her mother. She was said to be born as a full-grown woman, already incredibly intelligent and world-wise. She is known to the Romans as Minerva.

  Hebe *

  Greek goddess of youth. Daughter of Zeus and Hera. Wife of Heracles. Sister to Athena, Ares, Hephaestus—the whole second tier of the Olympian pantheon. Spends her days as a cupbearer to Hera and an occasional servant to Aphrodite. Known as Juventas to the Romans.

  Heracles

  A divine hero and demigod in Greek myth. Son of Zeus and Alceme. A symbol of Greek masculinity and one of the greatest heroes of Greek legend. Has a ridiculous temper. Husband to Hebe. Known to the Romans as Hercules.

  Hermes

  Greek god who posed as a messenger between the gods. Resided over trade, athletes, and border crossings. Assisted many on their path into the Underworld. Son of Zeus and Maia. Known to the Romans as Mercury.

  Hera

  Greek goddess of marriage, childbirth, and women. Wife to Zeus, mother to Ares and Hephaestus (and others). Peacocks and pure white cows are her animals of choice. Deeply in love with her husband, but very jealous and spiteful to Zeus’s lovers and the children born from his trysts. Known as Juno to the Romans.

  Poseidon

  Greek god of the sea. Brother to Zeus and uncle to Athena, Ares, Hephaestus, and many others. Son of titans Cronus and Rhea. Very competitive with Athena, as evidenced by their battle for the patronage of Athens in ancient Greece. Known to the Romans as Neptune.

  Zeus

  Greek thunder and sky god. Head of the Olympian pantheon. Brother to Poseidon and Hades, son of titans Cronus and Rhea. Father to Athena. Known to the Romans as Jupiter.

  Greek/Roman Creatures, Places, and Terms

  Circus

  Roman circuses were open-air spaces used for public events, such as horse and chariot races, along with theatrical performances.

  Elysium

  Also known as the Elysian Fields. A realm within the Underworld reserved for heroes, figures related to the gods, the righteous, and the blessed. The realm is heavenly and beautiful, and is a reward for those who behaved admirably in life, as opposed to those who face an eternity of punishment for their crimes.

  Gorgon

  A terrible and dreadful beast in Greek mythology. Female beasts with snakes for hair. Medusa was the most famous of the gorgons.

  Viae

  Latin for road.

  Vigiles

  Also known as Vigiles Urbani. These men were the police and firefighters of Rome.

  Irish Figures

  Danu

  Ancestral deity. Mother of the Tuatha Dé Danann, which translates to the Peoples of Goddess Danu.

  Dagda *

  Typically referred to as The Dagda. Leader of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Irish god linked to fertility, manliness, agriculture, weather, and strength. A king and father. Although married, he has many mistresses and even more children out of wedlock. Another “All-father” figure in mythology, similar to Odin of the Norse pantheon. A warrior, druid, and magic user, he carries a staff that can give and take life, a magical cauldron that never empties, and a harp that can control the weather and men’s emotions.

  Fomorians

  The originally settlers of ancient Ireland. Said to represent the destructive elements of nature, and are similar in form to frost giants and titans.

  Lugh *

  An Irish god of many talents. Said to be highly skilled in battle and the arts. He is often portrayed as a sun god and influences the harvests. While not originally a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, he essentially talks himself into their family and becomes an official member after he helps King Nuada win a war against the titan-like Fomorians.

  Morrigan *

  Often referred to as The Morrigan. Irish goddess of magic, prophecy, and war. Most closely associated with fate, particularly for warriors destined to perish in battle. Called the Triple Goddess, as she is the maiden, the mother, and the crone in one figure. Heavily associated with crows. War goddess who became Dagda’s mistress on Samhain so that the king could learn the fate of his conflicts with the Fomorians.

  Nuada

  Irish god who first ruled over the Tuatha Dé Danann before they invaded Ireland and stole it from the Fomorians.

  Irish Creatures and Places

  Tír na nÓg

  The mythical Otherworld, a realm of eternal youth and beauty. Home of the gods of Irish mythology. It is said to be reached by crossing over through graveyards and burial grounds.

  Sídhe

 
Irish mythical figures. A supernatural race similar to fairies and elves. In some instances, it is said that the Sídhe are the kings and queens of fairy communities.

  Leanan Sídhe

  Beautiful female figures who are said to take human lovers and drain them dry of creativity and artistry. Usually seen as a dangerous muse who provides inspiration for artists, but those who engage with them are often driven to madness and die an early death.

  Other Mythological Figures and Places

  Anu

  Ancient Sumerian sky god. King of the Mesopotamian pantheon.

  Chi You

  Ancient Chinese god of war.

  Kovas

  Lithuanian god of war.

  Maher

  Askumite god of war.

  Odin

  Head of the Norse pantheon. All-father of the Aesir gods. God of death, healing, knowledge, poetry. Sacrificed his eye for knowledge. Animal companions include wolves and ravens. Known to wander the Nine realms, hooded and cloaked. Warrior, king, husband.

  Perun

  Slavic thunder and sky god, also often associated with weaponry and war.

  Sia *

  Lesser Egyptian god of wisdom, intelligence, and perception.

  Týr

  Norse god of war.

  Valkyries

  Norse female warriors who chose those that will die in death. They escort warriors who died heroically to the great halls of Valhalla, where they will live forever feasting, fighting, and drinking, sometimes in the company of the gods. Considered royal and blessed, they serve Odin.

  Yggdrasil

  Norse concept of the universe. All Nine Realms are connected on a huge tree, with Asgard and the homes of the Gods at the canopy, and the others falling into place along the branches and trunk. Gods traverse the tree to go between the realms. Ancient prose eddas say that the tree was an ash tree.

  Chapter 1

  Athena’s temple lay in ruin.

  Not from the ravages of war, or time, or the elements. Sun bathed the land, blessed and warm, softening the ground kissed by Demeter’s absence. No, her temple, situated on the cusp of the faithful farming village of Feonrii, had been sacked by decidedly human hands.

  She watched them go, cloaked in the shadow of a stone pine, her hood drawn up to conceal her features. The worshippers of the new god fled on foot, taking with them the gold and the silver and the marble that had been given to her. Down the blunt stone steps they ran, as black smoke curled around the pillars at the front entrance. Sun glinted off broken glass, the shattered windows beckoning in the cool morning air.

  They were relentless. Merciless. Hers was the fourth temple this month she’d found destroyed, edicts and fines be damned. She had to move quickly—the villagers would awake soon and see the smoke. Gathering buckets of water, they would rush to the scene, weeping as they scrambled to save the temple.

  Fear. It would rise off the village like heatwaves—fear of what the great Roman goddess Minerva would do should she discover what had become of her temple.

  But the great Minerva, born centuries earlier as grey-eyed Athena, already knew. She had been tracking the pattern for years now, watching as the rest of her pantheon went about their lives, while the worshippers of the One slowly gained traction amongst the worshippers of many. The pillaging and the looting of old gods’ temples had begun with Constantine the Great—now it continued with a renewed fervor during the reign of his son, Emperor Constantius II, despite the man’s personal indifference to pagan ritual.

  Drawing her hood down, Athena crossed the grass to the smoldering heap of stone and wood, surprised the pointed roof, at least, remained mercifully intact. Lips pressed into a tight line, the goddess brushed a hand over the pillar, the stone emanating hatred, fear—and victory. With a shake of her head, she entered what was left of her temple.

  Incense leaves crunched under her feet with each cautious step. Fire consumed the fabrics that had once adorned tables laden with offerings. Sunlight cut through the smoke, illuminating mud tracked across the marble floor.

  Worst of all, they had desecrated her statue.

  Athena knelt at its base, fingers grazing tenderly over the cracked stone that had once depicted her face. The villagers had hired a man from Rome to do it, an artist of great renown. His fees had left them with almost nothing, and they hadn’t been able to afford a life-sized version like wealthier followers might, but Athena, touched by the statue’s detail, had granted them good fortune in the next harvest. By her will, no villager had fallen ill since they’d built the temple, shying away from their old worship of Ares in favor of her.

  She had grinned at the time, listening to her brother’s rantings about losing yet another village to her. But Feonrii lacked importance to a man as bold and proud as Ares—Mars, to the modern Romans. His temper had cooled in time, his attention stolen by other trinkets; namely, their crippled brother’s foreign wife, Aphrodite. And so Athena swept Feonrii into her fold, demanding from them the same sacrifices and worship as she did from all the cities under her protection.

  And now this…

  The looters had savaged her statue’s face, a behavior typical in the destruction of idols. One of her arms had also been lost in the madness, as had her spear. Someone had chipped away at her helmet and toes, along with the detailed ripple in her dress. Such blatant disregard for one man’s talent. Such wanton disrespect for the gods of this land.

  Her brow furrowed. How much longer would they even be the gods of this land?

  Already churches for the One God had sprung up across the empire. Even in her pantheon’s ancient homeland, whispers of missionaries and priests proclaiming the fortitude of the One over the many had started to spread. She ought to spend more time there. Athens had been her home for many years, but the Roman empire had kept her busy for at least a century.

  She and her family had followed its founders to Rome shortly after its birth to expand their domain and grow their power. No more were they strictly Hellenic gods. Today, Rome was the world’s most powerful empire—and Athena and her family ruled it under new names, becoming through its growth the world’s most powerful pantheon. They had even absorbed lesser deities, like the Etruscans and the Egyptians, when those gods realized the House of Zeus—Jupiter to today’s worshippers—ruled the hearts of the people.

  But change was on the horizon—and Athena feared for the longevity of her family. For centuries they had reigned supreme, most powerful and surefooted of the world’s godly clans. They remained united, one of the few families who had stopped quarreling with each other, watching as their worshippers’ grand armies sought to rule the land from the west to the east and beyond.

  “But for how much longer indeed,” Athena whispered, appraising her battered statue with a frown. Worshippers in the senate had already raised concerns about the looting and persecution, but, in an era gone by, so had the leaders of the cult of One regarding the atrocities committed against their handful of zealots, and no one had batted an eye then.

  But this was different. This was sacrilege—a strike against the very foundation of Rome. Surely more could be done to stop the spread of this sickness…

  Athena looked up sharply at the sound of a gasp. As predicted, the villagers had come to smother the flames and collect the ashes of their patron goddess. The first to enter, a shirtless man with narrow shoulders and dusty brown hair, stumbled to a halt at the sight of her. Only then did Athena remember that her hood had fallen, revealing her glossy hair, black as onyx. Her grey eyes met his ashen browns, searching for a spark of intelligence.

  And finding none.

  So she carefully drew her hood back into place, then stood. This mortal must have known her. While the faces of her statues were always more severe, more mannish, than her actual features, something within his little human brain knew he stood in the presence of a goddess.

  Her first step sent him scrambling, limbs stiff and awkward as he stumb
led out of the temple in fright. A chorus of voices greeted him, but by the time the speakers pushed through the once sacred entryway, the temple stood empty.

  Athena watched from the shadows of the stone pine tree again, this time joined by her grey owl, Nocta. Though slight in size, he had been her faithful companion through many human eras, watching history unfold from her shoulder. With a thin smile, she stroked the downy softness atop his head. Nocta nipped affectionately at her fingers, feathers momentarily ruffled as he made himself comfortable on his usual perch.

  “I predict foul things, sweetling,” Athena murmured, eyes drawn back to the burning temple. While the male villagers tried to douse the flames, children cautiously picked through the glass below each broken window and collected the larger pieces. The women wailed, fearing Minerva’s retribution.

  There would be none of that today.

  When she felt the gazes of a few little ones find her through the trees, Athena turned away from the scene. Moments later, soft footfalls trekked curiously toward the stone pine; they wouldn’t find her.

  Athena left a reward for their curiosity: a handful of silken black feathers scattered in the long grasses. If they had thought to look up, the village children might have seen a great black owl, larger than most, accompanied by a small grey companion, ascending higher and higher into a cloudless sky. And if the children had listened, truly listened, they might have even heard the owl’s mournful cry.