He nodded his head, his expression unreadable again before he looked back to the door, “well, see you tonight then.” He started turning away from me and hurrying back for the door.
“Griffin, wait!” I said, stepping closer to him again. As he turned once again, I could sensed the reluctance of the gesture as he inclined his head toward me as if to say “yeah what?” so I licked my lips and proceeded.
“Who is your God then?”
His face grew sad like he didn’t want to tell me, “Hades.”
“Oh.” I said, taking a moment to consider this. I supposed my disappointment was related to my hoping he was someone who might give him hope that this second chance was worth having. But this sad, confusing boy also made sense as the God of the Underworld.
“Yeah.” He said, as he finally turned and walked away completely. I felt bad almost instantly, the interaction leaving me feeling guilty for some kind of judgment he had thought I had made. But I didn’t care if he was Hades, other people might - which I could understand given his tense history with all the other Gods - but Hades wasn’t exactly a bad guy.
Not at least from what I’d read - which was mostly his interactions with female Gods throughout my studies. Whatever was Griffin’s internal conflict with his God, I hoped he wasn’t too hard on himself. But I also hoped that tonight people would use their humanity to be a little more forgiving about who he was as well.
I wrapped my cardigan tightly around my slight frame and walked out of the garden, I wanted to go and see Jed and ask about this party tonight. Griffin seemed less interested in it than I knew Jed would be. He’d have all the answers I needed.
“Eh! Kiddo! Where you been?” I walked right into a room full of people but all eyes turned on me as Jed welcomed me.
I smiled softly and shrugged, “keeping busy.”
He smirked like my secret was far more nefarious than it was - studying and resisting the urge to become a narcoleptic - “ah, busy is always good.” He winked, which only made me blush and shake my head furiously.
“Not like that Jed.” I said quietly, my voice going small. He laughed boisterously, wrapping an arm around my shoulders in camaraderie before guiding me away from the group.
“Then like what? Everything okay Kiddo?”
“Yeah, I’ve just been wrapped up with figuring out who my Goddess was. Night after night of people introducing their two selves to me and then asking me who I was can be a little depressing. I thought maybe if I dedicated myself to the task it would work.”
“I’m guessing it didn’t?”
I shook my head sadly and shrugged, “Whatever, she’ll come to me in time. Even if she’s trying to do everything she can to not.”
“Hm, wonder why?”
“I ask myself that all the time but I just get back radio silence in return.”
Jed laughed and gave my shoulders a squeeze, “well, even if she doesn’t want to come around I’m glad you did because we missed you. And you’re back in time for the biggest party of the year.”
“So I hear.”
“The Olympians are going to ascend their throne.”
“You must be heartbroken you don’t get one.” I smiled knowingly, Jed was probably the easiest going guy here and he had certainly taken nicely to the idea of being a God. He would’ve liked it even more if it had turned out he was a powerful one. Still, even if his domain was nothing more than parties and drink that seemed to be important enough to the ancient Greeks that they had named cities after him and a massive festival. Jed was totally on board with that idea.
“Well yes, I wouldn’t mind the idea of having a nice cushy throne to sit my ass down in while I command the life of the party.”
“Aren’t you the life of the party?” I smiled, but he only shook his head.
“No, you are now my little protégé.” We both laughed, I just wasn’t sure that he was laughing for the same reasons I was.
“So then who are the other Olympians? I know Nicola, Charlotte, Zane...” Three out of twelve, a lot must’ve happened in the last week. I still found it hard to believe that much time had passed without causing a blip on my internal clock’s radar.
“Well, the only important thing you need to know is who is going to end up being the Queen of the Gods.”
“Why’s that?”
“Well, Charlotte is vying for the position since she started hooking up with Aidan - that’s Zeus, whose party you bailed on last week - but then Savannah showed up and everyone knew she was Hera and the two girls have gotten into some pretty heated arguments in front of everyone. Tonight they’re saying Aidan is going to choose Charlotte so we’re all expecting Savannah to lose it.” His eyes were bright with the prospect of drama. I couldn’t help but laugh that our lives had gotten so carefree that drama, that could put soap operas to shame, was the most exciting thing to us.
“Well, whoever gets that throne should be the deserving one. Not the one who is doing it for superficial reasons.” I didn’t know exactly whom my advice would rule out but I was sure one of them was after it for nothing more than the title. That was almost always the case for other things, no less the title of Queen.
“Well, I think Savannah should get it. She’s hotter.” I laughed and shook my head at Jed.
“You’re secretly such a conceited jerk, it’s amazing.” I teased with a grin as I patted him on the chest and started to walk away.
“It’s why the girls love me!” He called after me, but I could hear the laughter in his voice. I was mostly convinced he put on that act to seem like the rest of the guys here when in fact he was probably one of the decent ones... If only he had the ability to settle down a bit.
I said hello to a few other people and got several more run-downs of the Savannah-Charlotte feud. Apparently I had missed some of the juiciest drama Olympus had seen this side of the century. Once my head was swimming with facts I finally excused myself to go and get ready for tonight. If I was going to show up after a week of absence I should probably not go in a sundress, not that the occasion sounded like anything less than semi-formal.
But as soon as I emerged into the hallway I realised I hadn’t been taken to my apartment, instead emerging in the middle of a door less hallway. Steps away from me and curled in a ball on the ground, crying was a blonde girl only a few years older than me.
“Are you okay?” She looked up at me but didn’t immediately answer, she just sat there staring at me like she expected me to laugh or say something else. So I obliged, asking my question again as I held out my hand to help her up. This seemed to jolt her from her state of reverie as she nodded, taking my hand and climbing to her feet.
“Yeah... Well, no.” Which was it? “I’ve been better, but I’ve been worse I suppose.” That I could relate to.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I let go of her hand and smiled again, hoping to ease her discomfort.
“Just boy problems you know.”
I didn’t know. I’d never even had a boyfriend, not that I was sure I was ready to have one yet with everything in my past. But this wasn’t about me, “sure… I’m Valentina.” I held out my hand to her, still smiling as I waited for her name.
“Savannah.” Oh, the one everyone was talking about. Jed was right. She was a tad prettier than Charlotte, perhaps because she had an air of not realising she was pretty whereas Charlotte sort of rubbed it in your face. Of course, Charlotte was naturally beautiful which she used to justify her personality disorder.
“Yeah, I know. You’re the Queen.” Well, I hadn’t actually known but now, looking at her, I seemed to realised it.
“I guess… But it’s unlikely that I’ll maintain that title.” So she knew what might happen tonight, she’d almost accepted it. It didn’t seem fair for her to be so deflated, especially when by right the throne was supposed to be hers. She was Hera after all.
“Boy trouble… I guess you mean Aidan then?”
She nodded, “yeah. But it’s always Aidan around here, right?” From
the gossip I’d just received at Jed's I was inclined to agree.
“I wouldn’t let him get you down, Hera wasn’t Queen of the Heavens just because she was married to the King of the Skies. She was Queen in her own right and you shouldn’t forget that.”
“I guess so…”
“No, really. It’s the truth. Hera was always meant to be Queen and no one else; Zeus recognised that and played into fate. Even Zeus can’t runaway from fate. Like the rest of us he isn’t impervious to its influence.”
“So then, who are you? You seem to know an awful lot about me.”
I blushed and shrugged, “I don’t know. My Goddess is still sleeping… Atlas promises me she’ll wake up when she’s ready but I don’t know, I think he made a mistake.”
“I know what that’s like. But he’s right. You’re here for a reason and that reason will show itself soon enough.”
“Yeah… You’re probably right. Until then, I’ll keep reading the myths and see if I can find someone who is like me. Atlas said we share similar histories to our Gods, so I figure the more I read the greater chance I have of getting a hint.”
The more we talked the more I began to like her. She was insecure like me, but for different reasons. She was kind and honest, the latter trait being one that seemed to lack amongst most of these people. Being Gods seemed to make everyone believe that they had to plot and scheme as they did in the olden days. They acted as if there wasn’t some kind of inherent right to the new life Atlas had given us. But if it weren’t inherent, we wouldn’t be here at all because we wouldn't have been chosen.
Despite first impressions, I was still hesitant when she invited me back to her apartment. I’d never had a girlfriend to get ready with - then again before coming here I hadn’t had any reason to get ready in the first place. However, she seemed a lot more fashionable than I was and I guessed that by going with her it might do me some good, I freely admitted I didn't have the slightest idea of what to wear for an event like tonight.
I also, kind of, wanted to look good for Griffin when I saw him. I’d been mean to him, just as he had been mean to me. I wanted to make up for it, still embarrassed I had acted so rudely. But most importantly I wanted to give us a clean slate, leave the negativity behind us and focus on how I'd felt about that sick boy in bed. I wanted him to know how I felt.
Savannah and I spent the rest of the afternoon trying on dresses and getting to know each other better. I found it funny that in all my time here - almost a month now - I hadn’t actually just hung out with any of the people here like I was doing with Savannah. None of them had ever asked. The friendships they forged were far more superficial than genuine, even Jed's.
This only made me hope more ferociously that I hoped Savannah would be the one to be Queen of the Gods; she seemed to be the most deserving fit.
Chapter Eight
When we finally settled on my dress I was shocked by the choice, shocked in myself for wearing it and shocked by how scandalous it should have been but in truth was very flattering once on. I looked more like the adult I was becoming and less of the girl I had been hanging onto. It gave me a confidence I hadn’t known I needed.
I ran my hands down the soft velvet material that wrapped over my hips and smoothed it out. I didn’t notice it before we reached the doors of the throne room but my hands were shaking, either out of nerves or excitement I wasn’t sure which. But it was too late to turn back, though from what, I wasn’t entirely sure yet.
We walked into the room and everyone looked over at us, though they were probably looking at Savannah. As much as I liked her, I didn’t want to be dragged into the drama so I headed straight for Jed seeing him across the room with Posie and Laurel.
“Val?” I could see it on Jed’s face he was seeing me in an entirely different light right now as his eyes skated the length of my figure making me feel hot underneath the soft fabric. “Wow...”
I couldn’t help but feel slightly proud that I had managed to render Jed speechless when he seemingly always had a quick comment at the ready. He nodded his head finally, the only acceptable action he could bring himself to do before he grinned at me.
Posie and Laurel were appraising too but they seemed to interpret Jed’s response a little differently from my own. I watched as Posie reached out, her fingers curling around his arm and tightening just slightly in some sad show of possession. He didn’t seem to care because he was still grinning at me and floundering for a smart remark.
“I see you met Savannah.” He finally spoke, obviously not the response he had been looking for. I glanced over my shoulder, frowning when I saw her standing alone before turning to Jed again and nodding.
“I did. She’s really nice.”
“Well, she pinned Charlotte to a wall and then turned her into a hag.” He said with a shrug. My expression must’ve shifted to one of shock because he suddenly laughed and nodded in confirmation before I glanced around the room looking for Charlotte and the proof of this accusation. My eyes fell on her, standing with Zane, Nicola and I assumed Aidan but she looked normal. She looked perfectly fine in fact, if not very regal.
Savannah would be in for a fight tonight no doubt.
“Charlotte seems to have recovered, I’m sure she’s fine.” I looked back to Jed and smiled, “have you seen Griffin?” Jed looked confused for a moment, no doubt wondering how I knew him but didn’t ask as he nodded over at the drinks table. I couldn’t help my worried frown at the sight of him nursing another large drink. Did he ever stop?
“If you’ll excuse me...” I started away from Jed, much to Posie’s relief and smiled to myself as I approached Griffin slowly.
He looked up from his drink, nearly choking on it as he took in the sight of me. I couldn’t help but flush with pride. Savannah’s handiwork seemed to be doing the trick. If Jed’s appraisal had made me feel hot before, the way Griffin drunk me in, like he was a man in a desert and I was the cool glass of water, made me feel like I had stepped into an inferno.
My stomach knotted as I stopped in front of him, smiling gently. I wanted us to start again, I wanted us to forget all the strangeness that had occurred between us since he woke up for good and try our hand at friendship once more. A part of me hoped for something more but I wasn't sure how ready the rest of me was for that.
“Valentina.” He said my name breathlessly, like a whisper he didn’t intend to say out loud. His eyes met mine and I was sure I was blushing, but I smiled anyways and reached out taking a glass from the table.
“Well, I came. As you asked.” I brought the drink to my lips, our eyes still peeled on one another and another flush of heat waved through me.
“I didn’t mean for you to come for me...” He said pathetically, looking like he felt bad I’d taken his suggestion as a command.
“I didn’t.” I said quickly, not wanting him to think me desperate. “I wouldn’t want to miss any of my friends taking up their Olympian throne.” Griffin looked over his shoulder at his throne and grimaced before looking back at me.
“Yeah, that.”
“What’s the matter Griff? Is this about Hades?” I asked softly, reaching out and pressing my fingers against his before drawing them back.
“Everyone hates me because of him.” He said quietly, looking down at his drink. “But I can’t stop him; he’s so hard to control... to ignore all together. He’s so powerful.” He sounded scared, small and fragile. I felt my heart twist at the idea that our Gods could bring us these sorts of emotions. Wasn’t all of this supposed to be a good thing?
“I don’t hate you. And I could never hate you because of him...” He opened his mouth to say something when his eyes shifted away from me and a presence loomed up beside me.
“Griffin.” I turned quickly to see Savannah arrive, slipping one of her arms through mine. “Nice of you to show up.” She addressed Griffin with a strange terse tone before looking down at me, “enjoying yourself? I think every man in this room has been watching you, vying for
a chance to ask you to dance.” I felt my cheeks burn as I shook my head and did a quick glance around to assess the truthfulness of that statement.
“Well, if that’s true they haven’t asked.”
“I, uh, I’m not much of a dancer but…” I looked at Griffin and smiled, I liked the idea of dancing with him. But before he had the chance to ask me Savannah interrupted him.
“I think that’s simply because you intimidate them. Royce actually asked if I could ask for him, that’s why I came over to get you. So nice to see you Griffin… enjoy your night.” She didn’t give me the chance to speak as I was suddenly steered away from him, glancing over my shoulder helplessly and mouthing an apology before I turned back to Savannah.
“We didn’t have to go, I was having a nice time talking to Griffin…” A waiter approached and I offered him my empty punch glass before looking up at the other blonde girl.
“Promise me you’ll avoid Griffin. He’s dangerous… His God…”
“Is Hades. He told me. He doesn’t like him, but he says it’s hard to ignore a God so powerful. I feel bad for him, I wish there was a way I could help. No one seems to like him because of Hades.”
“It’s not because of Hades. It’s because he lets Hades have control… He needs to get a spine and take control of his God, not let his God take control of him.” Savannah didn’t know, she didn’t know that Griffin was a recovering addict. She didn’t understand that any strength he might’ve once possessed had been crushed out of him by the drugs, the booze and now Hades. I wanted to explain to her, make her see that she shouldn’t be so judgmental but just as I went to speak Atlas’ loud booming voice filled the room.
“Welcome, Gods and Goddesses of Olympus. How exciting it is to see my family back together once again with the prospects of a glorious future ahead of us. It wasn’t so very long ago that in this very room we stood and decided to place ourselves in eternal slumber until the moment in which we could arise and begin again. The time is now brothers and sisters! Together we shall work as one and lead the world into a new era. So, join me in welcoming back the Olympians.”
Gods Save the Princess (Grace of Gods Book 2) Page 7
