by Amy Braun
Gods. Thea. In the midst of all this, I’d barely taken the time to think about what she must have been going through. Becoming a goddess could not have been easy. Had she already made her transition? Was she still the same fiery young woman that I’d met and Liam swooned over? Was she in pain? Had she lost a piece of herself?
I could only guess. No one had made the leap from mortal to goddess before. The gods were thought to be invincible. Until they weren’t.
Liam is with her. She’ll be all right.
And Selena… I hadn’t even asked what she thought about this. How did this affect her, knowing her best friend might vanish and become an unrecognizable being of raw power? Would Thea still care for Selena the way she had as a human? Could Selena See her?
“Your eyes speak of trouble, my son.”
I blinked, having forgotten Persephone was even here. “Sorry, I… I’m thinking of my friend. The one who will take Poseidon’s place.”
“Ah. The water scion. Thea Eldoris.”
I shifted on my feet, suddenly awkward. Just ask. You need to know. “May I ask something?”
She nodded, light catching on her gold and black streaked hair.
“When you became an Underworld goddess… did it hurt?”
Distance grew in Persephone’s hazel-blue eyes. I could feel her withdrawing. Shit, I’d pushed too far.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have––”
“Do not apologize.” The softness of her voice startled me. She smiled, but it didn’t hold the same sparkle I’d come to know. “It has been a long time since I thought about that moment. I carried powers within me, yet I was little more than a demigoddess. An heir in a time before we needed heirs.” She stared at me from beyond the cell glass for a while, perhaps considering her words. Maybe thinking on the best ones to keep me from reacting too dangerously. To make me believe my friend would be okay.
“The ceremony is simple. We call it the Shift. Thea will have to drink the blood of an immortal and a mortal.”
Horror plunged into me, and Persephone raised a hand to stop my words. “Ichor will cleanse her body of any disease. It is not drinking the blood that will be the greatest challenge for her. After she drinks, she will feel the changes begin. It happened within a day for me, but my body was already part-immortal because of my parents. For her, it will take longer. Her body will become hot, her blood thicker, her powers stronger. You will see it in her eyes, sense it in her aura as it grows more potent. To take in all that strength, it will change how she views mortals. She will see them as sticks, small and breakable. It will be impossible for her to spar with you again, because she will become even stronger than you in your Berserker Rage.”
I tried to imagine that. Thea, a woman with toned muscles but a foot shorter than me and at least a hundred pounds lighter. Speed made a difference in sparring, and Liam always used it against me, but even he had never won a match against me after nearly two decades of training.
To picture Thea hefting me over her shoulder and tossing me like a rag doll was both impressive and terrifying.
“Once she sees that weakness, she will stop sympathizing. Power goes to the mind, my son. I have spent my entire life watching my kin fall into that trap. It is what brought us here.”
“But you overcame it,” I pointed out. “You’ve been kind to me. To my friends. You sheltered us when you didn’t have to. You brought me back from the dead.”
“Do not consider my motives selfless. Of course, I did those things because you and your brother are my children. I wish to make you happy above all else. But if your friends came to my door without you, I may have turned them away than face the wrath of my kin.”
“I don’t believe that. Sorrow scions look after people in need.”
“Because it gains me followers. It gives me power. I may not be as greedy as Zeus or Ares, but I am not without that hunger, Derek. It thrives within every god, and your friend will be no different. She will not notice it happening but remember that she carries the blood of Poseidon in her veins. I am a minor goddess, and she shall be a major one. That carries consequence.”
She looked down, lost in thought. “My kin will never admit it, but we are weaker than humans. Not just in our powers, but in our morals. I spend much of my time with them, yet I cannot claim to understand them. I do not love like them.” Persephone pressed a hand to her chest. “Even you and your brother… I know that I love you. I know I want to protect you. But that pull in my heart, the emotion I so long to feel… it is not there. The universe did not equip us with the life and passion you carry. And I envy that. My kin are jealous of it. We want all the things that you have.”
I took a deep breath, thinking about all the things I had. How grateful I was.
Thea’s tenacity. Mason’s quick wit and charm. Corey’s honest kindness. Selena’s fearlessness. Liam’s loyalty.
“I just want peace,” I finally said. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
Persephone walked closer to the glass and pressed her hand against it. “It will come, my son. I promise you shall gain it. Grant yourself patience.”
I chuckled. “Liam would argue I have none.”
Persephone smiled at this, then stepped away from the glass. “You will do what is necessary when the time comes. I have never doubted you.”
She left then, her footsteps trailing down the corridor and leaving me in the solemn glass prison. I pushed away from the wall, sighing and shoving my hands through my hair. Despite what I’d told Persephone, I didn’t want to stand here and do nothing. My actions brought us all to this place, and I needed to atone for them.
But if I do, I might make things worse.
That seemed to be par for the course––
Stone grumbled above me. I turned, confused––
Lights flickered. Distant booms echoed overhead. Dust rattled from the ceiling.
I called Ki̱demónas into my grip, glad Persephone let me keep the weapon, though the cell’s wards blocked my magic. I stepped closer to the glass. The crashing got closer, but I couldn’t see anything through the glass—
Stone smashed above me. I whirled and pressed my back to the wall. Heavy rocks and broken rebar collapsed onto my cell floor. Dust choked the air. I coughed against it, snapping Ki̱demónas to its full length. Whatever the blast was, it shattered the wards and freed my magic.
Something I should have been happy about.
Clashing swords and ancient curses hurled over my head.
Climbing up the rocks, I peered through the gap. Streams of fire and lightning shot overhead. Enraged screams pierced the air, and my heart.
I knew those voices. The scar over my heart ached just thinking about them.
I flipped Ki̱demónas so it pointed directly in front of me. I heard the flapping of wings.
A blur of crimson flesh, wings, and hefting a battle axe landed.
I shoved Ki̱demónas forward, piercing her middle. Megaera shrieked, the sound splintering my ears. Dark blood spilled from the wound, but she was far from out of the fight.
With a piercing scream, she grasped Ki̱demónas and pushed it from her body. She clenched her fist tight and swung. Her strength was enormous, even compared to mine, and my shoulder slammed into a wall. I held onto Ki̱demónas, casting fire through it and burning Megaera’s palms. She hissed and reflexively dropped the spear, then swung her axe at my head.
I ducked, the axe cleaving into the wall behind me. Her arm brushed the top of my head. I punched Ki̱demónas through her middle again, leaving the spear in her and darting away from her. The axe sliced down, clipping my back and scraping into the armor,
I twisted away, climbing over the rough terrain and recalling Ki̱demónas—
Sharp talons buried into my shoulders. I bellowed in surprise while the new claws squeezed. I heard Megaera cackle as I was pulled from my feet and hauled through the hole into the air. The second Fury tossed me onto the broken floor. I rolled to a stop, pressing a hand to my w
ounds and sealing them.
Quickly, I looked up.
Chaos filled Persephone’s cathedral. Somehow, Zeus had broken his word and stormed into the building with the Furies in tow. Persephone battled the blue Fury, Alecto, firing blasts of aether at the flying monstrosity. Zeus shot bolts of lightning at Athena, overwhelming her flames and forcing her back.
I saw all of that in the second before Tisiphone, the last Fury, stuck down at me.
Her whip cracked and I turned, raising Ki̱demónas over my face. The whip snagged the spear, the sharp tail slicing a cut just under my eye. I grimaced and pushed back, leaving Ki̱demónas in her grip and buying more time. Tisiphone tossed the spear aside, and Megaera shot up from the hole in the floor. I pushed to my feet, filling one hand with fire and the other with aether––
“Stop.”
Zeus’s voice cracked through the cathedral. The Furies snarled, their eyes darkened with bloodlust. I called Ki̱demónas back, and when they didn’t lunge at me, I risked turning my head enough to see the King of the Olympians.
He stood above Athena, whose armor smoked around her frame. She held herself up with one knee and one hand, shoulders heaving with exertion.
Zeus looked at me. “Perhaps you are willing to tell me, Bringer.”
I stared at him, keeping the Furies in the corner of my eyes. Tisiphone and Megaera were on my right; Alecto hovered over Persephone on my left.
“Tell you what?”
“Where it is. How you stole it.”
I blinked, not wanting to provoke his rage any further.
“The Heart of the Devourer,” growled Zeus. “My father’s Heart. It has been taken from the Clouds. You are the only one I know would have use for it.”
“How?” I said carefully. “I haven’t been to the Clouds.”
“My daughter has,” he glared at Athena. “She has proved elusive before. And your brother as well. A brother who is conveniently missing.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Liam is missing? How?”
“That does not matter. What I want to know is where you took the Heart and what you plan to do with it.”
There was no way to explain to him that we didn’t have the Shard, that we would never use it for anything and intended to destroy it. Never mind that we wouldn’t have been able to steal it. I would take many risks, especially if taking them meant sparing my friends, but I knew when to stay outside the Hydra’s den.
I wanted to see the Shards destroyed if I could. But I would never steal them from the Olympians without a plan.
I glanced to Athena. She picked herself up stiffly and faced her father. “We did not take it. And you have violated your own law invading Persephone’s barriers. You jump to conclusions, Father.”
His head snapped toward her. “Do not assume so, Daughter. You have betrayed me enough.”
“As you have betrayed me,” called out Persephone, her voice raised higher than I’d ever heard it. For a goddess who stayed so calm and gentle to everyone, the power in her voice remained undeniable.
“You called the Furies on my son when he did no wrong.”
“Bias carries your words, Persephone. Your son has defied us for too long.”
Her eyes widened as he said this, understanding growing with each passing second.
“You knew he wasn’t guilty. You just wanted an excuse.”
Zeus didn’t deny it.
The Furies, the isolation, the memory wipes… all a method to brush the beach attack under the rug. An apparent easy fix for the Olympians to get everything they wanted.
Revenge for two slain gods. All of this for a chance to flex their muscles against mortals. Shattering the failing rebellion Athena had tried to form. Stopping the Prophecy.
All of it was tied to my life.
If I died, it would all be over. Néo Vasíleio, my home, my friends… they could take a breath.
And if I died, the Olympians could work in the aftermath, take whatever Shards and Weapons were left behind, and hoard them for greater control.
But they couldn’t kill me. I simply refused to die.
And now that Liam was missing…
“What I want is to control my dominion,” Zeus finally confessed, his voice rumbling and tired. “We ruled over humans for thousands of years. I am not going to remain diminished.”
The stone under my feet began to tremble slightly. Whatever spell Zeus planned, it was going to be big. Likely big enough to bring the entire cathedral down around us.
Persephone and Athena would survive. I wouldn’t be so lucky.
“You have lost the Mind of Cronus to a damaged Farseer,” said Zeus, looking between the goddesses, “hid a traitor and the Bringer of destruction, defied our legacy, and fought your own family. I cannot allow this to continue, my daughters. Redemption shall come in the form of sacrifice.” Zeus looked at me, sparks crackling at the ends of his hair.
The floor grumbled harder. The Furies crept closer to me, brandishing whips and axes and scimitars.
“His sacrifice will be enough.”
Zeus nodded, and the Furies sped toward me. Persephone screamed as I raised Ki̱demónas––
A wall of stone ripped up from the floor and blocked the Furies from my path. I stumbled back, chips of rubble bouncing off my armor.
Strong arms banded around my chest and yanked me backward. Rocks tumbled up my body, swallowing me whole, and my stomach flipped as I teleported.
It was the roughest transport I’d ever endured, and I was thrown from it hard.
I landed on my back, breath whooshing out of my lungs. I blinked and found myself staring into Artemis’ cold, angry eyes.
LIAM
“CAN I JUST reiterate how terrible this plan is?” Thea griped.
“If you have a better one, please tell me.”
She raised an eyebrow as I finished drawing the prayer circle to Hades but said nothing. She was just as lost as me.
Finding the ingredients for the summoning ritual hadn’t really been difficult. Thea went back to her boat rental shop and found the necessary ingredients there––but this wasn’t something I wanted to do. Not because it was hard. If anything, it was too easy. To summon an Olympian, all one needed to do was known the sigils related to the god, sketch them in a chalk circle, then light some candles, offer a bowl of items in supplication, shed some blood, and speak a little Greek.
Easy, but generally a terrible idea, because Olympians weren’t bound by chalk and candles. If they wanted to stomp on you the moment you finished summoning them, they would do so with a wink and a smile.
But Hades had shown an interest in me, as a son of Persephone and bearer of the Omega Knife. That might keep me alive for at least five seconds.
Maybe I’d be super lucky and make it to eight.
Thea watched from outside the circle drawn on the floor of her shop. The location wasn’t something she was keen on, but options were limited. She stood next to Selena, glancing at her often to make sure my poor friend stayed asleep. Sel’s eyes hadn’t stopped moving behind her eyelids, but she kept muttering and twitching. Her veins pulsed electric blue.
Seeing her this way hurt me and steeled my resolve.
I would make Hades help us. Help her.
“Just… be careful,” Thea finally said.
I gave her a small smile and snapped my fingers. Using my magic, I lit every candle and spoke Ancient Greek when every wick began to burn. I doused my flames and drew the small knife up from the floor. I cut my palms, rubbed my hands together to smear the blood, then picked up the offering bowl, which was filled with pomegranates, gold coins, mint, wool, owl feathers, and polished keys.
My heart filled with equal parts hope and dread as I called to Hades.
“Me pyrkagiá, skóni kai aíma, sas kaló, Ádi. Anazítisi me kai na me sósei.”
With fire, dust, and blood, I summon you, Hades. Seek me and save me.
A breeze ran through the shop, though none of the windows were open. Cand
les buffeted and smoked drifted toward me. Blood dripped from my fingertips onto the floor in the circle.
Where the crimson drops fell, smoke began to rise. It brushed my knees like a cold wind.
Aether.
I shuffled back to give myself more space between the circle and the smoke. The aether continued to rise and swirl, spreading into the shape of a man. A man with pale skin, white hair, and steel eyes. He wore robes I had seen before, heavy and black with embroidered hounds and thorns across it.
Hades towered over me, his expression unreadable, his presence unavoidable.
“You take great risks, son of Ares,” he grated.
“I know,” I agreed. “And I don’t make this call lightly.”
Hades lifted his eyes, spotting Thea standing next to a prone Selena. “No. Apparently you do not.” He stared blankly at the Farseer. “Did you know she carries the Timeweaver’s power in her veins?”
My stomach flipped. “No, but she tried to kill us.”
“Because it has overtaken her mind. Seers are fragile creatures, and she is more fragile than most. If she meant to slaughter you both, it was because it was the only solution her mind could bring.”
“Can you take it out of her?” Thea asked.
“Why would I want to do such a thing, Thea Eldoris? By Olympian law, I ought to bring you back to my kin and force you to face your punishments.”
I grimaced, and slowly rose to my feet, still holding out the offerings Hades had yet to take. He seemed more fascinated by us than the prizes we offered him, even if they were the exact sigils of his domain.
“Something tells me they’re already setting that up,” I said. “Before she attacked us, Selena mentioned that Corey and Mason were prisoners.”
Hades arched a pale eyebrow at me. “And you wish to save them?”
“They’re my friends. What do you think?”
He grinned, his smile too wide. “You summon me and believe I am yours to command. This is why such circles irritate us so.”
