Series: Willow Winters
Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 74198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
“Do you mean to declare war?” Athena breathes with narrowed eyes. More curious than angered. “Do you mean to fight Zeus for control of Olympus?”
“No,” Hades scoffs. “I meant to remind him—and all the gods and goddesses of Olympus—that if all of the mortal realm were condemned to the Underworld, there will be no one left to pray to you. Your existence would be futile.”
“If you take her back there,” I say quickly, before Zeus can bluster on again. “That is what will happen! The mortal world will not know life! There will be no new harvest. The mortals will die by the thousands.”
“That is what you would have as well,” Hades replies. “You are the goddess who went down to destroy the harvest. Is it the company of your daughter you want, or is it truly to have the mortal world as your hostage?”
“How dare you!” In a blinding rage I spear Hecate with my gaze. “There are those among us who knew where Persephone was taken and hid this from me. Who were they loyal to, I wonder? Was it Zeus, with his poison? Was it Hades, with his demons? What promises have been made in secret, when no one was listening? How many plans have they made against all of us, and we were only meant to suffer with no recoil?”
The faces of the other gods turn toward me. Their eyes flicker over Hades and Zeus and Hecate. They sneak glances at those around them. Discontented whispers rise in volume.
My heart races, and my stomach turns. It is sour from stirring up this kind of suspicion. It is not the way I prefer to exist in any realm.
I do not wish to turn the gods who bear witness of Olympus against each other, but I do not see what other choice I have.
Zeus announces, “I will defend Olympus as I always have.”
“You must!” Athena cries beside him. Her elegance only shaken slightly. “Or we are all caught in a web of lies and deception! We will defend ourselves! There is no threat you can make that holds ground, Hades!”
“Hades is the outsider,” another goddess cries—I cannot see who. “Send him back to his realm before he drags us all there with him.”
“I will not leave without my queen,” Hades says. “And—”
Thunder strikes beside us as Zeus throws a lightning bolt.
It does not hit Hades, but crashes into the floor, leaving a large, burned crack in the shining marble. The smell of ash hits me with a force as the rubble crumbles.
Hades narrows his eyes, arms wide with a blazing fire in his palms.
Chaos erupts. Gods and goddesses turn on each other, running away for safety and pushing past one another. Powers crackle and sizzle through the air. Aphrodite pushes me to the side, attempting to save me from harm’s way? I cannot tell what she is doing. A cloud of smoke rolls across the room, obscuring the others from me.
In the back of my mind, my vision obscured from the smoke, I hear Hecate’s voice so clearly. Blow it now if you will, and all will live in their regrets within a deep slumber, including you. If you are too weak, I can do it for you, the dark goddess offers. With smoke burning my eyes, I envision the turmoil I ensued. The pain that ripped from my palms as I starved those who called out to me for mercy. Tears prick my eyes.
In the corner of my eyes flames burn hot higher and higher.
“No,” I answer, coughing on the smoke. It chokes me. “Stop. This is not—this cannot be the way—”
It’s all spiraling out of control. This was not what I had planned.
“Stop this,” a booming voice commands, cutting through the screaming assaults, calm and strong. “Stop this now!”
Persephone
“Stop this now!” The voice that rises from my throat is one of spite and detest. This fight does not have to do with me. Rid my name from it. It is the anger of their chains and their discontent with fate that causes them to rage against one another. My chest rises with a hollowness that’s undeniable. I cannot stop this war if they continue to believe it steeps from my taking my new place as queen of the dead.
No, that is not what this war is about.
The chaos of the gods and goddesses of Olympus is like nothing I’ve ever seen.
The gods, in my father’s great hall, attacking one another—
It fills my lungs with the need to scream. Viciously and violently. The vibrations and power in the courts could call a thousand years’ worth of life. It could build and rebuild Olympus, even if Olympus itself were thrown to the ground in the mortal realm and left to crumble into ash.
Olympus does not fall underneath this power. It shudders and shakes. Holes appear in the walls and the ceiling, letting the thunderous rain through, soaking all who stand here. Beatrice holds tight to my hand.