Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 83786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
I’m still processing my mother saying please when my husband cuts in. “I am more than capable of seeing to my wife’s safety.” Each word is so cold it’s a wonder they don’t crack in the tension between all of us.
I step closer to him and lower my voice. “She might be right. It’s not a good idea to leave in the midst of all this. You should be here overseeing the search—and you should let people see you doing it. It would do a lot to restore the people’s faith in you.”
“I know.” He says it so simply that I’m sure I mishear him. In the moment of my confusion, he takes my hand and pulls me close, wrapping one arm around my waist as he angles us toward the doorway. “But gaining goodwill from the people won’t matter the slightest bit if something happens to you. Your trio of guard dogs aren’t here to watch your back, and I don’t trust any of my people enough to send you with them alone. We’re returning to the city where I can establish your safety before we do anything else.”
While I will be left behind to chew my fingernails ragged and worry about all the people I love.
All the people I love…
I shove the thought—the possibility—down deep and lock it away behind dozens of chains. It’s the hormones, the parasite, the stress of the situation. I love my sisters. I love my mother. I tolerate my brothers-in-law. There is no scenario where loving my husband ends in anything other than tragedy.
Zeus has to die. He’s brought nothing but terror and pain to this city. And Perseus has proven he won’t relinquish the identity of Zeus, even if it kills him.
Even if it kills my heart in the process.
I’m reeling so much from the loss I can see barreling toward me that I don’t realize Perseus has stopped until I run into his back. “Perseus?”
He’s so tense he’s practically vibrating. “Let us pass.”
I shift sideways enough to see that the guards watching the doorway have entered the tent and now block our exit. Neither of them look at us, though. Their gazes are trained over our shoulders…at my mother.
“No,” I whisper. I turn slowly to face her, my heart not wanting to understand what my brain has already comprehended. “Tell me you didn’t.”
My mother is just as poised as ever, sympathy practically oozing from her immaculate pores. She smiles sadly as she moves to the blond stranger and pulls out a tiny knife to cut away the zip ties. “I’m sorry, honey, but the writing is on the wall. You know I’ll always do what’s best for you—and this city. Even if it hurts a little in the process.”
“Mother, please.” My voice breaks on the last word. “Don’t do this.”
“It’s already done.” She motions to the guards. “Take them.”
27
Hera
Even as the guards move to apprehend us, there’s a part of me that still doesn’t want to believe it’s come to this. My mother—my fierce, ambitious mother—has always done what she feels necessary to ensure the longevity of our family. It’s why she was so committed to one of her daughters marrying a Zeus, the better to weld our lineage to a legacy title. Two, honestly, since Persephone married Hades. If she could have found a way to snag Poseidon in the mix, no doubt she wouldn’t have hesitated.
To betray Zeus now? To betray me now?
Perseus steps between me and the guards. “If you touch her, I’ll kill you myself.”
My mother sighs. “No one is going to harm my daughter. You, on the other hand, are a different story.” She glances at the blond Perseus brought in. “Are you well, Antigone?”
The blond smirks. “Yeah. He was as gentle as a lamb.”
Mother nods and motions to the guard again. “Subdue him, please.”
Fear unlike I’ve ever known takes hold of me. I grab my husband’s arm. “No. Don’t hurt him.”
Another of those sighs, as if I’ve disappointed her. “I realize you’re enjoying your time as Hera, but the work you’ve done with the orphanage has garnered you enough goodwill that you could hold office if that’s truly your desire. When this is over, you won’t need him.”
Hold office. When this is over.
Somehow, even in my quick processing of this betrayal, I still hadn’t grasped the true depth of it. I take Perseus’s hand. I don’t know what else to do. “What did Circe threaten you with to make you betray Olympus?”
“You know me, darling. I don’t deal well with threats.” Mother shrugs. “Circe came to me with an offer. I saw value in it. The people have done the rest.”
“The people…” Perseus murmurs.
“No one is happy in Olympus. Not really.” The light voice comes from deeper in the tent. Even knowing who’s coming, it still feels like a blow to my body when Circe walks up to stand next to my mother. She’s wearing jeans and a knit sweater, which should make her look more approachable, but there’s nothing approachable about this woman. She smiles, sharp and cutting. “Demeter hasn’t forgotten about the people she serves, or that leadership is service. Pity that you have.”