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)
“No one,” Zeus answers, his voice going soft but with a tinge of warning. That is the sign of his anger getting the better of him. Good. Be angry. Allow this war to truly begin. “And I will make the same argument to you, Demeter. You do not have the right to decide for all the realms that they should suffer and die. You cannot destroy the mortal realm and throw all the realms out of balance. You are not the only one who dwells here, either.”
“I know I am not. I hear the prayers of the mortals and answer them, unlike you, who only hears prayers and people when they are convenient.”
He rises from his throne. “If only I were free to focus on the mortal realm,” he shoots back. “If only I had that kind of leeway, to leave this realm behind and lavish all my attention—”
“Is this really about that?” Zeus. A god with such powers. Such influence! He sits on a throne in the grandest halls on Olympus. “Surely you will not complain that I didn’t pay you enough attention after you were finished with me!”
“That, Demeter, is where you are mistaken.” He moves toward me, pointing, his face red with fury. “I was not finished with you then. I am finished with you now. I will not have—”
“Your daughter alive and well?” I snap.
“I will not have the realms in chaos. I will not have you causing havoc in the mortal realm and disturbing all the other gods. I will not have Hades raging in the Underworld over one—”
“Do not!” I point into his face as well. “Do not say that Persephone is only a girl! Only a daughter! She is greater than you will ever be!”
The sky cracks with lightning as Zeus raises his voice.
“She will be nothing if this does not end. I will make it so, Demeter. Mark my words, I will—”
“You’ll do what?” I press him. “What justice do you offer when you’re responsible. Does it irk you so that you’ve given her more power by attempting to snuff her magic out?”
The sound of the unfamiliar voice raises from behind us and a chill runs through me. Zeus and I both turn at once. This voice is not one that can be found on Olympus. Never. He has never set foot on Olympus before.
It is not possible. A depth of coldness paralyzes me as my eyes land on the tall dark figure. His black crown sharp and the tips lit with fire.
There is Hades, with Hecate at his side, standing at the threshold. My heart breaks with the vision of Hecate. How could she allow this? The sight of Hades, though, consumes my attention; he reminds me of what Zeus did to her. Her capture in the dead of night. Justice must be granted. The lone truth whispers in the back of my tormented mind.
Athena focuses her attention on Zeus as I’m distracted. “You are threatening her again?” she calls, her voice clear. More faces crowd the edge of the hall. More gods. More goddesses. Many of those who dwell on Olympus. Those who will bear witness. The whispers and murmurs fill the space as I suffocate staring at Hades, his dark eyes meeting mine.
“That is not the way we settle things,” Athena continues. “That is not the way we will settle this matter, or it will never end.”
“I do not think it needs to come to this.” Aphrodite follows Athena, offering a soothing gesture. Others come behind her. While Athena makes her way to Zeus, Aphrodite comes to me and takes my hands. “Demeter, please. No harm came to Persephone, in the end. It was a game, really—”
I snatch my hands away. “It was no game.”
“You do not need to seek revenge. Not when she is at peace. You do not need to keep her locked away—”
“I am not the one who has ever locked my daughter away! She was not a prisoner here when her father gave her poisoned wine!” I’m blinded by his betrayal. All this time while I grieved, he knew. He fucking knew.
Hades’s black boots crunch on the ground as he stops at the threshold. Hecate removes the hood of her cloak unveiling the vision of the crone. Her wisdom brought her here. Bought them here. I swallow thickly, barely contained. I remind myself of what lies in my pocket. A potent dust of poisonous poppies. The wind would carry it for me. The deep sleep it would cause would haunt the gods’ dreams with their faults. Every memory they regret would play over and over again for centuries until they woke. My fingertips itch to simply allow it, but my gaze is caught by Hecate.
“Do you see the contradiction?” Hades states, his voice carrying past Aphrodite. “You demand that she stay here, never returning to me, though this is where the greatest threat to her life dwells? You want her to stay with the god who poisoned her? Who wanted her mortal, or better yet dead?”