Daughter of the Earth and Sky (27 page)

I blinked. I had charmed Joel the day before Pirithous came to the flower shop. I’d been walking to Professor Homer’s class.

That’s
what set this all in motion? I felt sick to my stomach. My head was spinning. Zeus was Joel; he’d charmed me. I’d been wrong about Aphrodite. I’d set this in motion on that one stupid day. My mind couldn’t decide what to focus on; it was all so horrifying.

“Why—what do you want with me?”

“At first I just needed a vessel. Someone to collect worshipers without attracting too much attention. I was supposed to rescue you from Boreas.”

“Asking fealty in return?” My throat felt dry as I remembered my speculation on how he’d planned to rescue Aphrodite.

He shrugged. The gesture was so reminiscent of Joel that my breath caught in my throat. “That was plan B. Plan A involved the only god with a clairvoyant by his side.”

Hades. He’d known Hades might intervene if Cassandra asked him to. And the only way to rescue me from Boreas would be to bring me to his realm. The only way to do that—my head was spinning. I felt like my whole world had been tilted sideways. Zeus had been behind everything. He was behind us.

“Oh yes, I’ve been planning you for a long time.” He grinned at me, and I shuddered. “I’ve watched you. Waited for you. I
made
you.” His grip tightened on my arm. “And then I set everything in motion and culled you from your darling little herd. And you were so cute, trying to piece it all together. I would have saved you from Boreas.” He shrugged. “Eventually. I owed him a favor. But then Hades intervened, and you became so much more valuable.” He shook his head. “Queen of the Underworld. With you, I wouldn’t even need Thanatos. What happened to him, by the way?”

“Hades destroyed his soul.”

Zeus blanched. “He did what?”

I smiled. “Consider it a preview of what’s to come if you don’t let me go
right now—”

“No chance. Now you’re my only hope to rule the Underworld. See, that’s where I messed up before. I was shortsighted. Humans lose their belief sooner or later. We were doomed to die. But the humans in the Underworld…their worship lasts forever.”

“You want to take over the Underworld?”

“I was going to let Thanatos rule it for me. The worship I got from him would have sufficed, but you have a legitimate claim to the throne. If you swear…I won’t even need a mediator. It could all be mine.” He smirked. “You really are the perfect package. Three of the realms in one silly little girl.”

“I
kissed
you!” I realized, horrified.

Zeus gave me a sideways glance. “We did more than kiss.”

My stomach heaved, and I was suddenly glad I hadn’t eaten breakfast.

“Oh, don’t be such a
human,”
he admonished.

“You’re sick,” I managed, stumbling away from him.

A familiar, warm voice filled my head.
Hate to interrupt, but Aphrodite is here. If you teleport to where I am behind the shield…
Hades trailed off, realizing something wasn’t right.
What’s happened?
His voice ricocheted through my head.

Hades! I took a sharp breath when I realized he hadn’t been listening in to what he’d thought was a breakup speech with Joel. I summed things up as best I could and felt his shock.

Get out of there!

Our plan.

No! Just teleport. Leave!
Hades’ voice was frantic.

I can get him to the entrance. Hades, this is our best chance.
This could all be over. All I had to do was run.

“…
there was still the matter of gaining more power.” I blinked when I realized Zeus was still talking. He must really love the sound of his own voice. “Once I saw what Orpheus had done, I saw so much potential…”

“Eurydice.” I realized. “When I healed her, someone told the press…And they had the picture…”

“I didn’t want to take you until you had enough followers to be worth it. Now you do. Look, we could drag this out all day, I could torture some of your pet humans, or we can get this over with now. Swear.”

“Never,” I hissed.

Zeus grinned at me, stroking my cheek. I slapped his hand away, and he laughed. “You really think you stand a chance against me? You’re no better than Icarus challenging the sun.”

“People forget that Icarus also flew,” I quoted.

Zeus’ face twisted in a smirk. “Didn’t do him much good.”

“Bet it pissed you off though.” I smiled at him and he moved closer to me. “Humans don’t give up very easily, regardless of the odds. And I think you’ve forgotten something very important.”

“What’s that?” Zeus asked, brushing my hair off my neck.

“I was raised human.” I drew my leg up and kneed him in the groin.

Zeus yelped and sprang backward. I tore free from his grasp and ran as fast as I could. I veered off the path into the woods towards the park. I needed to get to the entrance of the Underworld.

Just teleport!
Hades’ mental shout was so loud my head hurt.

Suddenly the air changed around me. My hair felt like it was standing on end. A bolt of pain coursed through my veins, and I fell to the ground screaming. I threw up a shield before the next blast hit and managed to get back on my feet. Footsteps pounded behind me. The lake shimmered through the trees.
I’m so close!
I thought.

Another bolt hit my shield, crumbling it. I spun to face Zeus. Fight or flight. And flight was out.

No! Don’t try to fight him. You’ll only get hurt.
I could sense Hades running up the path.
I’ll be right there.

Electricity coursed through my veins, and I hit the ground screaming. Through blurred vision, I saw Zeus walking to me at an unhurried pace. He gave a flick of his wrist, and the pain lashed through me again.

Persephone!
Hades’ voice was so frantic, so desperate, I struggled to answer to say anything to ease the fear in his voice. Then everything went dark.

Getting struck by lightning hurts. A lot. Most people die. I don’t have that luxury. But there is something that hurts worse. Healing from a lightning strike at godspeed.

When I came to, my veins felt like they were filled with molten lava.
Gods,
I thought as an inhuman moan tore from my throat.
What happened?
It wasn’t until the bed shifted that I realized I wasn’t alone.

Hades.
I let myself relax. If my—yeah, thinking of him as my husband was still too weird.
What should I call him?
Husband sounded weird, but calling the god of the Underworld my boyfriend was just as strange.
Doesn’t matter. If he’s here, everything is going to be okay.

Unconsciousness threatened to pull me back under, so I forced myself to take steady breaths. It was too soon to open my eyes. I knew how to stay conscious through horrific pain. Thanatos had taught me that.

What’s happened to me?
I wondered. Less than a year ago, my biggest problem had been that I didn’t fit in at school. I hadn’t known I was a goddess. Then Hades pulled me into the Underworld to save me from Boreas, the god of winter who tried to abduct me.

It wasn’t all bad
. A smile came to my lips. I’d gotten Hades out of the whole debacle. And for a minute, everything seemed like it was going to be okay. But then I found out that Boreas hadn’t been working alone. He’d been working with Zeus, who was apparently not dead like everyone thought. Everyone but my mom.

My mom ruled the living realm, Hades the Underworld, which meant I had irrevocable access to both. Unfortunately that made me very valuable to someone who wanted to take them over. Someone like Zeus.

I breathed in too deeply, and a bolt of pain lanced through me. I let out a low moan and shifted positions to try to get comfortable. There was no comfortable. The lightning had seared every single nerve ending in my body. Healing from this didn’t feel good at all.

His hand brushed the hair out of my face.

“Hades?” I croaked. I struggled to open my eyes.

He shushed me, stroking my arm. I leaned into his touch. The memories rushed back. Hades finding out about Thanatos. Killing him, destroying his soul. Memorial Park, waiting for Aphrodite. Joel had been there. What happened to Joel?

The voice shushed me again, and the hand on my shoulder didn’t feel comforting anymore. It felt... wrong. My eyes flew upon, and I bolted upright.

With a horrible certainty I turned to see who sat next to me on the bed.

Earlier that day:

It wasn’t easy watching my wife chase after a human boy. I tore my gaze away from her as she scurried up the hill leading to the wooden path that ran above Memorial Park and watched the parking lot for Aphrodite, or Zeus, or whoever he, she, it may be.

Rain fell, pinging against my shield with pleasant plinking sounds while I sat comfortably dry atop a metal picnic table. My fingers worried a spot of rust, and I tried not to think too hard about whatever else had touched the shining surface.

This realm was disgusting. Insects swarmed the park, and birds flew through the air, dropping waste indiscriminately on the world below. I couldn’t wait to return to the Underworld. The surface had its charms, but I had no desire to stay for very long.

Joel!

Persephone’s voice rang through my head, and I tossed up a mental wall. It wasn’t just good manners preventing me from listening in. I’d seen this boy in her thoughts every night. Seen the way he looked at her, seen the way he touched her. I clenched my jaw and studied the parking lot like it might change shape any moment.

She’d probably think less of me if I ripped him apart.

Not that her opinion was all that was stopping me. It wasn’t my habit to go around killing mortal children. And not just because I’d have to deal with them in the Underworld. I liked humans. Just not when they groped my wife.

My heart thudded at an uncomfortable speed in my chest, filling my body with adrenaline. I couldn’t seem to catch my breath. My hands gripped the edge of the picnic table, and I leaned forward, muscles tensed. That was strange. I had no reason to be this anxious. He was just a kid. And Persephone was Persephone. She had no idea what effect she had. I couldn’t really fault him for being interested, and I had encouraged her to see other people.

I took a deep breath to force myself to calm down, but it didn’t seem to work. What was the matter with me? I’d channeled Persephone’s power away every night. That had given me a very unwanted front-row seat to their developing relationship. I’d seen every kiss, everything, and not felt
this
before. It hadn’t been pleasant, but—

Cold dread filled the pit of my stomach, and I frowned. This didn’t even feel like rage. My heart was still beating a mile a minute, like it might burst free from my chest at the slightest provocation. My entire body felt alien, strange, terrified.

That was it. Fear. But why was I—?

It wasn’t mine.

My thoughts flew to Persephone, and her abject terror washed over me. The human boy had a tight grip on her arm. He was saying something. I rose from the picnic table, ready to relieve him of that limb, when his voice filtered through her thoughts.

...
Hades.

How would
he
know
my
name?

A red sports car squealed into the parking lot, and I swore.
Hate to interrupt,
I directed the thought to Persephone.

The boy locked gazes with Persephone and seemed to look through her to me. I knew those eyes. Images and thought fragments flashed from Persephone’s mind to catch me up. But I already knew everything I needed to.

Persephone, run!
I tore through the parking lot to reach the path.

Hades, it’s Joel! He’s Zeus!

The whole story passed through my mind accompanied by waves of fear and guilt. Persephone gripping Joel’s arm to teleport but nothing happening. Her realization that Joel wasn’t from this realm. His glamour melting away. Why wasn’t she running?

Get out of there, now!

I couldn’t keep the panic out of my thoughts. If Zeus hurt her…

Our plan,
she protested
.

She wouldn’t. She’d be a fool to risk going through with our plan now. We’d intended to trap Zeus by having him stand on an entrance of the Underworld and bringing some of my realm up and around him. A little slice of Tartarus. It had worked to imprison some of the Titans before, and it could work with him. But not like this. Not with her alone with him. She was hopelessly overpowered.

But this was Persephone. The girl that had fled the safety of the Underworld to confront Boreas with nothing but righteous indignation on her side. It was foolish of me to expect her to do anything else.

I swore and scrambled up the hill.
Just teleport. Leave!

I can get him to the entrance. Hades, this is our best chance.

Her determination pounded through me. She was so desperate for this to be over. She wasn’t going to run. If I couldn’t reach her in time...

I rounded the corner, and a bright light seared my vision. She screamed, and intense pain flashed through her. I stumbled, blinded by white-hot agony. Another flash. My head felt like it exploded. My vision cleared for a split second, and I saw the ground rush toward me. Then everything went black.

A scream echoed through Memorial Park, and I knew I was too late. The air hummed with energy, setting my hair on end as I jumped out of the cherry-red convertible I’d “borrowed” from some random guy.

I sloshed onto the wet pavement, twisting my ankle in my haste, and made a mental note not to wear heels next time Persephone called for help.

I hurried up the wooded running path and almost tripped over a crumpled shape. Hades. How had Zeus managed to knock Hades out?

“Aphrodite.” A voice as smooth as silk sent shivers up my spine.

I looked up, and Zeus emerged from a grove of trees. He held Persephone in his arms like some knight out of a painting. She lay limp, arms dangling, golden hair cascading in waves toward the ground. He strode toward me, strong and radiant, like the sun had reached through him to get just a little closer to earth. It would have been breathtaking, like something out of a storybook, if it wasn’t for the sinister expression on his face.