Chapter 13

13

SELENE

I tossed and turned all day. The curtains blocked out the sunlight, but the darkness felt suffocating for once. Images flared on the back of my eyelids, memories I’d fought so hard to block out. I could see my mother’s ashes so clearly now. When I’d buried them that day, I loosed a wordless scream and fell to my knees, feeling like the ground beneath me would swallow me whole.

Just like Hera said, Zeus had found a loophole.

And so I dreamt of her now, hearing her song. When I was a child, she sang it to me nightly. Until one day, she’d abruptly stopped. For a long time, I’d forgotten it. Now the words rang in my head, echoing in my dreams for hours.

Oh Selene, little albatross

Born beneath a different moon

The light of it is in your heart

But with it comes the doom

Oh Selene, Oh Selene

My beautiful little albatross

After hours of fitful sleep, I finally rose and wound my lace robe around my shoulders, pushing out onto the balcony under a dusky sky. I breathed in the humid, salt-thick air and gazed up at the dark abyss. Heavy clouds blotted out the stars and the moon.

Sighing, I leaned against the railing. The first day on Aiaia had been fraught with unanticipated confrontation, wild requests, and complicated emotions. I’d expected it to be tough. The Olympians wouldn’t want to make it easy on me. But now that my introduction was out of the way, hopefully we could turn our full attention on the reason we’d journeyed to the island in the first place. We would make our first sacrifice tonight. It would please Erebus, and Zeus would feel more at ease because of it—at least I hoped.

I had to put what Hera and Aphrodite—and Ares—had said out of my mind.

With a nod to myself, I chose a deep red velvet gown that trailed across the floor behind me as I walked, its edges embroidered with golden crescent moons. It was one of my only gowns without sleeves. The neckline cut low across my breasts, barely held in place by two thin straps around my shoulders—also embroidered with moons. I chose a pair of black lace gloves and sturdy boots. I enjoyed dressing in my beautiful, luxurious gowns, but I always chose practical shoes, particularly when I could hide them beneath my longer skirts. As a final touch, I added a few sprays of my jasmine perfume, and the sweet floral scent was a reminder of home.

After I’d dressed, Hector settled on my shoulder and poked my cheek. It was a hard peck he only gave me when he wanted me to notice something. I ventured out of the bedroom and into the drawing room, following his agitated path. There, on the floor. A paper curled across the carpet right beside the door. Someone must have shoved it under the gap.

I knelt and plucked the paper with the tips of my fingers, squinting. A list of instructions was written in black ink, and a thunderbolt symbol had been stamped into red wax near the bottom. I’d recognize that handwriting and symbol anywhere. It had been on the invitation Zeus had sent me.

My lips curled back.

Dearest High Queen Selene,

I hereby summon you to the first sacrificial ceremony of Nekros. Tonight, the following will be required of you:

1. All members of the Thirteen Crowns must meet in the megaron at sundown.

2. We will leave for the amphitheatre promptly. Do not cause any delays.

3. Once inside the amphitheatre, no monarch may cause a disruption to the proceedings. This includes, but is not limited to, engaging in a disagreement, speaking too loudly, participating in sexual activity, playing music, or interrupting the sacrifice.

4. All monarchs must participate in the sacrificial feed.

Archon Zeus

A low growl rumbled in the back of my throat. I crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it into the silent fireplace. As much as I couldn’t admit it at the time, everything Hera and Aphrodite had told me was frustratingly true. Zeus wielded power like a sword he’d stolen from someone else.

Hector flew into the fireplace and angrily pecked at the paper. Shaking my head, I couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you, my love. I appreciate the show of solidarity.”

He cawed and blinked up at me, ruffling his feathers.

I sighed. “I know. But you can’t come with me. If any of them spotted you, they’d likely kill you, knowing what you are to me.”

But instead of turning away, he continued to stare, and I could so easily read his thoughts.

“Hera and Aphrodite?” I asked. “Just because they hate Zeus doesn’t mean I can trust them. Dionysos perhaps, but…”

Getting involved in all their pesky squabbling would only get in the way of what I’d come here to do. I’d meant what I’d said. The High Queen of Troy had come to the Isle of Aiaia to do her duty and return home. Zeus could never find a reason to step foot inside that city. If he did, and if he saw all the icons dedicated to Gaia, he would burn the whole place down. And then he’d take any mortal survivors, and he’d drain every ounce of blood from their broken bodies.

Just like Orpheus had told me, I couldn’t give Zeus any reason to venture north. As long as I did what I was meant to do, he’d accept me as Troy’s new ruler and dismiss the city as unimportant to him, just as he always had.

Sighing, I smoothed down the front of my gown and squared my shoulders. “I need to go, Hector. I can’t be the last one to arrive again. Will you be all right by yourself? It’ll be safe enough for you to explore the island, just as long as you stay away from the amphitheatre. I don’t want to risk any of them seeing you, especially Ares.”

Hector clicked his beak and ruffled his feathers, but I could tell by the glint in his eye that he agreed.

I knelt beside him and rubbed his cheek with my knuckle. Then I stood tall and ventured into the belly of the beast.

A n eerie silence suffocated the megaron, the tap of my boots against the marble floor as loud as thunder. Four Olympians were clustered near the empty dining table. They stood looking down at something. Artemis was near the back. She clasped her hands behind her, tension tightening her slim shoulders. Frowning, I stepped closer.

A feverish whisper crackled through the room, but it was too quiet for me to make out the words.

Artemis turned. When she saw me approaching, she scowled and brushed her dark, wavy hair over her shoulders. “Oh, it’s you. I’m surprised you have the nerve to show up here after what you did.”

My stomach tightened. Could Ares have told them about our confrontation last night? Or had someone overheard me speaking to Hera and Aphrodite? Neither were in the megaron yet. The others, now turning to look at me, were Poseidon, Apollo, and Hephaestus.

Poseidon was a towering Olympian with a blue tint to his skin that never failed to remind me of the sea. He folded his arms over his broad chest and narrowed his eyes. “You may have skirted the laws of the Hellas Agreement, but Zeus and Ares won’t let you get away with this.”

Well, that certainly didn’t make any sense.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said carefully.

Apollo and Hephaestus stepped to the side, revealing a pile of blackened ash. A lump of nausea suddenly clogged my throat. I pressed a fisted hand to my mouth, holding back my revulsion. The size of the pile and the shape of it—a perfectly formed circle—made my heart ache. Ashes only looked like this for one reason. This was the remains of a vampire, and judging by the golden ring glinting on the ground beside it, it belonged to someone high in the ranks.

I swallowed, and then it hit me. All the dark stares, the scowls, the accusations. They thought I’d done this.

“No.” I pointed a finger at the ash. Thankfully, I’d calmed my nerves well enough to keep my hand steady. “I’ve never killed one of our kind. I swear it.”

“ Our kind? Or your kind?” Artemis snapped.

“Both. I’ve never killed another vampire, including whoever that—”

“ Whoever ?” Poseidon barked a laugh. “Don’t let Ares hear you say that. Speak with some respect.”

With a gasp, I moved closer to the ash to better view the ring. I had a sneaking suspicion who this was. And if I was right…well, I didn’t see how the treaty would survive.

The ring glinted in the torchlit room. An emblem had been etched into the center—a roaring bull. The symbol of Ares. But I’d noticed a second ring on Ares’s hand, though I hadn’t gotten a good glimpse of it. So if he wore two rings and only one was here…

“Is that Hestia?” I asked, looking up at the gathered Olympians.

Poseidon scowled. “Stop pretending. None of us would dare hurt her, so it had to be you.”

“I don’t think she’s lying.” Hephaestus drew closer, leaning on his cane. “She’s as shocked by this turn of events as we are.”

“Have you never heard of acting? Her mother certainly knew how to perform,” Poseidon said.

I whirled toward Poseidon, pinning him with my narrowed gaze. “I didn’t do this. For one, I’m not fool enough to murder Ares’s closest advisor right here in front of everyone.”

“Oh, you’d sneak around and do it in secret, then, would you?” Artemis asked with a laugh.

“If I were going to, yes. I would be a lot more careful about it. In fact, I’d make it so you wouldn’t even find her remains until I was long gone.”

Poseidon grunted, folding his arms. “Well, none of us would touch a hair on her head. Hestia is—”

“Hestia is what?” a voice boomed from the open doorway.

I tensed, closing my eyes. I shouldn’t be here for this. Ares would see what had happened, and he’d jump to the same conclusion as the others. And he would retaliate. I needed to leave this room, find Orpheus, and get him off this island before Ares killed him. But none of the others would let me walk out that door.

Poseidon cleared his throat. “I’ll go inform Zeus.”

As he left the room, I turned. I caught the look on Ares’s face as his gaze landed on the ashen pile. Pure horror twisted his expression. His brow furrowed, his lips curled back, and lines indented every inch of his face. And for a brief moment, he looked achingly mortal. There was no sign of the cruel vampire monarch there. Just a man who had lost his closest friend.

And then his entire body went rigged. His expression hardened.

Ares lifted his gaze from the floor and aimed it right at me. “You.”