Chapter 16

16

SELENE

I f there was one thing I was quickly learning about Zeus, it was that he was extraordinarily predictable. Of course he would choose me, especially after what Ares had just mouthed at me. He probably expected me to react like my mother, and truthfully, my stomach was roiling. That entire thing had been extremely unpleasant.

Vampires in Troy didn’t feed like that, even when they lost control. Blood was a delicacy. A luxury. Splashing it all over the ground like that…tossing chunks of flesh…

Deep down, Zeus was nothing more than an animal. The need for unrestrained violence buzzed in the edges of his eyes. He licked his lips, tasting the blood. And there was a tremble, just there, and his knuckles were bone white.

This was it. His greatest weakness. As much as he believed he was above all the rest of us, he was no better. In fact, he was probably worse. My hunger had never gripped me like this. I’d certainly never spit chunks of flesh on the ground.

Standing behind their columns, the Olympians turned my way. Expectant eyes watched my every move, and I could feel the weight of Ares’s attention on me. He’d told me about my mother for a reason. He wanted to watch me break right here beneath the eerie gaze of Erebus’s statue.

Squaring my shoulders, I walked to Zeus. With a wicked, blood-stained grin, he shoved a chalice of blood into my hands.

“One sip, then hand it back,” he commanded.

I lifted the chalice to my lips, titled back my head, and drank. As soon as the blood hit my tongue, hunger clenched my stomach. My eyelids fluttered, and my fingers tightened on the glass. Power shot up from the depths of the earth, filling my veins with static.

Clenching my jaw, I tugged the chalice away from me and shoved it back into Zeus’s hands. I met his gaze, as steady as I could. “By the order of Erebus.”

And then I returned to my place behind my pillar. I didn’t dare risk a glance at Ares, though I knew he was still watching me, likely waiting to see if I’d crack. But despite the gruesome start to the ceremony, the churning of my stomach had calmed. The blood helped. It always did.

Aphrodite was called forward next, then Hermes, then Demeter. One by one, each vampire monarch stepped forward and accepted their sip. When we were finished, Zeus called an ending to the proceedings and motioned us away from the statue. We were to abandon the body where it was, as broken and ruined as the fallen side of the amphitheatre.

Everyone was silent on our return trek to the palace. My mother had told me the Olympians were often giddy after the nightly sacrifice, revelling late into the night. But there was no sign of debauchery now. Heads were bowed; eyes were glassy. The memory of Hestia was a heavy cloud, drowning the ceremony in darkness.

At least the early end would give me time to find Orpheus and tell him what had happened. Hopefully, I could get him out of here, too. Because even if Zeus decided I was innocent, someone had killed Hestia. Likely Hera. And I did not think it would take long for the fragile tension to shatter.

I needed to be ready for when it did.

Swallowing, I cast a glance over my shoulder. Ares walked with Poseidon. His brow was furrowed, and he looked lost in thought, like he was recalling all the moments he’d spent with his closest friend. He lifted his hand to his chest, placed his palm against the spot where I’d seen his tattoo the night before. And then I swore…a tear or two traced wet lines down his face.

Had he truly loved her that much? A pang went through my heart. The painful truth was that life was a beautiful, precious thing, and death transformed it into grains of sand that slipped through our fingers, often faster than we expected. But as vampires, we rarely experienced that, not like mortals did.

This was likely the first time Ares had ever lost someone important to him.

And unlike most, I understood exactly how he felt—how the loss carved a hole into your chest and left behind nothing but rot.

My eyes suddenly burned, tears welling in them. With a sharp hiss through my teeth, I blinked them away and returned my attention to the palace looming before me. I could not let myself feel sorry for Ares , of all people. He’d tried to kill me when I’d been at my lowest. And I was certain now, he’d be the one to attempt to kill me again.

You must be aware of Olympians who draw you into their web, for one will attempt to take your life. He is death and fury. He is hate.

If that wasn’t Ares, I didn’t know who it could be. The others might not be my allies, but they weren’t the personification of death, fury, and hate, either. And based on everything I’d seen from Ares, he definitely was.

And so no, I could not soften toward Ares, even if I would not wish the pain of loss on anyone.

We reached the base of the steps leading into the palace. Zeus stopped at the head of the party, waiting for me to catch up. My feet itched to slow, but I didn’t have much of a choice. I had to keep walking, or it would seem like I feared him.

My boot hit the ground as I took another step, rattling through me. I looked past Zeus, ignoring his intense gaze, making my way toward the first step. Another step, and then another, and then—he grabbed my arm and squeezed so tight that I felt the pressure of it in my bones.

He dragged me toward him and hissed into my ear, “You killed Hestia.”

My heartbeat thundered. “I didn’t. I swear to Erebus, I did not kill her.”

“No, don’t you dare swear to Erebus,” he said, sneering into my face, spit launching from his lips. “Swear it to Gaia.”

I blinked and reared back. “What? Absolutely not.”

He shook me hard, rattling my skull. “Don’t act so innocent. Your mother worshipped Gaia, was devoted to that creature. You pretend you want to be one of us, but you’re just like Theia. A traitor to the Thirteen Crowns.”

Gritting my teeth, I yanked out of his grip. To my surprise—and to his, judging by the widening of his eyes—I sprang free. I took several steps back to put distance between us, but the others crowded in close…some of them, anyway. Poseidon and Artemis were on one side and Hera and Aphrodite were on the other, both glaring and showing their fangs—and both for entirely different reasons.

Surprisingly, Ares stood near the back with his hands slung into his pockets, eyes rooted to the ground. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he didn’t want to get involved.

“Stop this, Zeus,” Aphrodite said, shifting her body in front of Hera, who was visibly seething. “She’s sworn she didn’t do it.”

“As if we can believe anything a Titan swears,” Poseidon countered.

“Well, someone killed her,” Zeus said, pointing a finger at me. “And if it wasn’t her, then who the fuck was it?”

Silence descended. And by the uneasy expressions on each of their faces, it seemed clear they’d all finally realized the same thing I had. Someone amongst them—an Olympian vampire monarch—had murdered one of their own…or at least might have. Poseidon was still glaring at me, so he clearly thought I was the one behind it, but the others…there was doubt there.

Even Zeus frowned, shifting on his feet. “No, don’t you all look at me like that. It’s impossible. We wouldn’t do that to Hestia.”

Artemis flicked her eyes from my face to Hera’s and then to Aphrodite’s. And then she took a big step back. “It could have been one of us. Killing Hestia makes a statement, but it doesn’t break the Hellas Agreement. She wasn’t a monarch.”

Zeus whirled toward Hera. Because of course, that was his first suspicion after me. Even though he wasn’t aware of her scheming, he obviously knew she hated him.

Hera held up her hands, shaking her head. “Don’t you dare look at me like that. I wouldn’t have touched a single hair on her pretty little head.”

“Me either,” Aphrodite said, placing a comforting hand on Hera’s arm, as much to comfort her as to hold her back, as far as I could tell.

Zeus narrowed his eyes. “I have no idea what’s going on here, but I know how to get to the bottom of it. At the end of Nekros, High Queen Selene will have a trial in the eyes of our god. If he decides she’s innocent, she can go free. Until then, lock her in her room, Achilles.”

The armor-clad vampire appeared from the shadows, clanking with every step. I darted back, shaking my head. “I need to speak with my advisor.”

“If you’re as innocent as you say you are, then you’ll do what I command and remain in your room,” Zeus said. “And you can speak to your advisor when I say you can. Achilles, take her now. If she puts up a fight, feel free to chain her wrists.”

“Chain my wrists?” I scoffed.

Achilles moved toward me. Hera made a step to block his way, but Aphrodite shushed her and dragged her back. I cast a wild glance around, as if one of the others might actually step in to help me. But of course they didn’t—they wouldn’t . I was the outsider here. The neophyte. The daughter of a traitorous Titan queen.

If I were them, I’d suspect me, too.

“You’re lucky Zeus is even giving you this chance,” Poseidon piped in. “If it were up to me, you’d be dust.”

I was really beginning to dislike that one.

Zeus met Poseidon’s steady gaze, and unspoken words passed between them. But I had a sneaking suspicion what they were—without the trial, they couldn’t kill me, not without risking Erebus’s wrath.

Achilles came up beside me and grabbed my arm. As he led me away, my eyes drifted toward Ares. He’d lifted his gaze from his feet and was staring at me now. Only he knew they could kill me once Nekros was over. The vein in my neck throbbed; every muscle in my body tensed. Now was the time—he would tell them what he knew. Zeus could kill me without risking the treaty.

But as Achilles led me up the steps, Ares’s mouth remained shut. Torches flared to life before us, and we passed beneath the archway into the palace. It wasn’t until Ares was out of sight that I allowed myself any measure of relief. Still, I couldn’t fully relax yet.

Ares thought I’d murdered his oldest friend. Almost everyone did. So why hadn’t he said anything? Why did he keep my secret?

Something told me I’d soon find out. And I wouldn’t like the reason.