Chapter 34

34

SELENE

D ionysos took my arm and dragged me away from Ares before I even knew what he was doing. Aphrodite followed, along with Demeter. They pulled me over into the archway near the back, putting a column directly between our little group and the table. I didn’t much want to talk to them right now—I felt the exhaustion in my bones —but they didn’t give me much of a choice.

“I’m going to need you to explain something, my love,” Dionysos said, drenching my goblet with a long pour of wine. “How in Hades’s good name did you go from scrabbling around in the mud with Hera one minute and then vanishing into the woods with Ares the next?”

Aphrodite smirked, sliding a strand of her short black hair behind her ear. “I think there was probably something scrabbling there, too.”

Dionysos shot her a look. “I mean it. You looked ready to burn the whole world down. I thought…” He blew out a breath and darted a look around the column to make sure the others weren’t listening. “I thought you were finally making your stance known.”

I knew they’d question me about this. And while I hadn’t exactly hated the kiss Ares and I had shared, us being ‘together’ was a terrible excuse. Mostly because it didn’t make much sense. From the very first day, we’d made our feelings about each other known. Desire wasn’t a part of it. Just plenty of hate.

And it seemed Dionysos had noted my rage when I’d faced Hera. It had awakened in me during the trial, lying dormant for far too long. And now it felt like I was right back where I’d started, pasting on smiles and pretending to go along with everything the Olympians wanted.

But I was in no shape to demonstrate anything right now—other than tiredness. My skin still hurt from that brutal rain, and it had been far too long since I’d slept. I needed some time to gather my thoughts and get some strength back before I did anything else.

“Honestly? I’m not sure I can really explain it,” I eventually said.

“Of course you can’t. The heart wants what the heart wants.” Aphrodite beamed and looped her arm through mine. She was positively thrilled about this whole thing, even if she hated Zeus. It seemed her ire didn’t extend to Ares. Interesting.

“I suppose you’re right…” I trailed off.

“And the fight with Hera? Was that what your heart wanted?” Demeter asked.

Aphrodite’s smile instantly vanished and she dropped my arm. It made me wonder—how did Aphrodite treat the mortals of her kingdom? She’d been close with Hera, after all. And if Hera had farms, did Aphrodite have them, too? I needed to find out exactly which Olympians supported those methods. But now was not the time to outright ask them.

And so I said, “The fight was something Zeus forced me to do.”

Demeter frowned, clearly not convinced. “All right.”

Demeter was smart. The way she observed the arguments and conversations of everyone else, I could tell she was making notes. Analyzing everything that occurred. And as long as she seemed impartial, no one had any reason to pay much attention to her. She could wait until the last moment to reveal where her loyalties lie, if needed.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she sneaked around the palace, either, keeping an eye on things.

Which meant...out of everyone here, she was the most likely to have seen or heard something when Hestia got captured. Surely she would have mentioned it if she had, but perhaps she hadn’t connected it to Hestia. Maybe she’d just heard the clanking of chains or a muffled scream. Something odd but inconclusive.

“All right,” I said, pasting on a false smile. “I think I’ve said as much about my sex life for one night, especially when I’ve seen some of you sneaking around, too.”

Demeter looked genuinely surprised by that. “Oh, dear god. Who?”

“You haven’t seen or heard anything?” I asked.

“Thankfully no. What did you see?”

I held back my sigh of disappointment. “Not much. Just a couple of hooded figures rushing down the corridor together. I was curious and tried following, but they vanished…”

When I realized I was rambling, I stopped. It was a flimsy explanation, but the expressions on their faces could be more likened to curiosity than suspicion. From what they’d told me, I supposed it wasn’t entirely unthinkable for two of them to engage in an affair.

“Well, it wasn’t me,” Dion said.

“Nor me,” Aphrodite said, cocking her head. “Rushing down the corridors and then vanishing? That could have just been Zeus and Poseidon going down into the tunnels.”

I perked up a bit at that. “Tunnels?”

Aphrodite jerked her head toward me, then pressed her lips together. Dionysos shifted on his feet, looking a bit sick. Demeter shot them both a look full of disdain. All my weariness was suddenly forgotten as I examined each of them in turn, noting their distinct discomfort. Aphrodite had just let something slip, something the Olympians did not want me to know about.

“Ah.” Demeter rubbed a hand across the top of her coiled black hair. “It’s where they keep the sacrifices. Zeus didn’t want you to know about it because he thought you might try something similar to what your mother did once.”

My mouth went dry. “What did my mother do?”

“She didn’t like that the sacrifices were kept down there, so she released them and moved them into the rooms along the west wing. Where you’re staying now.”

A small smile played across my lips. “That sounds like something she would have done.”

“Well, I’m sure you can imagine Zeus’s reaction,” Aphrodite said, “especially when one of the sacrifices nearly escaped. The woman made it as far as the beach, but the guards who were stationed there caught her. In retaliation, Zeus ensured the woman’s subsequent sacrifice was torturous.”

I was surprised my mother never told me about this, though perhaps she was worried I might try the same thing. And I had long since realized there was a lot she’d kept from me. Far too much.

“All right, this is just getting depressing now. Enough talk of Zeus,” Dionysos cut in, grabbing our arms and dragging us away from the corner. “Let’s celebrate!”

“Celebrate what?” Aphrodite asked, laughing as he dragged us over to the harp.

“We are alive. A ceremony failed, but Erebus didn’t take our immortality away from us. If that’s not a reason to celebrate, I don’t know what is.”

Frustrated, I followed along with it, but I was nowhere near satisfied by the answers they’d given me. I wanted to know more about the tunnels, the treatment of the sacrifices, and how long ago my mother had done this. It must have been before I was born. The High Queen I’d known, she never would have been so boldly rebellious against the rules of the Thirteen Crowns.

But the Olympians had already moved on. Dionysos snapped his fingers at Apollo, then pointed at the instrument.

Apollo smiled and took his perch beside the harp. When he began to pluck the strings, filling the megaron with a rich, sweeping song, the tension in my body eased a touch. I’d been coiled tight since we’d entered the palace, certain that everything would come falling down on us at any moment.

It had gone far better than I’d expected. Far better than we deserved, if I were being honest. The success of Nekros was essential to the survival of the peace treaty. And if we lost that, I’d lose Troy. Any move I made against Zeus needed to be logical and measured and timed just right. This had been reckless.

It was impossible not to stew in how badly I’d failed.

I should have insisted we stay on the island. Ares had been desperate, not seeing things clearly. I should have talked some sense into him, given the gravity of the situation. And I should have insisted we take Hestia back to the palace and invoke a threshold curse instead of putting her on a boat.

For reasons I couldn’t explain, I had lost sight of things. Duty had always been a compass to me. Every time I was unsure of a decision, I looked to it as an answer. What was the best course of action for me to reach my goals? And when I focused on that, I always knew what to do.

Out there, in the wilderness with Ares, I hadn’t been asking myself that question.

I wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

After a song or two, I eased onto a chair to rest my aching feet. I needed a bath and a bed, and soon. It was only a few hours until sundown, if that. At this rate, I’d have a little less than an hour to rest my eyes.

I pushed up from the chair, speaking to no one in particular. “I’m going to my room. Enjoy the rest of your celebration.”

Ares was there before I got halfway to the door. His broad shoulders blocked out the torchlight behind him. “Where are you going?”

“Bath. Bed.” It took all my energy just to utter those two words. If I had time, I’d have a quick look for those tunnels, too. But first? Rest.

“Good. I am as well.” He extended his arm to me, his brow arched suggestively. I was too tired to argue, so I slid my hand into the crook of his arm and walked with him out the door.

When we were halfway down the corridor, I pulled away from him. “Goodnight, Ares.”

I started moving toward the west wing, but Ares grabbed me my the waist and pulled me against him. His chest rumbled against mine when he spoke. “And where do you think you’re going?”

Frowning, I cast a glance toward the open megaron doors. Aphrodite and Hephaestus were both hovering near the entrance, watching us, transfixed.

Oh, for the love of Hades.

I forced myself to smile up at him flirtatiously. “You’ve worn me out, Ares. I’m not sure I have the energy to keep up with you another night.”

Lips tilting up in the corners, he brought his wrist to his mouth and sank his teeth into his flesh. I nearly gasped as the scent of his blood whorled between us. With his eyes locked on mine, he brought his bleeding skin to my lips. An aching hunger tore through me, and my vampiric instincts took charge.

Shuddering, I grasped his arm and held him there. And I took a long, long drink. His blood filled my mouth, coating my tongue. A buzzing heat rushed through me. The aching in my body soothed. My swollen eyes resolved, and the remnants of the rain welts quickly vanished.

And a thudding, aching heat pulsed between my thighs.

Ares tasted like life itself. Like desire and heat and power. I didn’t want to let him go.

Laughter rippled down the corridor, and I suddenly remembered we had an audience. Reluctantly, I unclenched his arm and dragged my lips from his skin. Ares reached out and rubbed his thumb across my jaw, wiping away a droplet of his blood. His eyes were hooded. And hungry .

“Feel better?” he murmured.

“A bit,” I managed to whisper.

“Then come with me to my room. Spend the rest of the day with me.”

I nodded, trying to dull the roaring in my head. The others were still watching, and they’d expect me to go with him. This was to validate the story we’d told. New lovers wouldn’t want to keep their hands off each other.

And just because I went with him didn’t mean I had to stay. We’d make it look like we were spending the next couple of hours together, and then I could return to my rooms.

I slipped my hand back into the crook of his arm, and Ares led me to his bedroom.