Hades gritted his teeth. They were not useless, even without the eye. In fact, Hades felt like the greatest power they possessed was the secrets they kept.
“You said they were intended to be the foundation on which a war was built. What do you mean?”
He did not want to mention Medusa, even if Helios was aware of the gorgon. He’d rather the god bring her up on his own.
“Hades, don’t play dumb. Their eye gives access to the future. It is a valuable tool for anyone in battle. In the…wrong…hands, it is an avenue to lay the foundation for victory.”
It was a thought that had crossed Hades’s mind before.
“Who took the Graeae, Helios?”
“Is that what you wish to know? Who took them, or where they are? You only get one question, one answer. I have already given you a mine of gold.”
“Are you not interested in obtaining the rest of your cattle?”
“Rosie here will do,” Helios said, patting her back. “With her, I can breed a new herd.”
Hades curled his lip in disgust.
“Choose wisely, Hades,” said Helios.
He did not need to think long. The most immediate need was obtaining the Graeae. Hades would find out who abducted them later. In fact, he thought he could already guess who was responsible. There was only one organization bold enough to think they could go against the gods—Triad.
Though that thought was paired with the image of Hera and Theseus sitting side by side during his second trial. Had Hera found an avenue through which she intended to overthrow Zeus?
“Where are the Graeae?” Hades asked at last.
Helios offered a wicked smile.
“Lake Tritonis,” he said. “You’ll find them held in the caves.”
The God of the Sun pulled Rosie close, his great strength allowing him to carry the animal under his arm.
“You are about to find out, Hades, that you’re on the wrong side.”
Hades narrowed his eyes at the message but said nothing. Not that Helios would have listened, because in the next second, he was gone. Hades could safely say that while he’d suspected an inevitable uprising against the Olympians, he had always thought that relics would be the avenue through which an opposition would attempt to gain power over them—not via literal divine monsters. Worse yet, divine monsters could be created, and if Triad was responsible for this, if they had managed to gain the support of a handful of Olympians, then they were far more of an adversary than Hades had thought.
At least now he had a path forward, and it began at Tritonis.
He called up his magic to teleport when Hera appeared in the clearing.
“Fucking Fates,” he said, the words coming out slowly as a hiss.
“Hades,” she said, a wicked smile on her face. “I’ve been looking for you.”
Chapter XX
The Amazons
Now is not the time, he wanted to say, but he knew what she would threaten.
His future with Persephone, though he had done enough to damage that himself during their last encounter. His chest ached at the thought of how he’d left her—with no comforting words, only a countdown to say goodbye to her friend—and even though he had fucked up, he did not need Hera making it worse. It was that thought that made him relent, despite the pressing matter of locating the Graeae.
He would just have to send Ilias to Lake Tritonis. For a brief moment, he’d considered including Dionysus in the retrieval, but he did not know the god’s loyalties, and with a potential revolt on the horizon, he did not want to take any chances.
“What is it?” he snapped. He saw no reason to hide his resentment of the goddess. Especially after what she had put him through during the last two labors, though that only made his stomach churn. What did she have planned for him next? Was it to be something far worse?
“I’d like you to retrieve Hippolyta’s belt,” she said, almost casually.
Hades’s brows lowered. That was a relatively tame ask given what she had saddled him with before.
“Hippolyta’s belt,” Hades said. “Why?”
“Do not question my wants, Lord Hades. It is none of your business.”
Hades narrowed his eyes. “Does Ares know of your wants?”
“The belt was his gift to Hippolyta. I see no reason to ask him.”
Hades glared. There was nothing particularly stunning about the belt. It was leather, and Hippolyta wore it to symbolize her status as Queen of the Amazons. Its only power was that it gave its wearer superhuman strength, a useless power for both Hippolyta and Hera, who already possessed such a skill.
Unless, of course, it was an attempt to gain another weapon in her fight against Zeus. The belt could give an Impious mortal the power to face a god.
Hades’s mood darkened, and suddenly he wondered just how much his labors had intertwined with her ultimate goal of overthrowing Zeus.
He did not let himself think on that long, though. He filed the information away for later. Perhaps he was onto something—something that would allow him to end Hera’s labors and prevent her retaliation against Persephone.
“Do whatever you must to trade,” she said. “You have until sunset.”
Hades gave a frustrated growl as she left. He took out his phone and called Ilias.
“Yeah?” the satyr answered, out of breath.
Hades arched a brow. “Are you in the middle of something?”
“Running a marathon,” Ilias replied, a sarcastic edge to his voice.
Hades did not question it. “When you are finished,” he said, “I need you to travel to Lake Tritonis and secure the Graeae. Tell no one. I will be back as soon as possible.”
“Got it,” Ilias replied, and when Hades hung up, he vanished.
* * *
The Amazons lived in Terme, which was north of New Greece, and while part of the mainland, it existed on no mortal map. A smaller island extended off the coast, which they called Themyscira and used as a training ground. The landscape of Terme was lush and green, the terrain made of cresting hills and deep divots where white water flowed over great rocks. Their city was encased in a tall and expansive wall of stone and graying brick. Its towers and gates were heavily guarded as there was always a brave mortal or two trying to scale the walls, and depending on their intentions, they were either released or held in prison under Queen Hippolyta’s discretion.
It was at one of those gates that Hades appeared. While it was likely he could have appeared at Hippolyta’s sanctuary, doing so would have been considered in poor taste, and since he was going to ask a favor of the Amazon queen, he decided against it.