I love my sister. A lot. But that doesn’t change the fact that like everyone else in my family, she’s out for Olympus first, herself second, and everyone else dead last. Family might rank higher than the greater Olympian population, but not by much. She loves me. She’s just not one to let that get in the way of decisive action—and stirring the pot every chance she gets. “You could have chosen someone else. Anyone else.”
She shrugs, a small smile pulling at the edges of her lips. “You’ll come out on top, Helen. You always do.”
I tilt my head back and stare at the ceiling. “That was quite the backhanded compliment.” My voice is high and tight. I have too much control to throw a fit over this turn of events, but I want nothing more than to throw something at my sister’s smug face. “I’m very angry at you right now.”
“You’ll get over it. It’s dog-eat-dog in this city, especially among the Thirteen. You know that.”
“Yeah, well, I would have secured an airtight Zeus-Ares alliance if you’d let me become the next Ares.”
She jolts like I’ve surprised her. “You can’t really mean you considered stepping forward as a candidate. I thought you gave up that ridiculousness when we were still children.”
It shouldn’t hurt so much that my sister doesn’t take me seriously. Of everyone, I’d think she’d realize my ambitions go more than skin deep. Apparently I was wrong. “I never gave it up.”
She gives a tight smile. “Honey, I know you mean well, but look at the champions. Achilles, Hector, Atalanta, those two strangers. They’re huge and they practically sweat violence. That’s not even getting into the other thirty-odd people who put their names forward. You’re…” She hesitates. “You’re capable, but you’re no warrior, Helen. There’s no way you could win.”
Somehow, this is worse than the fact she hadn’t taken my ambitions seriously. She honestly doesn’t think I could do it. My chest tries to close, and only years of practice keep me from buckling. “I would have won.”
“I guess we’ll never know now.” Eris presses her lips together, looking almost apologetic in a way she wasn’t when she effectively sold me in marriage without asking first. “I’m sorry, Helen. Truly, I am. But you know how it goes. Olympus comes first. Sometimes that demands sacrifice.”
“Keep telling yourself that. You’re not sacrificing a single damn thing.” I’m so angry, I’m shaking. The temptation to let the rage out here, when it’s just family in this room, is almost too strong to ignore. It’s been many years since I brawled with Eris; the last time was when we were teenagers. It would feel so damn good to let off some of this horrible feeling inside me. The betrayal lies thick on my tongue, threatening to choke out everything else.
“Don’t make that face. It’s going to give you wrinkles. This will work out, Helen. Trust us.” She turns and strides out of the office. Eris always did like to leave arguments unfinished.
It’s so damn naive of me to believe my siblings would treat me differently than my father intended to. Helen Kasios, princess of Olympus, destined to marry someone who will bring more power to her family—as if they need it. “Damn it.” I force my hands to unclench the folds of my dress. “I wanted the title so fucking bad.”
“Why not do it anyway?” Callisto’s voice comes from the shadows, low and almost seductive.
I jolt and spin around, my heart racing. I’d completely forgotten she was in the room with us. She melts out of the shadows near the window where she’d been standing, near invisible. In her black dress with her dark hair, she looks like some creature of the night who wandered into this office by accident. I still can’t believe my brother married her. I understand wanting to settle Demeter and her significant power firmly on his side, but surely Eurydice would have been a better choice. She’s so much sweeter; marrying her would mean a much less tumultuous life.
Then again, Olympus would eat Eurydice alive if she became Hera.
“I can’t do it anyway. That’s not how things work.”
“Isn’t it?” Callisto examines her nails. “I’m a fan of asking for forgiveness instead of permission. That’s what your brother did, after all. Why not give him a taste of his own medicine?”
I stare. “You’re trying to cause trouble.”
“Olympus is nothing but trouble.” Something dangerous shifts through her tone. She’s not entirely wrong, but that doesn’t mean she’s right, either. Her mother, Demeter, won the title and brought her daughters into the city proper a little over ten years ago. In that time, Callisto has made her derision of everything connected with the Thirteen known. Before she married my brother, she didn’t show up for parties. She didn’t play the game. She was always willing to step to the line and fight, no matter the opponent.
Now that she’s officially become Hera, I don’t know what to make of her.
I cross my arms over my chest and try to calm my racing heart. No matter how dangerous she seems, she’s just a woman, and I’ve been playing this game longer than she’s been in the city proper. I inject some false cheer into my voice. “It’s really sweet that you’re trying to be a supportive sister-in-law, but I am not about to become a pawn in whatever game you and my brother have going on.”
Callisto gives me a long look, her hazel eyes downright predatory. “This has nothing to do with your brother.”
“Lovely. Now I have some snake oil I’d love to sell you. It’s great for the skin. Practically a fountain of youth.”
Her lips curve. “Regardless of my motivations, we’re talking about you. Is there some rule that says you can’t be both prize and champion?”
I consider her. Despite my better instincts, I’m thinking her words through. “I’d have to check, but probably not. They don’t have a rule against it because I doubt it would have occurred to anyone to even attempt it.” I hate to lend any strength to Eris’s doubt in me, but… “You’ve seen the people who stepped forward. That’s a lot to combat.”
Callisto shrugs. “If you were planning on making an attempt for Ares, you already intended to fight them and come out on top.”
She’s not wrong, but it still sounds like a trap. It’s just…I’m not sure I care. If I compete and win, I knock out two birds with one stone. I become Ares and successfully dodge being married to someone I don’t know. Despite myself, I picture Paris’s smarmy face leering at me as he stepped forward earlier. Or being married to that man. I dodged that fate once and I’m determined to do it again.
Still, one thing doesn’t add up. I carefully wrap up my growing excitement and inject coolness into my tone. “Again, what do you have to gain from suggesting I do this?”