“Hephaestus, I totally understand why you don’t want that weapon out in the world, but people are going to find out about it once Olympians die. I know you don’t want us to keep one because you wouldn’t feel safe. I know you might intend to destroy all of them when this is over. But think about this from our side.
“You’ll still know how to make them. You have monsters with you, so I’m guessing you’ve aligned yourself with Hades and the Underworld. Hades controls the Titans and a lot of monsters. We know he wasn’t happy getting banished there. We’d totally allow him back if he wanted, but he’s a king of this own realm now.
“We don’t want kings and queens anymore. We don’t want power and all our decisions in the hand of one person. We want a council to vote on things for the betterment of all. If Hades wants to come home, he can’t be king. Most of us agree with what Hades was trying to say before they banished him, but we don’t want him as our king.
“We also don’t want him bringing an army of monsters with those weapons to insert himself as one either. You also know how to make the weapon, and you have plenty of reasons to hate us. You might feel safe if we don’t have that weapon at all, but we wouldn’t feel safe knowing you can make more, and Hades could bring an army of monsters here.”
I think that offended every single person in the room that wasn’t an Olympian. I know Hephaestus told them not to, but my monsters were vehemently defending Hades. Hades kidnapped me to serve a purpose, but I knew he wouldn’t come here with an army of monsters to make himself king. It just wasn’t his style. My father interjected.
“Hello. May I speak? I’ve been planning most of this with Hades. I was with him when we plotted to get rid of Demeter. Hades has an alliance with my realm, but we wouldn’t help him slaughter you to make himself king. Several of the people in this room wanted to wipe you all out because of what you did when you were off pretending to be gods, but it was Hades that wanted to spare as many people as possible.
“It was Hades’s idea to do exactly what you are talking about here and spare as many people as possible. He wants to open the gates and give the humans here the option of going home. Hell also has an alliance with the Fae, and our trade has benefitted both realms. Hades hopes you’ll be open to opening your gates to several realms and the supernatural community. I am a duke in Hell and have the ears of the kings. We have a well-respected Fae ambassador in Hell. We can try to make trade happen with all three realms. This was Hades’s plan, not inserting himself as king.”
“I also have no intention of returning for revenge for how I was treated over my limp. I started working on this weapon to protect myself from Zeus. He has a long memory and a bad temper. I didn’t want to risk him remembering throwing me through several realms and getting mad enough about it to come to do it again. I perfected it when I found out Demeter was terrorizing the Underworld. I didn’t make this weapon so I could kill all of you. It was for protection, and then I made it when I found out what Demeter was doing.”
Hera just sniffed.
“I’ve never liked her. She worshipped everything about Zeus. He could do no wrong in her eyes. When she got pregnant with Persephone and Dionysus, she was certain he would make her his queen. She was just a bedmate, and he took her to bed before he decided no new Olympians should be born. She took it out on me when he avoided her after he had her a few times. Like I control what he does with his cock. If I did, he’d be a eunuch.”
I was on board with Hera cutting Zeus’s cock off before she killed him. Based on the glittering look in Pavlina’s unusual eyes, she wanted to hold him down while Hera did it. If I still had a cell phone, I’d video it and blast it all over whatever social media existed in the Underworld for all the demigods that weren’t chosen to live in Olympus. And I was sure there were plenty sired by Zeus down there.
“Can we make him a eunuch before we kill him?” Pavlina asked. “Shove that rapist cock down his throat before we slit it.”
Hera just grinned.
“I like you. What’s your name?”
We hadn’t really had introductions when Hera crashed, and we still hadn’t. Hera knew me as the girl in her son’s bed who took a class about her, but she still didn’t know my name, and this was the first time she bothered to ask any of our names. Hephaestus went around introducing us, and now I had Hera’s attention.
“River, if we end this, you must stay and have dinner with me before I leave. I need to get to know the woman who has captured my son’s heart.”
I gulped, but I agreed. I got she had changed, but if what Hephaestus and Hera said were true about the two of them being close before Zeus hurt him, I imagined she’d hurt me in some sort of goddess mama bear rage if I hurt Hephaestus. As much as she said she had changed and I believed her, having fucking Hera as the mother of the guy I was dating could get nasty. I knew all about how creative she got when she wanted to torment someone.
Hephaestus just kissed the top of my head.
“Be nice, Hera. She’s a good one.”
“I can tell. She’s not afraid to challenge me, even if they teach all those horrible things about me now. I even like it she’s not an Olympian and not mortal either.”
I hadn’t even thought about that. Hera could have had some serious opinions about Hephaestus falling in love with a half demon. I knew how most of them looked down on humans. What did she think about demons? Apparently, she didn’t care, even if we were the first she had met.
Pavlina sat up and glared at everyone.
“So, if we help you and you get your new society here, are you going to change Zeus’s rule about no new Olympian children? Because Persephone and Hades have wanted children for ages, but they didn’t want Zeus finding out and sending their child to the Pits. Persephone is my queen, and she and Hades have both been very kind to us. They deserve a family.”
Dionysus just looked at her kindly.
“So do the rest of us. Zeus doesn’t want more of us because he’s worried about another situation of him and the Titans. None of us agree with him. He’s also banned any new demigods, but if you think the rule applies to him, you’d be mistaken. Zeus loathes birth control because he thinks it doesn’t feel as good, and it’s not like the humans here get basic healthcare where they can get what we get to prevent pregnancy.”
Well, that was definitely a problem. We thought we were going to be taking out some Olympians. What about Hercules? I really didn’t want to kill him.
“Are all of Zeus’s offspring going to rush in to protect him?” I asked.
Hera just laughed.
“Gods no. They’d be lining up to get their hands on those weapons. Even Hercules hates him now. I know what your class teaches you and what I did, but Hercules likes me better than he likes Zeus now.”
Was it wrong I wanted to fangirl and meet him? I was all about the television show when I was a kid and all the spinoffs. I was pretty fucking glad I wouldn’t have to go toe to toe with him over killing Zeus. I’d totally fangirl for a reason if he was going to help us.
“We need to make sure as few people die as possible,” Hephaestus said. “Zeus would take it personally if his offspring rose against him and they are half mortal. Old age won’t kill them, but we can. We need to find a way to get Zeus, Athena, Poseidon, and Ares somewhere neutral where we can fight,” Hephaestus said.