There we were. There was that temper. Poseidon flung his chair back and swept everything off the table.
“You’re plotting with Ares, and we all know it has something to do with Demeter! I demand to know what you are doing, Zeus!”
Poseidon accentuated this by flinging magic at Zeus. I saw a cut appear over his eye. Olympians couldn’t fight with fists like ordinary people. They relied too much on their magic. I was counting on that to take Poseidon down.
Zeus stood and glared at Poseidon.
“You dare strike me? You forget your place, brother.”
“No, you forget yours. You’ve closed down the gates and not allowed any of us to leave. Demeter should have long been back with Persephone, and we all felt her life force go out. Hades has kept to the agreement and let Persephone leave. You’ve never liked Demeter after you bedded her. Do you know what I think? I think you plotted with Hades to get rid of Demeter, and you’re coming for the rest of us next!”
Most sane people would have just told the truth, but the Olympians had never been what you would call rational. Instead of just clearing things up, Zeus got all butt hurt about it. But that was what we were counting on. Zeus got up to get right in Poseidon’s face. They were screaming at each other so hard they were giving a spit show. All of us were just getting a little bored at all the screaming, waiting for Poseidon to get the fuck out of the way so Artemis could take him out.
All the men were out of control and yelling. Zeus and Poseidon were ready to fling magic, and Ares was screaming just to tell them the truth. Why Ares didn’t just shout it was beyond me, but according to everyone here, the God of War was as smart as one of Cerberus’s turds.
Zeus finally blasted Poseidon against the wall with magic, and he was no longer blocking Artemis’s shot. The secret passage swung open, but we were totally fucked because it wasn’t silent. We had the attention of every Olympian in the room.
I heard Charley and Finn chanting. If there was ever a time to have someone with magic on your side, now was it. No one else in that room knew about Zeus’s secret passage, and now Ares thought he was being played, and Athena was perked up more than watching the men fight. I had no idea what the witches were chanting, but I hoped for fucks sake it pulled off a miracle.
Zeus had lightning crackling in his hands as the door slid open so slowly, it was nearly comical. Ares had joined him with red magic at his hands. Poseidon was still dazed against the wall, but coming to. Athena had moved herself as far from the secret door as possible.
Artemis was standing at the ready with her bow, and can I say she looked fucking magnificent? She needed some sort of wind machine to blow her hair back, and it would have made the picture perfect. Unless Zeus threw all that lightning in his hands into this secret passage and we all got fucking zapped. I doubted I would like that very much, and it would hurt River.
The door swung halfway open, and I finally realized what all the chanting had been about. We could see into the room, but we were invisible to everyone in there. Zeus frowned.
“I think Poseidon tripped the door when he hit the wall.”
“Why do you have a secret door in here? Has someone been listening to us?” Ares demanded.
Oh, they had no fucking idea. I had been cursing the arrows' accuracy being shot in the Underworld by Artemis’s handmaidens, but they were taught by the best. I think we all nearly cheered when Artemis let her arrow loose, and it buried itself right in Zeus’s right eye. He fell into Ares as he collapsed, which saved our asses. Ares couldn’t fling magic at us because he was trying to get Zeus’s dead body off him.
Poseidon and Athena were losing their shit. Ares at least knew the weapon was out there. Apparently, they could feel when one of them died, so they would have known that arrow took the great Zeus out. I watched three Olympians who were once feared as gods make a beeline for the door.
Oh, no, they didn’t. We had plans for them, and Poseidon gave me tentacles. I flung them out and grabbed all three of them by the ankles. They fell face first into that expensive rug, and I dragged them to the center of the room. We all started spilling out of the secret passage, but my eyes were solely on one person.
I made a beeline for Poseidon, who was on all fours trying to stand. The great Poseidon was on all fours like a dog in front of me. He had me in this fucking position more times than I could count, and payback was a bitch. I had these amazing knee-high leather boots on that were custom made by a cyclops clan. They were my version of fuck me boots. I planted my black leather fuck me boot right on his ass and kicked him so he was flat on his face. The little grunt he made was music to my ears.
He rolled on his back and tried to fling magic at me. His aim was wild, and it went over my head. He completely stopped fighting and looked utterly shocked at who just kicked him in the arse.
“How the fuck did you get out of the Underworld? How did that arrow kill Zeus?”
My tentacles wrapped around his hands, feet, and neck. I stretched him out and tightened my hold around his neck.
“It’s called making friends. You should try it sometime.”
“I can help you. I can free you from the Underworld and give you riches in Olympus. You’d want for nothing. I can give you all that if you let me go and leave me a weapon like the one used on Zeus.”
Oh, this was beautiful. It was better than I could have hoped for. Poseidon, who cursed me and treated me like utter garbage, stretched out on the floor and trying to bribe me for his life. My, how things changed when your slave was back with a weapon capable of killing you. The Olympians could cut up and abuse people because they didn’t have to face mortality before. It was staring them right in the face now, and I had Poseidon’s hands so he couldn’t fling any magic at me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful sight except for River naked in my pool.
“I think you’ve helped me enough, and I’m far from a prisoner in the Underworld. Do you remember all those villages you had me wipe out because you were bored or had a bet with Ares? It’s time you paid for all those lives. Remember all the women you raped in Athena’s temple just because you were pissed at her? If people in the Underworld knew we were coming here with these weapons, you would have had people lining up to kill you. I get that honor.”
Poseidon had the nerve to look offended.
“You were all mortal—just little humans with a finite lifespan. You should consider yourselves blessed we paid enough attention to you to bless you with our magic. You’d be dead now if it weren’t for us. You should be thanking us, not trying to kill me.”
I was done. A lot of the Olympians like Hera had changed, but Poseidon hadn’t. I was done listening to this garbage. I wanted him to stop talking. I straddled his waist and pressed the blade to his neck.
“I suppose I should thank you for allowing me to live long enough to kill you.”
“Wait—”
Hephaestus forged excellent weapons. The demigods sought him out for a reason. I cut him off and slit his throat as hard as I could. The blade was so sharp, and it nearly severed his head. I had blood all over me. Poseidon’s string was now cut, and I could close this chapter of my life.
I’d been ignoring everything in the surrounding room. It was like it was just Poseidon and me. Now, I could feel magic being flung and hear fists being thrown. I could focus again, and my tunnel vision was gone.