“It still didn’t have to be this way. Zeus could have stayed out of the Underworld and left me alone. He could have kept the weapon a secret, and Olympus wouldn’t have known about it.”
Hera started playing with my hair as she had done when I was a child.
“You’re focusing on the four lives that were lost today instead of the countless lives that were saved. You saw how many humans left. You saw how many wanted to wait for me. The ones who stayed are going to have a better life here. You helped with that. Instead of focusing on the fact that your temper got the better of you, focus on all the humans you saved and the fact that Olympus is going to be a better place.”
I missed this. I missed the chats with my mother. Hera had always been so fierce when it came to Zeus cheating, but never with me. She always had this way of making me feel better. I turned my head into her hand.
“Yeah, I guess we did. I’d still feel better if we destroyed all the weapons. That was my intention, but I understand why Dionysus and the others wouldn’t feel safe with me knowing how to make them.”
“I know. I haven’t had the chance to get you alone. Tell me about this woman I found you in bed with.”
Oh, wow. Talking about women with my mother. That was something we’d never done, even when I was married to Aphrodite.
“She’s simply amazing. I think you’d like her if you got to know her.”
“And you’re okay sharing her with those monsters?”
I just shrugged.
“She has a lot of love to give, and they are my friends.”
“I’m glad. Why don’t you go to her and get some rest? The sun is coming up, and these people will be too hungover to fight.”
I stood up and stretched. My back let out a pop. Olympians were not above their bodies creaking, and I’d been sitting on this bench for ages. She was right. These people would feel way too awful to fight. I had time for a cat nap. Speaking of cats, I needed to talk to River about that cat she whipped out when we were fighting Ares. That was sexy.
Hera stood and wrapped her arms around my waist. This was nice. I didn’t lose my entire family.
I still had my mother.
Chapter 30
River
H
oly shit. Olympian parties caused massive hangovers. And they wanted to boot us out of here right after the party. Hephaestus wanted to stay and help, but they wanted us all gone. I’m not sure if they didn’t trust us or if it was because Pavlina was carrying a bag with Athena’s head in it, but they wanted us gone yesterday.
Hephaestus argued, and I think the only reason they allowed us to stay was that none of us would turn over his weapon until we were sure they settled everything. It took two weeks, but they elected a new government. There wasn’t a president or king anymore. A council ran Olympus. It was most of the people we expected and a few I didn’t know who they were.
While they did that, Hephaestus was going around with Eros and Hermes using their magic to build better lodgings for the humans who wanted to stay. Did I mention how sexy he was when he pulled entire houses from the ground with a flip of his hand? Because it was fucking hot.
My boyfriend could whip up mini-mansions from the ground by just twirling his finger in the air. That guy I dated in college who was in med school with a near-perfect GPA suddenly seemed way less impressive than I made him out to be in my head. He had been book smart, but I had a feeling he would struggle with bedside manner because his emotions were always flat.
The only reason I wasn’t stripping Hephaestus naked and having my wicked way with him was that the people who stayed really needed better lodgings. It just pissed me off that these Olympians could make houses out of magic, and I was looking at huts made from mud that the humans made themselves. It wasn’t like that everywhere. Some of them had humans living in their posh palaces with them. Those were the Olympians we had alliances with. The only other two that had better lodgings for humans was Artemis and Hestia.
While we were off trying to build houses, the new Olympian council worked with my father on alliances. I’d say this for Barbatos. He turned out to be cool in so many ways, and he had all these other skills that I lacked. He didn’t just have armies at his disposal. He knew when not to use them too.
When we made it back to Dionysus's place, there were strangers there. Solron and Charley were gossiping with a very pregnant woman, and several men were doting on her. Solron was totally healed after Artemis treated her, and I think she was going a little crazy with nothing to kill.
“River! Get over here and meet my best friend. She takes lovers like you do!”
The pregnant woman looked like she would try to get up and greet me, and she was very pregnant. Pregnant enough to be home in bed with her feet up. Why was she here?
“Don’t get up! I’m River.”
“Serafina. My mates are here to help seal alliances with Olympus, and I insisted on coming. It’s not every day you find out a mythical realm is real. Amduscias is a duke like your father and helping with Hell relations. The blond man is Fergus. He’s Fae and our ambassador in Hell. He’s negotiating on behalf of my father, the king of the Fae. Skoll and Roman came along for my protection.”
I was just getting used to feeling other supernatural creatures. I knew what Olympians, demons, and witches felt like. Serafina and Fergus felt different, but I knew what Fae felt like now. Skoll and Roman were unfamiliar and felt a little dangerous to me.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude, but I grew up thinking I was human. You’re the first Fae I’ve met, and I’m not exactly sure what Roman and Skoll are.”
Roman flashed his fangs at me, and Skoll’s eyes glowed amber. Serafina swatted at them playfully.
“Stop showing off. Roman is a vampire, and Skoll is a wolf.”
Holy shit. I’d been okay with demons, witches, and gods, but how did I survive that long on Earth with all that out there?
“Vampires and werewolves are real?” I gulped.
Skoll just laughed.
“There are a ton of different animal shifters, but wolves are superior. Don’t let anyone tell you differently. Vampires mostly mind their own business unless we are talking about Roman. He’s up in everyone’s business. So do wolves. We keep to our packs and our lands. You probably never would have met a wolf if you lived in a heavily populated area. Because of how they eat, Vampires don’t stay in one area too long if they are sloppy. How you didn’t meet any other supernatural creature is beyond me. I can smell what you are from here.”
Pavlina let out a little growl.
“Excuse me, did you just say my girlfriend stinks? I’ve eaten wolves before.”
Wolves must differ totally from any of the fiction I’d read because that didn’t piss Skoll off. He just laughed and held up his hands.
“Shifters go by their noses. Vampires smell blood. It’s how we know if someone is a friend, foe, or prey. Your girlfriend doesn’t stink by any means, but I would know by being around her she’s half demon and royalty to boot.”
Roman’s eyes glowed red for a minute, and he flashed his fangs again.
“Her blood smells like it would taste amazing, but don’t worry, I have no intention of biting her. I have my own supply of rich blood to eat.”