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“That’s a terrible prophecy,” said Dionysus.

“I liked Hermes’s version better,” said Ilias.

“I’m not sure what you expected,” said Hades. “Prophecies are rarely straightforward, and when they are, the stakes are far higher.”

Dionysus understood what Hades was saying—at least there was ambiguity here. There were instances in the past when prophecy had been so specific, there was no avoiding the inevitable fate, no matter how mortals tried.

“Something with a little more context would have been nice,” Ilias said. “Which gods does the prophecy refer to?”

“Perhaps all of us,” said Dionysus. “Or maybe just a few. I think we should be relieved the prophecy isn’t specific. There is power in knowing what to expect. We can work with that against Theseus.” Dionysus glanced at Ariadne. “Theseus is arrogant enough to believe that the prophecy means he will conquer the gods. It will make him feel invincible when he is not.”

Hades’s brows lowered. “What do you mean?”

“At the island, I stabbed him with my thyrsus. He did not heal quickly, not like you or I. It is a weakness.”

“You mean this whole time, we could have just stabbed him?” asked Ilias.

“It’s more complicated than that and you know it,” said Hades. “He’s endeared himself to the public. If he dies by our hands, we risk losing worship.”

“Okay, so we can’t assassinate him publicly,” said Ilias. “Where do we start?”

Everyone’s eyes turned to Ariadne, who paled. She did not need them to speak to know what they were asking—they needed to know everything about Theseus.

“No,” she said, her voice even. “You cannot ask that of me. He will kill my sister.”

“I told you we will rescue her,” said Dionysus.

“With what?” she countered. “You said that’s why we needed Medusa, or did you just say that so you could add another weapon to your collection?”

Dionysus flinched at her anger and her accusation.

“Trust us when we say rescuing Phaedra will be our first priority,” said Hades. “But we cannot do anything without information, even plan her escape.”

She shook her head. “He will know I told you.”

“In the end, does it matter if Phaedra is safe?”

“It matters because she will go back.”

There was a long and stark silence. Dionysus wanted to say the most unhelpful thing, which was that perhaps then she did not need rescuing. They had put Ariadne in a difficult situation, but she was fighting her own losing battle.

“Are you saying you will not help us?” Dionysus asked.

“Aren’t you all gods?” she asked. “Can you not figure it out?”

Dionysus didn’t look at her. He couldn’t pretend to understand her reasoning, just as he couldn’t pretend to understand the trauma that kept her from helping.

He took a breath. “I’ll assign the maenads to spy,” he said. “They can gather intel on those who are involved, their weapons, their hideouts.”

They were going to need to know as much as possible to formulate their plans.

Hades nodded. “The battle’s already begun,” he said. “Now we must prepare for war.”

CHAPTER XXXVI

HADES

Hades was not surprised that Ariadne would not help them actively plan against Theseus. She had been under his spell for a long time and knew what he was capable of. Clearly, she had come to see one too many of his threats realized.