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I suspected that the scattering of attempts on my life over the years could be traced back to him. Now I know for sure. Anger rises in a steady beat, but I throttle it back. Rage has no place in this conversation, not when one misstep means defeat. “I think we both know nothing as mundane as a hired hit is enough to remove me.”

“Maybe not you, but others aren’t so lucky.” Zeus laughs, the sound bright and happy. He’s always been able to do that, to fill a room with his joy—and to flip it off like a switch. “Why call me now? Surely you’ve not gone senile enough to think I’ll let you back into Olympus.”

I would burn that city to ash before I set foot in it again voluntarily. “Hardly.” I keep my tone light. So light. “I found something of yours that you’ve misplaced.”

“What’s that?” Caution now, as if he finally realizes that I’m still a danger to him.

I let the moment spin out for several beats, enjoying this. “I’ve hired a new employee. Someone I think you may know.”

“Hades,” he warns.

I ignore it. “He’s rather beautiful. Blond. Strong. Piercing blue eyes that remind me of someone…” I chuckle.

“Hercules.” Now all joy is gone from Zeus, leaving only the danger beneath. “What’s to say I didn’t exile him just like I did with you?”

“Come now. I know better, and you know better than to try that subterfuge with me. He may not be your heir, but he’s your son. A traitorous son is still a son. You never release the things you own, Zeus.” I smile. “He’s rather self-righteous, isn’t he? All he needs is a shining set of armor to go with his hero complex. I imagine he doesn’t approve of the way you do business and decided to try to muddle through on his own. He was doing a poor job of it. Truly, you should thank me for snatching him off the street.”

“That boy is coming home, and I’ll rip you to shreds if you think you can keep him from me.” There it is. The fury and rage that make Zeus the force to be reckoned with. Once upon a time, I admired and feared the man in equal measure. No longer.

In my part of Carver City, I am the monster others fear. I am the spider in the web I intend to draw my enemy to. Hercules is nothing more than bait. “You can try. You can fail. He’s mine now, Zeus. And when I’m through with him, maybe it will be enough to begin to atone for your sins.” I hang up before he can respond. The phone immediately rings, but I ignore it. Let him stew in his rage the same way I have for decades.

Exile. For nothing more than stepping into the role that was meant for me from birth. There is meant to be a balance in Olympus. A Zeus ruling on high. A Poseidon managing the middle and mundane. And a Hades seeing to the shadows. When I was young and just as foolish as Hercules is now, I thought that balance would persevere despite Zeus’s thirst for power. It never occurred to me that he’d break a treaty going back to the founding of Olympus and strike directly at the heart of me.

Banishing the feared Hades cemented his place when his younger brothers were looking at the role with hungry eyes. No one dared cross him once they knew what lengths he was capable of.

And yet it was me and mine who paid the price of his ambition.

I sit back in my chair and attempt to shrug off the weight of the past. He won’t be able to stop from striking back at me over this. I’ll be ready when he does.

In the meantime, I’ll fulfill my threat of breaking Hercules apart piece by piece. The man may not exhibit the sins of his father, but no one grows up in that gilded hell Olympus without being tainted beyond words. Even if he fought against it at one time, he’s not strong enough to hold out indefinitely. I can’t guarantee that, even with Hercules’s history, he won’t come when Zeus calls. Meg would be hurt beyond measure.

No, it’s time to start binding him to us in every way. Until he’s happy on his knees. Until he never considers his other options. If I relish the challenge? Well, I’m only human.

The next step begins today.

Chapter 14

Hercules

Last night feels like a fever dream. I might believe it to be exactly that if not for the faint ache along my back where Hades flogged me. It’s not bruised, but there are light marks on my skin. I stare at them a long time, conflicted. I wanted them last night. I want them now. It’s not the craving for this lifestyle that makes me doubt myself, though.