Page 14 of A Goddess Unraveled (Olympus Rising)

Dion closed the French doors on the howling wind, plunging the study into a sober silence. His face had paled to a chalky white, and he fisted the draperies as he stared through the glass.

“Lexi is going to hate me for the rest of her life. I can’t live with that guilt.”

Z strode across the room and dropped his arm on Dion’s shoulder. “Lexi will come around. She didn’t let me finish. Once she finds out that we’ve approved her summer itinerary, she’ll see the light.”

Hades’s blood pressure rose as he watched Z placate the Maxwells. The gods were a selfish lot, but they were bound by a code of ethics with rules against manipulation of free will. The ambassador families and their commitments to the gods had always stretched the boundaries of those rules. The collaboration depended upon human greed and desperation, with the gods making their offer when a mortal was at their most vulnerable.

Ultimately, it was Lexi’s choice to submit to their whims or tell them to go to hell. She hadn’t made the promise herself. That was on her father, and he’d be held accountable should his commitment fail to be met, even by his offspring. While Hades hadn’t planned on intervening, he felt compelled to share his views, and he rose from his chair to invite himself into the conversation.

“If I may ask, when is Lexi expected to take over the post here? Has this already been decided for her? Or will you allow her to make the choice?”

He offered Charles and Lilith the opportunity to answer, hoping Z wouldn’t bully them into censoring their response.

“Well, once Lexi returns from her travels, Lilith was hoping she would choose to live here for a while,” Charles said. “That way Lilith can finally enjoy her career. They’re making great strides in her field, and she has an opportunity to spend time in Sweden this fall as a guest professor. There’s a possibility she could stay on longer.”

“I see. So, if I’m interpreting things correctly, Lexi was allowed to attain her degree but will now be asked to put her career on hold, just as Lilith did.”

Charles drew in a breath, as if preparing himself for a storm. “I suppose I could stay here and work remotely. Give Dion more responsibilities in Boston. That way both Lilith and Lexi would have time to enjoy their careers. I don’t want to keep telling them no.”

Lexi’s parents turned to each other, their hands clasped and their doubts playing out through the sheen in their eyes, while Z shook his head, looking ready to burst.

“You’ve already told me that your presence is needed in Boston,” Z said. “And so is Dion’s if he is to continue the success of your company. It’s a sound practice for ruling any empire. Do I have to remind you, Charles, that you knew the long-term commitments of accepting this life? We provide you with everything you need to build your business and your wealth. We send healers when your family is sick. When you need favors outside the realm of human capability, we’re at your service. In return, you see to it that your legacy continues to support the gods here.”

With his attention still on his wife, Charles countered, “We both wanted a big family to continue that legacy, but how were we to know that Lilith would have such difficulties in childbirth?”

“Well, you saw your way around that one, didn’t you?” Z shot back before turning his glare on Mnemosyne. The Titan only responded with an unperturbed shrug.

Hades stepped in before any more tempests could be unleashed. “We can all agree that Lexi’s path isn’t like Dion’s. I suggest we consider that as we devise an approach to fit her situation better. Frankly, I’m surprised that nothing has been considered yet.”

“We are not making exceptions for Lexi,” Z said. “Not until it’s absolutely necessary. We’ll give her time to cool off and come to her senses.”

“And what senses will those be?” Hades asked. “Will you wait until her senses cause her to destroy property? Or cause serious injury? What she doesn’t know could make her a danger to herself and others.”

“Enough!” The air crackled with static as Z’s fist came down on the desk.

Mnemosyne left her seat and walked up to Z, nudging him gently. “I think we could all use some cooling-off time. It’s been a long day, and even the gods need rest.”

A murmur of agreement spread through the room as bodies vacated chairs. Lilith stared at the door where Lexi had made her dramatic exit. Hades wondered what kind of bond the woman had with her daughter. Had resentment festered over the years?

“I’ll keep an eye on her, Lilith,” Hades offered. “Like Z said, Lexi will probably take her grievances out on me. And I have no qualms bearing the brunt of the abuse if it will lessen her anger toward her family.”

“That’s horseshit!” Z puffed up his chest and stuck it in Hades’s face. “Your only reason for attending this celebration was to snatch Lexi’s virtue. Persephone has barely been gone from your bed, and you’re already looking to satisfy your urges. Well, I won’t have it! Not here. And not with Lexi.”

Hades couldn’t argue that his travels away from home only happened when Persephone returned to Olympus, when he was at his loneliest. But not this season. There was more to it than saying goodbye to a lover until the next snowfall. This time, he worried that the next snowfall would come but Persephone would not.

However, he would sooner spend a fortnight in Cerberus’s doghouse than admit that to Z, so he chose his next words carefully. “On my honor as a god and as an Olympian, I will not attempt to seduce Lexi tonight. That is, if she chooses to speak to me at all.”

Z narrowed his gaze until only a sliver of gray could be seen, and he assumed a pose as unbending as an oak, his lips bleached white from pursing them. Hades knew this stance well, and he waited for an insult to spew from his brother’s mouth. With her usual superb timing, Mnemosyne whispered into Z’s ear, and his shoulders softened. Hades didn’t have to guess what the clever Titan had said. The pleasure of sex was the only thing the two had in common.

~

A gale-force wind assaulted Hades as he exited through the French doors. He didn’t doubt his stubborn brother had something to do with the deteriorating weather. Dion had worn a confused frown as Hades left the study, and it stood to reason that the young Maxwell was hearing a few things for the first time himself.

Taking a shortcut across the patio, Hades made for the path. He had a hunch where he might find Lexi, and when an angry voice reached him from the direction of the sea, he felt the urge to run. When he found Lexi, she had her pants rolled up to her knees and was wading into the water to curse at the waves.

“Show yourself, Poseidon, damn it! We need to talk about your idiotic brothers! Maybe you’re the reasonable one and you don’t look down on humans like dirt!”

Lexi’s voice sounded raw, like she’d been shouting for a while. A wave slapped her in the chest, but she just laughed. “Is that the best you can do? What kind of god are you? Too weak to stand up and fight?”

Hades didn’t expect Poseidon to be monitoring the situation at the Maxwell estate, but he’d already seen Lexi create her own consequences, even if she didn’t recognize them. Although he’d planned to stay incognito, intervening seemed prudent, and he stepped out of the seagrass.

“If my brother wanted to fight, you wouldn’t be standing. You’d be floating face down.”

Lexi wheeled around and screamed at him. “I told you I wanted to be left alone!” She sloshed through the water, retreating farther down the beach.

“I was leaving you alone, until I heard you cursing Poseidon. I wanted to stop you before the waves pulled you under to teach you a lesson. I may oversee the dead, but I can’t bring them back to life.”

“What do you care, anyway? You’re just like the others. Big fat liars with egos the size of . . . of . . . Zeus’s head. Did he really believe I would roll over and accept this? Have all the years of treating me like a daughter meant nothing to him? Worst! Party! Ever!”

Hades followed her as she stomped across the wet sand. She’d begun to cry openly, the wind carrying her sobs out to sea. He couldn’t blame her. He would have been angry too. He’d been furious when his brothers took away his freedom, imprisoning him in the underworld when they were convinced it was Gaia’s will.

He’d spent the first two decades tearing the place apart. Funny thing about eternity, though—after a while the rough edges got smoother, and he learned to embrace his fate. Lexi had the opportunity to do the same, but he knew this wasn’t the time to try to convince her of that.

Instead, he chose to keep a respectful distance as she walked farther from the estate, closing in on the outcropping of rocks where Will the clod had taken the brunt of her anger that morning. Lexi had no inkling that it was she who had unintentionally caused the accident. They were all fortunate it hadn’t been worse.

Lexi finally stopped her determined marching, wiping tears off her cheeks as her hair wheeled around her head like Medusa’s serpents. When she turned to glare at him, he almost flinched.

“I have nothing to say to you, so I don’t know why you’re following me.”

“We don’t have to talk, but will you allow me to walk you back to the estate? Your family is worried.”

“Hah! I’m sure they are. They wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to their precious investment.”

“I’m very sorry for the role I’ve played this weekend, Lexi. I’ll admit that I’ve spent very little time around the ambassador families, with only an inkling of the effect it has on each generation. It was my curiosity that brought me here.”

“So, you had no interest in getting to know me when you arrived?”

“I wouldn’t say that. Your situation is unique, which I was curious about. But I’m afraid I can’t divulge why.”

“Let me guess. Zeus doesn’t want me to know why.”

“Zeus keeps his cards close to his chest. It makes him feel more in control. But I wasn’t lying when I said I was attracted to you. You’ve enchanted me, body and soul.” He extended his hand. “Please, can I walk you back?”

Lexi held his gaze through watery blue eyes. They were as determined as the sea that lashed the shore. “I’m not ready to go back. But I appreciate your honesty. And I really need to be alone. Don’t worry, I won’t yell at Poseidon anymore.”

A short laugh escaped her, and she shook her head at the waves. Likely she was processing something she’d thought to be impossible before. Hades knew the best course of action was to honor her wishes, so he offered a humble bow and walked away.

He’d already seen her face challenges with ferocity, and he had no doubt she would overcome this one too. It was probably in everyone’s best interest to leave her alone if they wanted to avoid any more unintended consequences.