Page 23 of A Goddess Unraveled (Olympus Rising)

Z didn’t strike Hades with lightning after Lexi disappeared inside. In fact, he nudged Hades onto the beach path without a hint of brutality. Although Z might have been planning to smite him down there and kick his body into the sea.

“Hades, this is a problem that cannot be fixed easily. I’ll admit that we’re both to blame here. So, it makes sense that we put our feuding aside and come up with a solution together.”

Hades chuckled, although he shouldn’t have. Z only gritted his teeth.

“I know I don’t ask for your assistance often, but you seem to have earned Lexi’s trust,” Z went on. “Surely, you can convince her that she’ll have as much freedom as any demigod living away from Olympus. The nymphs are here to assure the safety of mortals.”

“I know that. Maybe you should tell her tomorrow when you have your talk.”

“She’s more likely to listen to you. I’m afraid I’ve made it to the top of her shit list.”

“Well, you don’t exactly have a gentle approach.”

“Hence my request.”

“Or you could work on improving your approach. For instance, rather than threatening her with a century, why not give her ten years in Olympus. Her parents and brother can certainly manage the estate while she embraces her godly powers in the proper environment.”

Z pursed his lips. Hades didn’t really expect his first suggestion to be well received. “She’s Mnemosyne’s daughter. A direct descendant of a Titan. We both know it will take longer than a decade. Although I’m beginning to see your type. It wasn’t so long ago that another of Mnemosyne’s unplanned offspring caught your eye.”

Hades ignored Z’s jab at his failed love life and continued to offer suggestions as the path opened to the beach. “How about twenty years? Her parents will still be around. I assume they’ve been drinking ambrosia like the other mortal ambassadors. That should preserve their bodies for at least another forty years.”

Z paced the sand, snatching at the seagrass as he walked away from Hades. “I would have to go back on my word to Lexi’s family. I’ve made promises to them, and I don’t like breaking promises.”

“I take it these were promises you didn’t have full control over? Promises that depended on Lexi not finding out she’s an immortal? At least, not until the nymphs reported she was flying her horse on the beach.”

“Yes.” Z huffed as he pivoted and walked back.

“I don’t think it would have been much longer.”

“Clearly!”

Hades was beginning to wonder what his brother and Mnemosyne had talked about during their earlier conversation with Lexi. “What does Mnemosyne want for her? Have you asked?”

“She wants Lexi to find happiness. Whatever that means.”

“It means Lexi should be allowed to pursue the things that bring her happiness. Even if it upends the plans of others. It seems to me that she has spent most of her life following paths that aren’t her own. She wants to travel solo. So let her do that.”

“But the dangers of an inexperienced goddess gallivanting around the human realm are too great. She would need at least two nymphs to travel with her. It’s something even the council will not budge on.”

“Then teach her.”

“That’s not my job.”

“Then make it someone’s job. Lexi isn’t the first demigod to be born. Give her the tools so she can pursue her happiness without blowing things up.”

Z shook his head, but apparently it was not to disagree with Hades. “I suppose that’s a reasonable place to start. I’ll enlist Athena’s help. I’m going to bed. I expect you’ll be leaving for Asia tomorrow?”

“I won’t overstay my welcome.”

With a twisted look that Hades decided was frustration, his brother left him standing on the beach and entered the path that would take him back. The doors to Lexi’s balcony were closed and the curtains pulled. He hoped she would sleep well into the morning.

He turned his back on the estate and faced the sea, watching the waves roll in to slap the sand. The uneven pattern of the surf combined with the certainty that it would always come ashore was a perfect metaphor for his life. What had started as a detour on his way to the Asian islands had turned into a seduction on the part of a clever, untried goddess. If he hadn’t arrived with his heart in tatters, already battling a changing tide, he might have had a fighting chance.

Instead, he found himself wishing he could stay. He wanted to lie under the stars with Lexi and talk about his home. To make love to her in the surf. To help her embrace her role as a goddess. Would Z allow him to extend his visit and provide her with a few lessons? Ha! He must have been exhausted to entertain such an idea.

But why had Z softened after Lexi went to bed? Why had he changed his supreme ruler stance and asked Hades for help? Although his brother was not incapable of reason, Hades didn’t fully believe that Z’s request was a god simply using manipulation to get his way. It went deeper than that, but he couldn’t guess why.

Regardless of the reasons, there wasn’t much he could do but hope Lexi felt the same about him in a century.

~

Lexi couldn’t sleep. She was too freaked out. All she could do was sit on her bedroom floor and stare at the walls. The glamour no longer worked on her. Now that she knew what was underneath, she could only see the gold bars of a prison. And she was terrified of being trapped inside.

So she did the only thing that made sense. She played with her power. After flooding her bathroom with water she decided to focus on air, and succeeded in keeping two throw pillows floating without much effort or triggering the smoke alarm. She’d even rearranged some things in her room. But how well could she defend herself with that skill? It had fully backfired with Zeus.

Her mind had also been wandering to unhelpful places, specifically to the Titan who had given her the power. Apart from her ability to recite every poem written since the dawn of time, Mnemosyne was able to remove and return the memories of anyone at will. The more Lexi dwelled on this, the more worried she became. What if Zeus forced Mnemosyne to remove Lexi’s memories so she wouldn’t know she was a god? So she wouldn’t know she was a prisoner?

Was it so wrong to want freedom on her terms? Did anyone even care whether she found happiness? Her parents had their flaws, but their advice about life had motivated her to be the person she was today. And one mantra they used ad nauseum was taking responsibility for her own success. Apart from the obvious irony in that advice, it felt like a good motivator for these circumstances.

Without much of a plan, Lexi grabbed her backpack and shoved some items into it: clothes, her cell phone and charger, an empty journal, her credit cards, and all the cash she had on hand. If she was going to be on the run for a while, she would need snacks too.

She hurried down the staircase almost haphazardly, her frantic desire to escape outweighing caution, but she made it to the kitchen without being followed. The fruit bowl offered excellent choices, and she loaded up on granola bars. As she stood at the fridge filling a water bottle, she became aware of the walls again—glowing, smothering.

Her heart gave a panicked thud and she bolted out of the kitchen and down the hallway almost at a run, water sloshing from the bottle as she tried to tighten the lid. She blew past the guest rooms on tiptoe as she made for the laundry room and the closest door leading to freedom. With a twist and a click she slipped outside, her feet cushioned by the manicured lawn and the estate wall at her back. She’d escaped the golden prison, and Zeus would have to catch her to make good on his threat.

But Lexi still didn’t know where she was running to. The hedgerow maze loomed in front of her, an ominous contortion of nature. It had been modeled after Daedalus’s labyrinth, the Hellenistic interpretation, and she had lost many hours inside it. She’d even found hideouts over the years—natural alcoves in the shrubs where a body could be tucked away. It would have to do for now.

She walked toward it in measured, determined strides, hoping nobody was watching from the upper-floor windows as she disappeared through the curved trellis. Tendrils of fragrant honeysuckle caressed her shoulders as she entered, and she felt the weight of the estate fall away. With the stars and her memory to guide her, she trekked to the center of the maze. The sun was due to rise in less than an hour, so she needed to come up with a better plan than hiding out in her own backyard. The maze was probably the first place her family would look for her, besides the stable.

Lexi arrived at one of three alcoves and hunkered down with her backpack, digging out a banana. Then she dropped her head back to stare up at the sky. Most of the stars were hidden by the approaching dawn, and she traced the ones that were left with her finger. Cassiopeia had always been her favorite, a constant in the north. It was steadfast and reliable, unlike her family.

She tensed at the sound of footfalls. She wasn’t alone. Damn . Someone must have seen her enter the maze. Was it one of the staff? A nymph who’d spotted her from their bedroom window? Was it Zeus? Did the arrogant god ever sleep? She stowed the banana in her backpack, preparing to make a quick exit, as a figure rounded the corner and stopped to look at her.

“Lexi.”

“Hades. How did you find me?”

Her heart pounded with adrenaline and relief as he walked over and took a seat beside her. “I heard someone in the kitchen. Why are you out here and not in bed resting?”

“Because I no longer trust my godfather. And I don’t want to be a prisoner in that place.”

Hades let go of a sigh as he slipped his hand around hers. “Z tends to threaten first and negotiate later.”

“Actually, I’ve experienced that firsthand, so thanks for reminding me. But it doesn’t mean I’m setting foot inside that godly monstrosity again.”

“Understandable.” He captured her in his gaze, where all his emotions seemed to live. “You don’t have to make any big decisions now. Take the summer to absorb everything, wherever you decide to do that.”

“There’s a lot to absorb.”

“I was raised in Olympus, and it was decades before my siblings and I found our stride.”

“How long did you live in Olympus before you were banished?”

Hades cringed, as if she had cursed him. “Not long enough.”

With their fingers entwined, they sat in the shadow of the hedgerow, listening to the birdsong as the sky lightened, erasing the stars. Lexi appreciated the comfort he gave her without the obligation of conversation. More and more she realized how similar their stories were. And despite them being strangers just days ago, Hades was the only one who understood her. More importantly, he was the only one who didn’t want to control her.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before voices echoed from the patio as breakfast was being set up.

“If you want to stay here a while longer, I’ll go entertain your family,” he said. “They’re probably expecting you to sleep late.”

“Thanks. I need more time to think.”

He left her with a kiss and a wry smile that said he wouldn’t be surprised if she disappeared after he was gone. But rather than run, which was what every nerve in her body wanted her to do, she tucked into her knees and let herself cry.

The noise level had picked up on the patio when Lexi realized she’d dozed off. In fact, as she stretched the kinks out of her neck, she heard her parents’ voices on the path inside the labyrinth. She shouldered her backpack and stood, shaking the exhaustion from her brain. Did she want to talk to them? Give them a piece of her mind? Or did she want to run for the exit?

She decided to take her chances and just focus on getting to the opposite side of the maze. As the Fates would have it, she didn’t make it far before their paths crossed. No surprise that her dad was looking impatiently at his watch as he rounded the corner.

“There you are. Your godfather told us you two had a disagreement last night. He thought you might try to run away.” He glanced at the backpack, scrunching his brows. “Really, Lexi?”

“I’m still here, aren’t I?” Her anger was the first to show up, and their false shock was textbook. Did they really not expect her to be mad? “And it wasn’t just a disagreement. He threatened to imprison me inside the estate. I’ve seen what’s hiding under all that marble.”

“He wouldn’t do that,” said her mom, although the uncertainty in her tone suggested she didn’t believe her own words.

“Honey, let’s look at this through a bigger lens,” her dad said, his chin lifting as he slipped into CEO mode. “You’re a demigod. You have incredible power and an eternity to use it. What human wouldn’t say yes to an opportunity like that?”

“All I’m hearing is What’s wrong with you? Why can’t you be grateful for this thing that everyone thinks is so perfect? ”

“You’re missing my point. I’m saying that you have all the time you need to focus on your pursuits. Mortal humans don’t have that luxury. Your mom and me, and your brother, we only have a short time to enjoy the fruits of this world.”

“I’m sorry. I must have misunderstood. Are you saying Hey Lexi, even though we never told you that you’re a demigod and we spied on you and controlled every aspect of your life, we need you to behave like a good little god and keep doing it until we die ?”

She forced her brows up, daring them to deny it, but her father hadn’t achieved his success by backing down. “All your mother and I are asking is for you to give us a break once in a while. Go on your trips. Find yourself. But live here with your family while our bodies hold out. What’s a few decades to an immortal?”

“Clearly, we have differing opinions on what family means. My idea of family is someone I can trust to support me and my pursuit of happiness even if they don’t agree with me. Or if it screws with their plans. We’re all responsible for our own success. Isn’t that what you’ve parroted at me? Honestly, the way I’m feeling right now, I would choose a stranger to have my back over my family.”

“Lexi, you don’t mean that,” her mom said miserably. But Lexi didn’t have to see her expression to hear the apathy.

Somehow, the judgment behind that simple statement fueled the adrenaline simmering under Lexi’s skin, causing her fingers to tingle and her chest to expand. She was just a tool to them. An asset to achieve their own versions of happiness. They were too far gone to see it any other way.

“I do mean it! I’m done with all the lies and fake bullshit! Get Dion to babysit!”

Lexi balled her fists, letting the anger fill her, then she jerked them hard at the ground. The earth rumbled, causing dirt and leaves to bounce at her feet. Then a crack zigzagged through the packed soil, making its way from one side of the hedgerow to the other. Lexi jumped back, her arms flailing, and suddenly one of the eight-foot shrubs creaked and groaned as the roots were sucked upward out of their home. How had she done that? How was she supposed to stop it?

Her pulse roared in her ears like a raging waterfall as she watched the mighty hedgerow follow the downward movements of her hands, crashing to the ground in a cacophony of crunching branches and filling the space between them. As they all stared at each other over the fallen tree, voices filled the maze. One of those voices belonged to the last god she wanted to talk to, especially with the evidence of her mess lying at her feet.

Lexi did the only thing that made sense. She ran.