Page 27 of A Goddess Unraveled (Olympus Rising)

Lunch consisted of leftovers, and the few remaining guests lounged by the pool enjoying the spring sunshine. Since she was still boycotting the estate, Lexi relaxed on a chaise in her clothes. Hades had excused himself inside to pack for his trip to Asia, and Zeus was holding court under a large umbrella, although the only thing keeping him company was a goblet.

When Hades appeared again, he was dressed in the suit he’d arrived in, and Lexi’s stomach did a somersault as she hopped off her lounger to meet him.

“I don’t want you to go,” she said, gripping both of his hands tightly. “If Zeus doesn’t agree to my terms, please say you’ll stay a little longer.”

“What’s this about Zeus agreeing to terms?” Zeus left the shade of his umbrella, casting his own shadow on the deck as he invited himself into the conversation, just as she’d suspected he would. And Lexi faced him head-on. If there was ever a time in her life that she needed to be brave, it was now.

“I want to be able to see Hades again before I turn thirty. It’s a promise I want you to make in exchange for my compliance.”

Zeus scrunched his brows, and Lexi tried not to hold her breath. Under any other circumstances she would have expected him to give her request careful consideration, but this weekend had tested everyone’s tolerance. He could have been contemplating any number of things—a promise from her in return, a punishment for Hades for the part he played, immediate imprisonment in the house of gold.

Finally, the hard lines softened as he let go of a strangled sigh. “I’d like to leave this place with a clear conscience so I can return with one. It’s one of the reasons I enjoy coming here. If Hades petitions for a visit to the estate in seven years, I promise to make certain it’s granted.”

“Thank you.” Lexi threw her arms around his chest and squeezed. He may have been the ruler of the gods, with more authority than even the Titans, but he’d been her uncle Z all her life, and she was glad that the last words they might speak to each other were civil ones.

When she stepped back she did her best to keep the mask of courage on her face. “I’m going to walk Hades to the path now. I assume I’ll see you and Mnemosyne when I get back.”

“Of course. We’ll wait here for you.”

Although Zeus watched Lexi and Hades with a wary eye as they headed for the beach, he didn’t attempt to follow them. Hades planned to take their private trail to the gorge where he would summon his chariot. She hadn’t asked for more details than that, especially when there were more important things to focus on, like Hades’s lips as they said goodbye.

“Promise you’ll be there,” she said against his mouth. She couldn’t imagine waiting even one week to kiss him again.

“I promise, I’ll be there.”

They held each other for a long time, letting the waves and the seagulls serenade them. When they finally broke apart Hades was wearing a smile, much like the other smiles he’d offered her. But this one didn’t quite reach his eyes, making her think he didn’t believe she would be there.

Lexi returned to the estate with an awful foreboding feeling, but she did her best to ignore it as she bid Zeus and Mnemosyne farewell. The Titan seemed eager to return to Olympus for their annual flower-judging contest. She’d helped Demeter with the tulip garden and wanted to support her friend, but Lexi’s gut told her there was something else behind the urgency. Maybe a request from Hades to get Zeus the hell out of there.

Eventually, Lexi was left alone on the pool deck. Her mortal mom had retired to her room to sleep off a headache, and her father and Dion were in the study catching up on work. There was only one more loose end to tie up—Athena. She found the warrior goddess boxing an invisible foe down on the beach, and Athena jutted her determined chin in greeting.

“I don’t suppose you’re interested in starting your lessons right now?” The goddess continued to punch the air, her long ponytail snapping back and forth with the movement.

“That’s a hard pass. I think my body has spent its reserves. I’m just down here to check on Jackie O.”

“It’ll take time getting used to your new powers. I’m sure you’re already tired of hearing that. Well, since you don’t need me, I’ll do some laps in the ocean and see where the waves take me. We can meet back here at sunrise.”

She flashed Lexi a toothy smile that might have said Buckle up, buttercup . Or she may have just given Lexi a free pass for the next fifteen hours. Lexi made for the stable and took a moment to leave a note for the nymphs, letting them know where to find Jackie O when they came out after dinner to lock up. Although Lexi wasn’t counting on more than an hour before a search party was formed.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t considered Jackie O’s reluctance to leave her stall when she went to fetch her. The mare turned her back and snorted her displeasure as Lexi tried to point her toward the exit.

“C’mon, Jackie O. I promise we’re not going anywhere near the ocean. We’re just taking a walk on our favorite trail.”

She grabbed an apple from the feedbag and tempted her horse with it, but the attempt failed. As a last resort Lexi aimed her palms at the straw covering the stall floor and whipped up a small cyclone. Jackie O jerked her head and rotated away from the whirlwind as it followed her stomping hooves, and Lexi finally coaxed her horse through the door.

“That’s it, girl. I just need your help with one more thing, then you can rest for as long as your little heart desires.”

Lexi ignored the ball of guilt welling up as she fitted her horse with a halter and grabbed a length of rope. If Jackie O had to spend a couple of hours waiting to be rescued, Lexi didn’t want her burdened with the extra weight of a saddle.

Once outside, she glanced at the estate, saying a quick goodbye to the people she’d known for the first twenty-two years of her life. Compared to eternity, that was a drop in the bucket, and she reminded herself of this as she and Jackie O made the trek to the gorge.

On the way, she reminisced with her friend. “Do you remember that competition in Lawrencetown? You brought home a ribbon in every event. And that was before we’d started flying together. It was all on you.”

She laughed despite the anxious knot growing in her stomach.

“What about that time we were caught in a downpour at the gorge and you refused to leave until it was over. Mom and Dad were basket cases when we got back.”

When they arrived at the abandoned ranger station twenty minutes later, and Lexi secured Jackie O to her usual spot beside a patch of wild sage, reality really hit her. She might never see her horse again.

Tears welled in her eyes, and she didn’t try to stop them as she threw her arms around Jackie O’s neck and blubbered. The guilt came on full force when her horse nickered her version of comfort, and Lexi barely heard the leaves crunching before Hades appeared in the clearing. He had made good on his promise, and his smile told her that he was glad she had too.

Then his expression turned sober as he joined them, and Lexi wiped her face with her sleeve. “I wish Jackie O could come with us,” he said, giving her horse an affectionate pat on the shoulder. “But she doesn’t carry the right DNA to survive a trip to the underworld. I’m sorry.”

Lexi lifted her head, hoping she didn’t look like a gross mess. “Is it terrible of me to have the most trouble saying goodbye to my horse and not the people who raised me?”

“Not at all. She’s someone you were able to confide in, which is something of great value.”

“I hope she doesn’t hate me for leaving.”

“That’s the difference between animals and those of us who identify as human. Animals have a greater capacity for compassion. I expect she senses your emotions and only wants you to be happy.”

“I wish that too.”

Hades pressed his hand to Lexi’s cheek, and she appreciated the gesture. She was feeling unsure for the first time since making the choice to leave.

“I’ll admit that my job has made me overly sentimental,” he said. “But I think you’ll find that emotions are often our best compass. No single decision can bring about all the solutions or cause all the heartaches. They simply make up the parts of life.”

He leaned in and kissed her, and she allowed his touch to ease her worries and remind her why she’d put her trust in him. He’d offered her more in the span of a weekend than anyone had offered in her lifetime, including two things she never felt she had—honesty and friendship.

She inhaled against his lips, feeling her resolve click back into place. “I believe you.”

After a tearful farewell with Jackie O, Lexi’s worries assaulted her again as they traveled the path to the gorge. In a matter of minutes she would climb into a chariot with the god of the underworld and dive headfirst into the depths of the earth, staying there for perhaps a century.

Actually, she had no idea how far down they’d be going. She was flying blind, trusting the words and deeds of someone who had been a stranger to her just four short days ago. She wanted to blame her libido for that. It hadn’t been tested. But neither had her heart.

Navigating the landscape on autopilot, she led them to a fifteen-foot rock wall. The only way up was on foot, and it was a fitting obstacle, but nothing she hadn’t tackled a hundred times before. Nobody could have convinced her she’d be climbing it with Hades one day.

“How are you with heights?” she said, mostly for levity, and Hades’s smirk said he’d caught on.

“Would you like me to name all the mountain peaks I’ve stood on? I don’t think we have the time.”

“Okay, smartass. Just try to keep up.”

Lexi planted a swift kiss on his mouth before starting her ascent. The incline wasn’t too steep, and she could tell by Hades’s determined grunts that he didn’t need a coach. She arrived at the top in no time, and once Hades pulled up next to her, they looked down into the gorge at the river below.

“Truly breathtaking,” he whispered. There was something about his reverence for the scenery that gave her hope. Despite the many views he must have seen, he hadn’t lost his sense of wonder.

“Now what?” she said.

“Now we ride.”

He pressed his fingers between his lips and filled the canyon with an ear-piercing whistle. Then he held her hand as they stared at the horizon. She didn’t know what to expect. Currently, the sun was hiding behind a rather ominous embankment of clouds. Would a team of winged horses burst through them? Would some mysterious underworld beast be pulling the chariot?

A silhouette soon appeared as if by magic, surging upward from below the clouds and dispersing gray tendrils into the sky. A team of horses, four abreast, controlled the chariot. Their iridescent black coats shimmered like scarab beetles. She guessed they were Friesian, given their dark coats and strong musculature, and she noticed they didn’t have wings. Their hooves pounded the air instead of pounding the road, just like Jackie O’s had. Clearly, these horses carried the right DNA to fly without the help of a god.

Fighting the impulse to deny the magic, Lexi gawked as the team approached, and her eyes barely registered the flash of lightning that pulsed inside the clouds, chalking it up to Mother Nature. Or maybe it was part of the show. Then a clap of thunder boomed so loudly it made her jump, and the horses had the same reaction. One of them reared up, sending the chariot careening sideways and putting it on a crash course with their cliff.

Hades groaned and cursed at the sky. “Damn it, Zeus!”