Page 59 of Until the End of Ever (To the Cruel Gods #2)

KLEOS

T he good thing about fighting a god around a billion times more powerful than myself was that I didn't have time to ponder what to do, how to stop him, what sort of end this mess was going to lead us to.

There were half a dozen gods intent on destroying our city. The logical conclusion was that the city would be destroyed. But the memories fighting against the last twenty-three years of knowledge I'd amassed demanded that I kept fighting.

I would never yield.

I wasn't above hiding however. The giant didn't like to lower his head to go through halfway, or check rooms on the way. And Zazel and I were excellent at stealth. Each moment I managed to lose him in the Hall of Truce allowed me longer to catch my breath.

I needed food. I needed a bath and bed. But that'd have to wait until later.

There would be a later. For one, our prophecy wasn't over yet, was it?

Two by sea, check. Five beyond death, check again, though technically we'd been six on the way back. And seven to rise as all the walls fall ? I didn't know about the seven, but the walls were definitely being destroyed by the sound of it.

That left the last one.

A new goddess shall stand or descend by the grace of the one who judges all.

“So weak," the god called, trying to taunt me.

I glanced at Zazel, nodding.

The cat leapt first, and jumped again to avoid the immediate hit. In the next moment, I summoned a short dagger, darted past Zeus's back, all while dragging the golden blade through his belt.

“If I were weak, you would have already fried me!" I screamed back, earning three bolts I barely managed to dodge.

We were in the main atrium now, and it amused me to realize it was his own turf he was destroying. The last bolt exploded right next to the shrine to himself.

I used the clouds of dirt to slide behind the next shrine's altar as silently as I could.

“But I will," Zeus swore, eyes flashing as he strolled past me. "You’re tiring yourself out, little mortal. I sense it.”

Damn him, he was right on that score. It was a struggle to avoid panting like a short snouted pug as he passed, scared he'd hear me.

This game of cat and mouse wasn't going to end well for the mice—Zazel and me, and by extension, Lucian.

I couldn't, wouldn't risk my life when it meant he'd only follow me in death.

Think, think, think.

A new goddess shall stand or descend by the grace of the one who judges all.

At first, I’d assumed the one who judged all was Zeus, but it stopped making sense the moment we realized he was behind it all. And then, Ma’at came to mind as the goddess of justice, but the rest of the sentence made it weird.

It clicked suddenly as my eyes took inthe larger-than-life statue before me. I felt incredibly dumb; this time, at least, it hadn't been a student coming up with the answer.

Hadn’t one of the Night Academy kids called to her when she got over-singed after naming too many gods? Bless Hera, queen of the heavens! And all of a sudden, all of the theatrics stopped, the other gods chastened by her mere mention.

I couldn’t make sense of the entire prophecy. I had no clue what seven it referred to. But so far almost everything had come to pass, and now, stuck between an all-powerful god who wanted to kill me and the statue of his wife, I knew there was only one thing to do.

"There you are," the god called.

There was still too much destruction to see him clearly, but I couldn't miss the stormy eyes or the lightning in his grasp.

I could try to think my prayer like I had for Apollo and Poseidon, but with everything going on, and Zeus right in front of me, I wasn’t sure it would be heard.

The lightning hit right where I'd stood second later as I jumped.

“Bless Hera, queen of the heavens!” I screamed desperately, throwing myself at the statue, speaking as fast as I dared. “I humbly beg for your assistance. Because your husband is a fucking dick !”

Maybe this was how I was going to die. Talking shit about Zeus. And if I didn’t suspect my demise could also kill Lucian, I’d say there were worse ways to go.

I didn’t want to go at all. I wanted to live. Desperately .

The god pulled back another bolt, throwing it, not directly at me, but at the statue I was racing to.

I could see his purpose right away. Yes, I’d managed to dance around his blows so far, but avoiding the dozens of huge stones composing a fifteen-foot-tall statue? That wasn’t warfare. That was impossible.

Fuck.

I only had time to roll and fling a shield on top of me, hoping for the best, all while knowing that Zeus would destroy the puny shield like it was made of sandpaper.

I braced for the multiple impacts, wondering how much agony I’d feel in the end.

Hoping against all hope that Lucian wouldn’t follow me into death.

And then time stopped.

No, that wasn’t right. I could still hear the scream, feel the magic all around us.

I hadn’t even realized I’d closed my eyes, but when I made myself open them, I saw the stones halted in their tracks, on top of me.

It made no sense whatsoever. Until the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen appeared, draped in purple and gold, her dark tresses thrown over one shoulder.

She offered me her hand.

Stunned, robbed of speech, I could only take it.

Hera .

Hera had come for me. She’d saved me. After I insulted her husband.

I should kneel. I should thank her. But I couldn’t do either, I just stared, feeling tears against my skin.

“It has been some time,” she told me in an old tongue I shouldn’t know.

“ Frigga ,” I said, hailing her by the name I used to call her.

She smiled back. “Freya.”

The moment my hand touched hers, I was practically revived, all pain and fatigue fading.

“Too long since you’ve been this awake. I’ve missed you, friend.”

I didn’t know how to tell her that I was Kleos Valesco, not her old friend. I could remember a life where this woman had been laughing and dancing and sharing secret with me, and yet, this felt like a far away dream more than a memory. “I’m not?—”

She pressed her hand to my cheek. “My own Ares faded, and do you know what I see when I look at the man who replaced him? My son. His energy accepted him. And you have been chosen by Freya for a reason.”

Her smile was so kind I could almost cry.

And then she turned to Zeus. “Husband.”

He took a step back.

“You lied.”

“I didn’t. This town, it’s full of dangerous souls, half awake. You wouldn’t believe who’s stirring. It needs to be destroyed.”

“You lied,” she repeated, steady and commanding.

“You led me to believe we were neutralizing a threat. Instead I see you wanted to raze the walls to regain access to Earth. And its many mortal females you could abduct for your entertainment, no doubt. As well as destroy what’s left of my friend. One I’ve loved as a sister.”

Hera—Frigga—didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t need to.

“You don’t understand?—”

“I understand you perfectly, husband. And it ends now.”

To my confusion, I watched her draw a knife, not to threaten her husband, but to bring it to her own wrist.

She wouldn’t hurt herself. I gasped, pressing my hands to hers unbidden in order to heal her.

“Not yet, Kleos, new Freya. You need to drink it first.”

I blinked. “Drink?”

“You’ve slept for long enough. You must awaken who you are meant to be.”

Gently, the goddess pressed her wrist to my lips.

I was definitely not a vampire fan, and had zero blood fetish, but when my tongue first came into contact with the gold substance, it didn’t taste like iron and salt.

It was honey and mead and the headiest wine.

The ichor in her veins, offered freely, was better than the most exquisite ambrosia.

“That’s it, sister. Rise.”

I detached myself from the bleeding wrist, healing it with half a thought.

And as she’d suggested, I stood up to full height, feeling not only revitalized but renewed. Like the matter composing my cells had completely been rewritten.

Zeus took one step back, then another.

The next moment, he was gone with a flash of lightning through the sky.