The Call of Monsters (My Beautiful Monsters #3) - J.B. Trepagnier Page 0,52

and I was going to kill that fucker.

“Hades, do it. I’ve already forgiven them. They were just following orders. Artemis may care about them now, but you know how she feels about deserters and giving up. They were only doing what they were told, and some of them really didn’t know. Before my mother drugged me, it was only ever the same women over and over, and they couldn’t leave the temple. I know some of them should have spoken up, but what do you think Demeter would have done to them if they mutinied and couldn’t get to Artemis?” Persephone said.

“Oh, fine. But only because you asked, and I get why she was needed. Hephaestus, I wish you had kept up with your bow instead of building traps and snares.”

“You haven’t either,” Hephaestus pointed out.

I could hear Hades grumble through the phone. I think I knew what all his little grunts meant by now, and that was his I’m irritated, but I know you’re right growl.

“Who all have you allied with?”

“There’s an entire fucking resistance here,” Tryphon said.

“Dionysus is the leader,” Kimon said.

“And don’t forget fucking Hera,” Demos said.

Out of all of us, Demos was the least impressed with her and thought she was lying. I don’t think any of us blamed him. We all had things in our lives that destroyed our tiny trust, and he was a lot older than I was. Demos had said nothing to her face, and I think, for that, we were all grateful.

“What the fuck do you mean, it involves Hera?” Hades demanded.

“She wants to leave Olympus. She’s tired of being a queen. She wants to live on Earth like Aphrodite does and start her own business,” I said.

Hades just grunted. I heard Persephone again.

“You’ve wanted the same thing sometimes, love.”

I’ll bet he did. Probably when Demeter was invading his territory. But I could also see where running a kingdom could be tiring. I think that was why I believed her. I didn’t run an empire by a longshot, but I ran a business, and sometimes, it was tempting to close it and not be the boss anymore.

“Fine. Artemis will get her soldiers back after she kills Zeus and this is over. Who the fuck blackmails me when Zeus’s death is involved?”

Good question. Artemis.

“Hello, Hades,” I heard Hermes say. “You must visit when this is all over.”

I’d only just met him, but I fucking adored Hermes. He was so sweet, and he just looked so innocent and adorable. I could see why everyone spilled their secrets around him. I kept that in mind when we were all talking because I didn’t want him to share mine.

“Hermes? How are things?”

“Great. Are you planning on visiting when this is all over?”

They were back to that. They were still worried Hades was going to take over and try to run two realms. I honestly didn’t think he wanted to. He had his hands full with the Underworld.

“Maybe just for a visit, but I have no intention of living there again. I’ve been thinking about what we are doing in Olympus. I might want to do the same in the Underworld. You know, open up the gates and let new people in. This place used to be bustling until the Titans committed genocide. It’s not horrible here unless you are in Tartarus. There are lovely places in the Underworld if you know where to go. I’ve lived here for so long, Olympus is no longer my home. I’d be willing to open trade like I did with Hell for things that can better both realms.”

Hopefully, that settled their minds that Hades wasn’t going to show up with an army of monsters and try to insert himself as king. Olympus was a beautiful place to look at, and the weather was near perfect, but a lot of it was just so ostentatious. Solid gold roads were just so gaudy, and it looked like they were in the process of being repaired with more gold instead of something more practical.

Elysian Fields in the Underworld was just as pretty, but everything was functional and built to last. I could tell many of the roads there were ancient and well-traveled but had stood up to time. They were made from some sort of stone native to the Underworld. I got why Hades wanted to stay in the Underworld. Things were relatively normal there now that Demeter was gone. Olympus was going to have to make some significant changes once they