Neon Gods (Dark Olympus #1) - Katee Robert Page 0,116

Hermes.”

“She contracted my services.” Hermes twists to look at me as Dionysus pulls back onto the right side of the street and heads north. “Even if she hadn’t, I still would have helped.” She taps her fingers on the armrest of her seat, not able to be still even for a moment. “I like her. I like you when you’re with her.”

“I’m not with her right now.”

Dionysus shrugs, his eyes on the road. “Relationships are complicated. You love her. She obviously loves you, or she wouldn’t be riding off to save you from Zeus and the rest of the Thirteen. You’ll figure it out.”

“I don’t know what I’ll do if something happens to her because of this.” I’ll never forgive myself for not protecting her like I promised.

“Something was already happening to her before you met her, Hades. She was fleeing Zeus when she stumbled into your comforting arms. That has nothing to do with you.” Hermes laughs a little. “Well, it didn’t used to have anything to do with you, but if there’s anyone Zeus hates more than you, it’s your father. He’ll do whatever he can to annihilate the Hades position. Just grind it to dust with the force of his fury and damaged pride.”

There was a time when the vendetta Zeus nurtures made me tired. I want revenge for the deaths of my parents, yes, but hating him for making me an orphan makes sense. His hatred for me does not. Fuck, his hatred for my parents doesn’t, either. “He should have let it go.”

“Yes.” Tap, tap, tap go her fingers. “But he’s got it all wrapped up in his head that a son for a son for a son makes sense, so here we are.”

I frown. “What are you talking about?”

“What am I ever talking about?” Hermes waves that away. “He won’t stop, you know. Even if you manage to negotiate your way out of this mess, he’ll be there with a knife aimed at your back for as long as that evil old heart of his keeps ticking.”

I want to press her on the son-for-a-son bit. Zeus has four children, two sons and two daughters—that are officially acknowledged, at least—that range from my age to their early twenties. Perseus will take the Zeus title when his father dies. He’s just as bad as his father, driven by power and ambition and ready to crush anyone who gets in his way. By all accounts, Zeus’s other son was a better kind of man. He fought his father and lost, and he fought his way out of Olympus and never looked back. “Is Hercules dead?”

“What? No. Of course not. By all accounts, he’s very happy right now.” Hermes doesn’t look at me. “Don’t worry about riddles, Hades. Worry about what today will bring.”

That’s the problem. I don’t know what today will bring. I stare out the window, watching the Cypress Bridge appear. Crossing it feels like entering another world, at least in my head. I can count how many times I’ve entered the upper city on one hand and still have four fingers left over. Before last night, the last time was when I officially took the title Hades. I stood in that cold room, Andreas at my back while I faced down the rest of the Thirteen. They were whole then, Zeus’s first wife still alive.

I was only a child and they handed me a role I had no choice but to grow into.

Now they have to reckon with the monster they created.

I don’t speak again until Dionysus pulls up to the curb on a block full of skyscrapers. Even with all the wealth pouring out of the buildings around us, there’s no mistaking which one belongs to Zeus. It’s taller than the rest by a significant amount, and while beautiful, it’s cold and soulless. Fitting.

I pause with my hand on the door. “This feels like walking onto a battlefield I won’t survive.”

“Mmm.” Hermes clears her throat. “Funny story, that. I have a message for you.”

“Now? Why didn’t you give it to me the second you saw me?”

Hermes rolls her eyes. “Because, Hades, you needed a ride. Priorities, my friend.” Before I can work up an answer to that, she gives herself a shake and Demeter’s voice emerges. “You have the support of myself, Hermes, Dionysus, Athena…and Poseidon.” She leans over and presses a gun into my hand. “Do what you have to do.”

Shock freezes me in place. I can barely draw a breath. “She just