She clasped her hands in front of her heart and tried to look like she belonged here. She didn’t know how to fit in though, when her robes were just a simple mortal cream silk. Her himation had golden threads, but it wasn’t anything that could stand up to the clothing of the gods.
Clouds swirled at the base of the intricately twisted arches. And it looked like she was about to step into the sky.
Her mother let out a soft sigh beside her. “Kore, close your mouth. You’re a goddess, remember? Not some mortal child who never knew this existed.”
Anger burned at her mother’s words. She wanted to retort that she’d been kept as a mortal her entire life. She was little more than a glorified nymph, thanks to her mother’s overprotective nature. And what nymph ever went to Olympus?
As they stepped through the gates, she had the entire argument in her head. Kore would have told her mother that she should have come here a long time ago. She should have seen the golden gates, and she should know what her mother’s palace looked like.
She should have met Apollo by now! Maybe they would have fallen wickedly in love and the nymphs wouldn’t giggle when they heard she hadn’t been kissed yet. Centuries old and not even a stolen kiss from a mortal boy?
The gates opened soundlessly. Demeter lifted her foot and Kore mimicked her movement. A tugging sensation hurtled her forward and then they weren’t standing before gates at all. They were transported onto the top of a mountain where only clouds could be seen for miles.
Kore rubbed her eyes. A pavilion appeared with golden tables filled with more food than she’d ever seen in one room. Bowls of nectar overflowed, dripping gold rivers onto the floor. Slices of glistening yellow ambrosia laid next to the bowls, the chosen food of the Olympians that only added to their immortality.
Gods wandered about with gold goblets in their hands and their best uniforms on their bodies. And they were all stunning.
Demeter straightened her own simple peplos and heaved another drawn-out sigh. “I have business with Hera. Do you remember the rules?”
Of course she did. Her mother had beat them into her head a hundred times before they got here. She couldn’t forget them if she tried. Kore nodded firmly. “Yes, Mother.”
“Don’t talk to anyone without me.” Demeter pointed at her. “And find Artemis immediately. She’ll make sure you’re kept out of trouble.”
“I won’t get in trouble, Mother. I promise.”
Demeter looked her up and down with an unimpressed look on her face. “Somehow I doubt that. Kore, this is your one chance to prove to me you’re old enough to be here. If you fail to adhere to any of the rules, you will never return to Olympus again. Do I make that clear?”
Kore felt all the blood draining from her face. She wanted to come back here already. She never wanted to leave.
Swallowing her fear, she replied, “Yes, Mother.”
Her mother strode through the crowd with her golden head held high, her beautiful shoulders straight and proud. If only Kore could walk with the same confidence as Demeter. She was a goddess the mortals worshiped every single day. The other gods should bow before her.
In contrast, Kore felt like the dirty little girl who still tugged at her mother’s skirts.
Suddenly alone among the most powerful gods and goddesses, she realized just how grubby she was. Kore tugged at her peplos again, drew her himation close to her shoulders, and wondered what she was supposed to do now.
The white columns of Zeus’s palace looked too clean and glistened in the light. She couldn’t lean on one or she’d end up leaving a dirt stain. And she certainly couldn’t walk over to the tables and get a glass of nectar. Her mother would kill her if she drank something that strong. The clouds spreading out around her suddenly reflected the sun too brightly in her eyes. The black marble floors turned into a mirror that showed just how little she belonged there.
Breathing heavily, she didn’t even notice someone was approaching her until a hand landed on her shoulder.
Spinning around with a gasp, she pressed a hand against her heart when she recognized who it was. “Artemis! You scared me.”
The goddess of the hunt was one of the most lovely women she’d ever met. And that included the goddesses standing behind her. But perhaps that was because while they were glorious