such thing as a simple rescue mission when it comes to stealing Hades’s wife away from him? Even if it were true and Persephone didn’t want to be there, do you think it would be so simple if all the mission was meant to be was getting her back home?
“Artemis trains her handmaidens in stealth and the long game. She knows they are capable, and she trusts them. Not many people knew Demeter was in the Underworld, including me. We all knew she was gone, but we thought she had pestered Zeus to let her go to Earth for something. It would have been time for her to bring Persephone back, but we thought they were on Earth.
“We didn’t know the truth until we all felt Demeter’s life force go out. Artemis was angry and went to speak with her twin. She tried to reach out to her handmaidens after that and couldn’t contact them. She wanted Apollo’s help to get revenge against Hades. Hermes and Eros, remember? They know everything, but they didn’t know about this.
“They did, however, know Persephone was quite happy in the Underworld, and it was coming back here that she hated so much. It took some convincing, but Artemis now knows she sent her handmaidens into a dangerous situation, and she feels horrible about it. She’s furious at Demeter for lying. She feels the loss of her handmaidens strongly, and I don’t think she would risk them again to help us,” Dionysus said.
Maybe they misunderstood me.
“I wasn’t asking for her handmaidens. I was asking for Artemis to pick up her bow and help us,” I said.
“How about you let me talk to Artemis?” Pavlina said. “I’m not just here to stop that weapon from falling into Zeus’s hand and help you build a new society. Poseidon raped me, and Athena punished me for it rather than him. If she’s all about female empowerment to the point she would risk her handmaiden’s lives to steal someone’s wife, then she should be willing to help me get my revenge and stop Zeus and Poseidon from hurting any more women.”
“That’s solid logic,” Hera said. “Artemis doesn’t fight battles unless she knows she can win, or they have hurt a woman. Speaking to Pavlina directly might get her involved.”
“Can Pavlina do this without pissing her off?” Demos asked.
Pavlina glared at him.
“We want her pissed off, jackass.”
“Does he do this often?” Hera asked. “A pissed off Artemis is usually the most effective.”
“Good. It’s settled. Why don’t you relax and enjoy my home? I need to move pieces around to bring this plan into action,” Dionysus said.
This totally wasn’t how I expected storming Olympus would go, but I would take it.
Chapter 20
Pavlina
T
hings were moving rapidly, and I honestly didn’t think we would have so many Olympians on our side. I knew what Hades wanted, and I would have tried to do it, but I think every last one of us thought we were going to get here and have to kill every last Olympian. As much as I thought I hated them, I wasn’t looking forward to that. Sure, I might have thought they deserved it before I got here, but I didn’t relish wiping out an entire race. None of us did, no matter what they had done to us.
We’d met Apollo and Hermes. I didn’t have any beef with them, and they ended up being nice. Hermes had to be the cutest thing I’d ever seen in my entire life. He wasn’t huge like the other Olympians and probably gayer than I was. I wanted to adopt him and bring him back to the Underworld. I knew that wasn’t possible, so I would help kill Zeus so he could be with Eros.
The big plan was to have Artemis take out Zeus with an arrow once the secret passage opened a bit, then we would spill in and take everyone out. Apparently, every last one of them was skilled with a bow but out of practice since bringing humans here. Artemis kept up her training and frequently went on hunts with her handmaidens.
I agreed she should be the one to take the shot, but her involvement entirely depended on me convincing her. Apparently, her twin had already tried to get her to join them, and she thought the entire thing was a lost cause because neither side had any way to end the conflict. Even with Hephaestus’s weapon in play, I guess she was playing it smart by not picking