It was a simple comment, but it spoke volumes about how Hephaestus viewed himself—unworthy of happiness, of favor, of love.
Hades sighed. In truth, it was not his place to get involved in Hephaestus and Aphrodite’s relationship. He had enough to worry about as it was with the Fates, Sisyphus, and Persephone.
“Thank you, Hephaestus,” Hades said, lifting the box. “For your time.”
He teleported from the cavernous lab, appearing in the sky over the ocean, and let himself fall through billowing clouds. Hades landed on Earth, on the island of Atlantis. The impact shook the ground and marred the marble at his feet. Around him, Poseidon’s people—mortals who called themselves Atlanteans—screamed. It took seconds for his brother to appear, bare chested and wearing a pteruges, a decorative skirt made of leather strips. Gold cuffed his forearms, his wavy and blond hair was crowned with gold spears, and two large spiral markahor horns jutted from the top of his head.
The God of the Sea looked like he was prepared for battle, which was fair. Hades only ever visited when he had a score to settle, and this time was no different.
“Brother.” Poseidon offered a curt nod.
“Poseidon,” Hades said.
There was a moment of tense silence before Hades asked, “Where is Sisyphus?”
Poseidon smirked. “Not one for pleasantries, are you, Hades?”
Hades tilted his head to the side, and as he did, a great marble statue of Poseidon cracked and split. As the pieces crashed to the ground, more of Poseidon’s cult, who had stopped to stare, ran for cover, screaming.
“Stop destroying my island!” Poseidon commanded.
“Where is Sisyphus?” Hades demanded again.
His brother’s eyes narrowed, and he chuckled. “What did he do? Tell me it was good.”
Hades’ anger was acute, and for the first time since he had asked Hephaestus for a weapon to contain Poseidon’s fury, he realized it was just as much meant for him as it was his brother. Tired of wasting time, Hades tossed the box at Poseidon’s feet. In the next second, the God of the Sea found himself ensnared in chains. For a few seconds, Poseidon blinked in shock at the metal around his wrists. He pulled at them, trying to snap them with his strength, muscles bulging, veins popping, but no matter how hard he tried, they remained.
“What the fuck, Hades?” he snarled.
“Tell me where Sisyphus is hiding!” Hades’ voice was brutal and rough.
“I don’t know where your fucking mortal is,” Poseidon spat. “Release me!”
Hades could sense Poseidon’s power rising with his rage. The sea around the island churned violently, lapping at the edges of the landmass. Hades only hoped he could get the answers he was looking for before his brother’s violence was unleashed. Poseidon would not grieve the loss of his people if it meant revenge against him.
“Careful, brother. Your rage may add worshippers to my realm.”
It was the one thing he could say that would at least give Poseidon pause.
The god glared, his chest rising and falling with his anger, but Hades felt his magic ebb. Given his frustration, Hades had forgotten that the chains drew truth from their captor, which meant that Poseidon truly did not know where Sisyphus was.
He needed to ask a different question.
“How do you know Sisyphus de Ephyra?” Hades asked.
Poseidon roared, clearly trying to fight the words the magic pulled from his throat. “He saved my granddaughter from Zeus.”
Ah. Now they were getting somewhere.
“And did you reward him?”
“Yes,” Poseidon hissed.
“Did you grant him favor?”
“No.”
“What did you grant him?”
“A spindle.”
A spindle—a relic—just as Hades suspected. It explained how Sisyphus had been able to steal lives from another mortal.
“You gave a mortal a fucking spindle?” Hades snarled. “Why?”
For the first time since Hades had begun interrogating Poseidon, he seemed to speak with ease as he said, “To fuck with you, Hades. Why else?”
It was a petty reason, but a very Poseidon reason, nonetheless.
“I tell you what, though. I’ll make a deal with you,” Poseidon said. “A bargain, as you call it.”
“Those are brave words coming from someone who has no power to fight the magic holding them captive,” Hades observed.
“I’ll help you find Sisyphus. Hell, I’ll lure him here myself. If…”
Hades waited, hating how slow Poseidon spoke, how much time he wasted.
“If you release my monsters from Tartarus.”
“No.”
Hades’ did not even need to think. He would not relinquish any of the creatures who lived in the depths of Tartarus. They did not have a place in the modern world and definitely did not have a place in Poseidon’s