The Iron Queen (Daughters of Zeus) - By Kaitlin Bevis Page 0,15

charmed.” Her gray eyes bored into mine. “You want so badly for me to be a victim. Did you ever stop and wonder if maybe I just don’t love you?”

I ignored her use of the present tense. “At the time it was easier to assume you weren’t an opportunistic bitch,” I replied calmly. “I’m not here about you. I’m trying to find her, and you haven’t answered my question.”

“Do you love her?” Jealousy flamed to life in Hera’s eyes.

“Exclusively. You still haven’t answered me. Where would Zeus keep her?”

She kept her gaze locked with mine as though she were trying to unnerve me with her proximity. “What makes you think I would know?”

I took a measured breath. What I wanted to do was threaten to throw her into Tartarus until she remembered how to answer questions. But Hera fed on anger like most people breathe air. If I snapped, she’d be in control. Hera had controlled enough of my life.

“You were many things, Hera, but oblivious was never one of them.”

Hera’s gaze went hard. “Zeus and I didn’t exactly have pillow talks. If you’ll recall, he sucked the life from me and threw me down a mountain the moment I outlived my usefulness.”

“What I recall is you bringing down the mountain with you and single handedly ending the era of Olympus.”

Hera’s eyebrows rose and her lips pursed into an “O” shape.

“What?” I asked. “You thought it escaped my notice that Olympus’ fall coincided with your demise? I was around when you created this abomination. I remembered some of your…unusual design flaws. You’re the one who did all the marketing, too. When the mortals saw Olympus fall, they thought it meant the gods had died. So the gods did.”

“You’ve always paid entirely too much attention to me.”

“And you always sucked at answering questions. Where would Zeus keep my wife, Hera?”

“To keep her from you?” Hera smiled. “As far out of your reach as possible. Beyond that, I haven’t the faintest idea.”

I clenched my teeth to keep from cursing.

“But I know of someone who’s always kept excellent tabs on him.”

“And who’s that?”

“My firstborn.”

Athena. Demeter would know where to find her. I rose from the couch to go, then paused. As much as I hated to ask Hera any more questions, she was the only god I knew of who would know the answer.

“After you married, were there ever times you couldn’t sense him?”

Hera frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Marriage, it’s unbreakable, right? He couldn’t—”

She laughed. “Come now, Hades, you know the answer to that. Nothing is unbreakable.” I waited through Hera’s dramatic pause. “You can always kill her.”

I rolled my eyes. “I meant from an outside source. Zeus hit her with lightning and it knocked me out. I haven’t heard her since.”

“Knocked you out?”

I waved away her surprise. “Yeah, I know. I always thought sympathy bonds were a myth, but apparently they come with equilibrium.”

“Equilibrium?” Hera didn’t seem amused anymore. “With that infant?” She paused as if giving me time to object to her description. I refused to rise to the bait. Fluttering her eyelashes with a dramatic sigh, Hera responded, “Not possible. You’d know right away if you could feel everything she was feeling.”

“Maybe we can only feel extremes. He hit her with lightning, Hera.”

She fell silent, digesting this. “She’s still a baby, isn’t she? I suppose it’s possible he could have killed her.”

I shook my head, unwilling to consider the possibility. “He still needs her. Besides, if she were dead she’d be down here.”

“Doesn’t she have Thanatos’ power?” Hera asked, referring to the god of death Persephone had recently charmed to death. “If she swears fealty to Zeus, he could keep hold of her soul. He wants you to waste your time looking for her. What makes you think he doesn’t already have what he wants? Really, Hades, she’s a child. How long do you expect her to stand up to Zeus’ torture? Look on the bright side, this way Zeus can’t use her to kill you.”

“To kill me?” I barked an incredulous laugh. “That’s not going to happen.”

Hera’s face turned puzzled then crafty. “You don’t know.”

“Of course I know.” As if I would have married Persephone without knowing all the risks.

“She’s a part of you, Hades, and you’re a part of her. You exchanged power to get married.” Hera ran her tongue over her top teeth. “She could kill you, but it doesn’t matter. If you can’t sense her, she’s dead. And if by some miracle she’s not, you should