The Iron Queen (Daughters of Zeus) - By Kaitlin Bevis Page 0,67

it must feel to have made such a powerful enemy. Persephone was kind of a big deal now. Since Triton had sworn to Zeus, and he had sworn to Persephone, she had access to every realm in creation, and the power to pretty much blow up every god in this room.

“Aphrodite!” To my surprise, Persephone pulled me into a hug. She drew back, locking gazes with me, and what I saw there brought tears to my eyes. Persephone understood.

We’d both been manipulated and abused by Zeus, and we’d both fought to overcome him in the end. Sure, her success had been more dramatic, but I’d played a part. And that was a pretty big deal for someone who’d been programmed to be loyal to Zeus.

“This is yours.” She pushed my power back into me, and I held up a hand before she broke the bond of fealty.

“Don’t. Mine wasn’t conditional. After everything I did to you, it’s the least I can do for you.”

She looked surprised but didn’t argue. “If you ever change your mind—”

“I won’t.” Zeus may be dead, but I still had to obey everyone in his bloodline who outranked me. That left only Persephone. I wanted my loyalty and my obedience to be my choice, not something forced upon me.

She nodded, then moved on to the rest of the gods, restoring power and breaking fealty bonds, not pausing until she came to Poseidon. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, almost too low for me to hear. “He was incredible. It isn’t right that he—” Tears overwhelmed her voice.

Poseidon clutched her hands in his, looking devastated. “Thank you for being there for him.” His voice was gruff. “For making his last memories better than what Zeus left him with.” He cleared his throat. “Can you restore his soul?”

She nodded. “Not enough to bring him back to life, but I should be able to put him back together. He’ll be able to dreamwalk, so you’ll see him again.”

Well, that was enough reunion crap for me. I reached down and grabbed my purse, reaching for my sunglasses and car keys.

“Where are you going?” Melissa asked.

“Are you kidding? I’m out of here. I was thinking of heading back to Florida. What can I say? I miss the beach.” I looked at Melissa for a minute, knowing the answer before I asked and hating it. “Want to come? I could charm your teachers for you.”

Melissa shook her head. “I’m staying here, but maybe I’ll visit over spring break.”

“Suit yourself.” I slid on my sunglasses.

“I think you’re forgetting something,” Melissa said.

“Hmm?”

She reached out and snatched the keys from my hands. “Those are my car keys.”

“Need a ride?” Ares asked, flashing me a grin.

I glanced between him, Adonis, and Hephaestus, all suddenly holding car keys.

Choices, choices. I took a moment to relish the freedom to make my own decisions. A grin broke out on my face. Choices were fun and all, but why pick one when you can have all three?

“Road trip?” I suggested.

Chapter XLIX

Hades

She’d woken up screaming again.

But it hadn’t taken long for her to return to sleep. I leaned against the headboard, one hand rhythmically stroking her hair. Power flowed through my fingertips, keeping her nightmares at bay.

I could deal with nightmares. And really, after everything she’d been through, if sleepless nights were the only noticeable change, we were lucky. She had her moments during the day—if something reminded her of her mother, or whenever she saw Triton in a crowd of souls—but for the most part she was coping well. She was stronger than I’d ever given her credit for. I could handle emotional breakdowns.

What I couldn’t handle, what set my heart beating in rage, was the fear in her eyes when she woke from her nightmares and saw me. The second when she wasn’t sure whether I was myself, or Zeus in disguise.

But I’d discovered a nice outlet for my anger. When I was certain she wouldn’t wake again, I shifted the covers to the side, climbed out of bed, and teleported to the deepest, darkest dimension of Tartarus.

A white room with a single metal chair.

“Back again?” Zeus sounded amused. He looked comfortable, no small accomplishment given that he was strapped to the chair and only half-healed from the Prometheus treatment. I didn’t always keep him in here of course. There was an entire realm full of all the tortures Zeus had inflicted on us over the millennia.

I summoned all the equipment I’d need. Knives today. Perhaps a table. I’d wanted