the Eye, still not daring to touch it. But this surprised me, as I would have thought it was the first thing she would have done. Especially given all the trouble she went to in getting it in the first place.
Unless of course, it was forbidden?
If not, then what was she waiting for…or should I say, who?
“So, you think she did all this just so she could get revenge on whoever it was that killed her sister?” I asked Nero, who was looking at the other two sisters, a pair who were still high up on their perch. It was obvious that they had not received the same deal their sister had, making me wonder if they had even been in her thoughts when making this bargain.
“Honestly, but who knows what the bitch is thinking, but one thing’s for sure, she's definitely not working alone,” Nero said with a shake of her head.
“What makes you say that?” I asked because I was curious to find out how much she knew.
“Harpies don't do magic and that summoning Hex you have on your back is the work of a witch, and a powerful one at that.” Nero nodded to emphasise her words. Of course, I knew this already, Especially, after what the Harpy Queen had said to me down in the temple. Her Master wanted me, and it wasn’t a stretch to assume this Master was Lucius’ brother and the witch that had been behind the scenes making this all happen was just another one of his lackies.
“Tell me more about the Queen,” I said after a moment of silence stretched between us.
“The Queen is called Celaeno, and being the older sister she was also the one who led the other three to ruin and got them kicked out of Heaven as well as far from Zeusy boy’s good graces as she could get…but don’t quote me on the details because they are sketchy. But this is the reason I'm not exactly surprised that she was the only one to be granted beauty in this bargain…As I don't think she's going to win any sister of the year awards, do you?” I had to agree on that one.
After this Nero went on to tell me about the other two, who were the twins, Aello and Ocypete. Nero also said that supposedly they were born with their wings entwined with one another and that was also how they arrived in Hell, landing together as one. She also went on to speak of their skills in the air and how their speed could not be matched. Although, it also had to be said that intelligence was not their strong point, hence being lackeys overshadowed by their sister.
I then asked about the sister that had been killed, again trying to discover what she knew and if the ‘gossip’ hymn sheet she was singing from mentioned a certain someone. She told me her name had been Podarge, a Harpy, who had been quicker on her feet than in flight.
But then Nero surprised me when I asked who it was that had killed her.
“That's the odd thing, no one knows her name but the only thing that is confirmed is that whoever killed their sister, unbelievably, was mortal.” Nero took a glance at my worried face and grinned a little before nudging me on my shoulder and telling me,
“Oh, don't worry. After all, they should know it was well before your time.” I gave her what I knew was a strained smile in return before evading her concerned gaze. Because she didn't know what I knew. She didn't know who that mortal was…but I did.
Which meant that if I did, it also meant that the Harpy Queen did too. That was why she told me back in that Temple that she had been waiting a long time for this.
She had meant her revenge.
Well, as if shit couldn’t get any more convoluted. Meaning this little escape plan of mine just got a whole lot more complicated. Because this was no longer a snatch and grab type of gig for these winged bitches. They hadn't kidnapped me solely to hand me over to their master.
No this was all about a bargain made. It was all about their revenge for a sister’s death.
A sister who was killed by…
My mother.
Chapter Fifteen
The Master Arrives
This conversation ended abruptly, and this wasn't just down to the secrets I was keeping. Of course, it wasn’t ever confirmed that the death of this Harpy was indeed