Worth It - Lisa Oliver Page 0,49

willingly leave their mate – not like I left him. Shit. He is half god, maybe he did.

“You’re becoming a laughing stock.”

Upon hearing the snide voice of his sister Hera, Zeus thumped his fist on the desk. The last thing he needed was Hera and Demeter appearing in his office like they had a right to be there.

“You’re pining over a mortal like a two-year old whose lost his toy.”

“Get out.” Zeus didn’t give a shit about his reputation. He’d gladly trade his position, his immortality, and shit, even his life itself, if he could get Paulie back.

“We’re not going anywhere until you hear us out,” Demeter said angrily. “Hera’s right. You look like shit, you’re acting like a fool, and over what? Someone you wanted to fuck? Big deal. Get over it. Your behavior is making the rest of us look bad.”

“Someone I wanted to fuck? Is that what you think this is?” Zeus slowly got to his feet, his anger building like a storm across the sea. “You think I’m pining over nothing – a nobody?”

“What else could a mortal be to a god?” Hera snapped. “This has to stop. Gods from other pantheons are starting to talk. They claim you’ve lost your mind. They’re saying you’ve spent too long on Olympus and have lost track of humanity. They claim you’re going insane.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you, sister dear.” Zeus’s laugh had no humor in it. “I bet you’re lapping up every scrap of negative gossip about me you can find and hugging it to your bosom. I’ll guarantee you’ve already laid the groundwork for a planned meeting of the Olympians. You’ll have picked out what outfit you’d wear and rehearsed your suitably upset expression, wailing about your concern for me as your dear brother as you plead your case to become both matriarch and patriarch of the great Greek pantheon.”

“We still have responsibilities, even if you choose to shirk them in this unbecoming manner.” Hera’s frosty tone was nothing new.

“I wonder how many centuries it’s been since you walked among mortals, either of you.” Zeus curled his lip. “Have you celebrated the advances mortal women have made without your guidance, Hera? And what about you Demeter? Have you even noticed that man doesn’t toil the fields by hand anymore, but has huge machines that can do the work of a hundred men in a day? Have either of you witnessed the plight of the homeless and starving in countries that haven’t seen a decent harvest in decades, or have you decreed that the sufferings of mortals are their own design?”

“We’re forbidden to interfere in the affairs of mortals,” Demeter sneered. “Why should we care when they stopped believing in us centuries ago?”

“Because without that caring, your own sanity comes into question,” Zeus warned. “Mortals might be fragile and short-lived, but they pack more living into their limited time span, than you’ve seen since life begun. The things they have done, the places they go, the mind-boggling complexity of…”

“We did not come here to be attacked, Zeus, nor do we need or want to listen to yet another lecture about the wonderful life of a mortal,” Hera interrupted crossly. “We came, as two of your closest sisters, to insist you stop this senseless raging over a person who has no consequence. You’re embarrassing yourself, and us, and we will not stand for it.”

“Instead of seeking a nobody, you should be doing your job,” Demeter added. “My poor Persephone…”

“For fuck’s sake woman.” Zeus didn’t need to hear anymore. “Is there any part of your life that doesn’t involve your stuck-up daughter? Are you so bored with your own existence, you have to keep clinging to Persephone as though she was still a child? Hades and Persephone were never a couple. She was queen only on my say-so because I thought the position would help her soften her mood towards our brother. It didn’t. Now, Hades has been gifted a fated mate. He does not want your daughter, he doesn’t need your daughter, and I will not be interceding with Hades on behalf of your daughter because that would amount to interfering with a mating which goes against our most basic laws. And for the record, I happen to like Ali, Hades’ consort. So, shut up about your daughter and work on getting your own life.”

“See,” Demeter turned to Hera, “I told you. It must be insanity…”

“Is it insane to be happy for Hades?” They were just wasting his time;