Heart (20 page)

I didn’t tell him that the god-killer might
not be enough or that saving Ava would only add to our problems.
The Fates would snip our strings before we ever stepped foot onto
their property and my mother might not have any idea where the
sword disappeared to.

I kept all of those thoughts to myself and
hugged him tightly. “Okay. Figure out where the Fates are and try
not to get killed. Sounds like dinner will be exciting
tonight.”

“With you, Red, it always is.”

Chapter Sixteen

The feast was everything Hermes promised it
would be. Ryder and I had spent the afternoon in our room, devising
plans and making a mental list of priorities. We needed to kill
Nix, but first we needed the god-killer and in order to get that,
we needed to find my mom. So, priority number one was finding
someone that would spill about the Fates.

I should have asked Delphi before we left
her; but honestly, I hadn’t thought I would need it until now.
Which might have been stupid, but meeting Nix face to face again
had never been part of my life plan.

If we had it though… if we could find it…
then maybe ending Nix wouldn’t be the most impossible thing asked
of man, woman or god.

Hermes came to collect us once the sun
started to set. He’d made sure we were dressed and ready and then
one-touched us into the temple. When I opened my mouth to question
him, he’d shrugged one shoulder and said, “You’re going to eat
supper with him. What would be the point in skulking around
now?”

He had a point.

We’d popped into the temple to find tables
covered in the richest foods and finest delicacies. Gods and
goddesses lounged around on individual couches. Each place had a
three-legged table sitting in front of it heavy with food.

The collected gods and goddesses shouted
across the room at each other while gorging on food and drink.
Pitchers of wine were passed around, sloshing onto the floor and
their consumers, but they never stopped moving around the room. And
I never saw them go empty.

It was shocking to see these people behave
like this. They had always been so poised when I saw them before,
so classy and refined.

Here they acted like animals. Their raucous
laughter was nearly deafening and their lips were tinged purple
from the wine.

I immediately wanted to run back to Hermes’
palace. This felt depraved and immoral and nothing unseemly had
happened yet.

The noise stopped as soon as they noticed
Ryder and me standing in the center of the entryway. We shifted
awkwardly, not really knowing what our role was here.

Sometimes I was called a goddess and
sometimes I was called a child. Ryder had never been called a god
and even if his mother was Calliope, she wasn’t a goddess
anyway.

These were the pillars of the Greek Pantheon.
I could see Aphrodite laughing with Athena. Hades and Ares were
there, but they were engaged with Demeter, goddess of agriculture,
and Artemis, goddess of the hunt.

There weren’t just gods and goddesses at the
feast either. Muses, nymphs and demigods were in attendance. The
entire gamut of Greek mythology crowded together in this one place.
I had been nervous before, but now I was also sickened. I felt
their depravity like a palpable charge on my skin. This was evil
incarnate.

This was the bowels of hell thrown up into
human form.

Hermes walked forward with clipped steps,
nodding at us to hurry. Servants rushed out from some unseen place
to set up couches for us to sit on and tables to set our insane
amount of food.

“Don’t drink the wine,” I whispered to Ryder.
“Or eat any fruit.”

He gave me a sarcastic thumbs up. “No
problem.”

After all of the prophesying over the last
few days, I thought that both of us might be immune to the effects
of ambrosia, but I didn’t want to risk it. Either it would drive us
insane with addiction, if our humanity had a stronger pull, or we
would end up three sheets to the wind and completely vulnerable to
whatever plans Nix had for us.

I felt each of my movements echo through the
room. Everyone stared at us, waiting for someone to explain our
presence.

Or maybe they were expecting me to start a
war.

I felt Nix’s attention on me the second we
walked in and it hadn’t wavered once.

“My guests,” Hermes gestured toward us when
it was clear nobody was in a hurry to return to their meal. “The
supreme goddess of the Nesoi and Orpheus, firstborn son of
Calliope.”

A murmur swept through the crowd, carrying
the tones of aggression that everyone expected from me.

Nix stood up with the feral grace I had
always expected from him. “And my protégé,” he told the crowd.
“Isn’t she lovely?”

Most of the men clapped enthusiastically. I
felt Hades’ leer more than any other. I wanted to say something
snotty to Nix or at least contrary, but I couldn’t think of
anything under the full attention of the room.

“Come, Ivy, sit by me,” Nix coaxed. Servants
immediately started to rearrange my things.

My mouth went dry and my blood started to
boil. “I’ve already accepted Hermes’ invitation,” I told him.

“Oh, he doesn’t mind” Nix boomed and several
of his brothers snickered along with him. “We used to share
everything.”

“That was a millennia ago, brother,” Hermes
countered. “We haven’t shared anything significant since you
murdered my wife.” Tension spiked in the atmosphere until Hermes
ended with, “Or one of them at least.”

The room erupted with laughter. Hermes smiled
too, but his shoulders never relaxed and his fists stayed clenched
at his sides.

“Sit, Messenger,” Ares shouted. “You’re
keeping us from our food!”

“And our drink!” someone else finished.

Hermes lead the way, finding tables at the
other end near Hera and, unfortunately, near Nix. I wondered if he
had sat by Hera on purpose. I felt his presence slither over my
skin.

I waited for him to jump up and start
strangling me, but he didn’t bother to leave his place. I still
couldn’t shake my nerves with him this close, so I picked at the
food and tried to ignore him.

Ryder did the same thing. Even if Nix hadn’t
been here, I would have found it hard to eat while everyone stared
at me and judged each of my insignificant movements.

I felt like they were waiting for something
to happen or waiting on me to cut off Nix’s head.

After a while of awkward silence, Nix slid
forward on his couch and dropped his feet to the ground. They
clattered loudly on the polished floor. His hands slid over his
knees with purpose until his elbows rested on his thighs and he met
me at eye level. “I would have brought you here,” he told me
diplomatically. “You didn’t need to hitch a ride on our magic
carpet.” When I didn’t respond, he explained, “We call him that
because he’s a doormat. It’s an inside joke that you might not
understand.”

“You were going to bring me here?” I met
Nix’s black gaze and dared him to be truthful.

“I was,” he smiled patiently at me.

“I’m sure you would have treated me with this
amount of respect,” I gestured to Hermes. “I’m sure you would have
let me know I was free to come and go as I pleased.”

Nix’s jaw ticked with irritation. “Is that
what he’s told you? That you’re
free
?” The word came out of
his mouth like a curse. He hated that word as much as I loved it.
His voice was taunting when he said, “Try to leave now, then. If
Hermes has promised you freedom, feel free to use it. Go back home
to where you’re more… comfortable.”

I shook my head. “So you can chase me?” I
ignored the pit in my stomach that warned Hermes was as bad as Nix.
Had I walked straight into captivity? Same story, different
day.

“Yes,” Nix growled, excitement danced in his
eyes. “That’s my favorite part.”

“Enough, Sea Creature,” Aether called from
down the line. “Or I shall be forced to keep the peace.” Gods and
goddesses groaned all around me, clearly annoyed with his idea of
peace keeping
.

“When will you banish him, Sister?” Athena
groaned. “Your consort is a terrible bore.”

“With my husband gone, I do not have the
patience for all of your incessant bickering. You will listen to
him until Zeus returns, otherwise you will drive me insane and I
shall banish you all from my mountain.” Hera’s eyes flashed with
lightning and I could tell that her patience was growing thin
again.

More grumbling rippled down the line of
immortals and Hera sat back with a pleased smile on her face. Order
officially restored.

As much as I wanted to chain Nix to the
bottom of the ocean, I had to get answers about my mother. I looked
up at him from under my thick, overly done eyelashes and asked, “Is
it true that you gave my mother to the Fates.”

A slow smile spread across his perfect face.
“It’s true,” he answered. “Although, they got the better of the
deal between us. I paid them to watch over you. A lot of good that
did me.”

“So why not kill them for betraying you?” I
felt myself slide forward too, anxious for his answers.

I didn’t expect him to answer, but not ten
seconds passed before he said, “Because they would kill me first.
I’m smart, not suicidal.”

I nodded. That was definitely true about
him.

“It’s good that you’re here, Ivy. I thought
you might flee back to that island of yours.” Nix’s lingering gaze
touched every inch of exposed skin on my body. I felt the food I’d
picked at churn in my stomach.

“You knew where I was?”

“There are places on this planet where not
even the god of the sea can go,” Hera explained snidely. “Not for
lack of trying, of course.”

Nix leaned back, a small smile playing on his
lips. “Not even you would go to that island, Sister.”

Hera visibly bristled. “You think that I’m
scared of a child? A sea witch? Why do my brothers keep accusing me
of foolishness? You forget who slaughtered the
ketea
.”

Something hot and angry seared through me. I
had no idea what or who the
ketea
were, but I hated the idea
that they had been slaughtered.

Ryder’s hand squeezed mine. His nearness
calmed some of the primal anger welling inside me.

“Look, Sister, you’ve angered her,” Hermes
grinned. I instinctively glanced around for a pitcher of water.

“I’m not angry,” I said calmly. “I don’t even
know what you’re talking about.”

They shared a look. “I suppose they were
before your time,” Hera sighed. “They were slithering sea monsters.
They were a menace.”

“They were harmless,” Hermes sighed. “The
islanders used to use them for transportation.”

“They might have been harmless,” Nix put in.
“But Hera’s right. They were hideous. They needed to be put out of
their misery.”

I had nothing to add, so I kept the
conversation moving. It was weird to sit here with Nix and have a
conversation as though he didn’t want to murder me. I didn’t trust
him. This seemed like a ploy to lure me into a false sense of
security.

Although he was a different person here.
Hermes was too. The mountain tamed some of their harsh edges and
softened their arrogance. They weren’t more likeable, but their
sibling bickering made them more amusing.

“I don’t see the Fates,” I commented.

“You wouldn’t see them here,” Hera hissed.
“You think I would invite those old hags to my temple? Hardly.”

My heartbeat picked up as I tried to keep my
tone neutral. “But I thought they lived on Olympus? Are they in the
village?”

Nix caught on right away. “Miss them?
Nostalgic for some one-on-one time?”

I swallowed around a prickly lump in my
throat. “I’m just curious.”

“Why don’t you ask your host these
questions,” Hera dared. “Hermes is practically their neighbor.”
When Hermes didn’t take her bait, she shook her head and offered
more. “They aren’t allowed in Olympus proper,” Hera explained,
already bored with the conversation. “Every time they’ve been here
before they start planning my demise. I’m less than enthusiastic to
let them visit the temple. They start rearranging furniture and
picking out drapes. It’s obnoxious.”

“Why don’t they just cut your thread?” Ryder
asked. His expression remained innocent, but I could see the
challenge twinkling in his eyes.

Hera didn’t bite. “Because I would come back
from the Underworld and rip their haggard heads from their wrinkled
bodies.” She looked around at her wide-eyed brothers and sisters.
“What?” she smirked. “I would do the same thing to any of you
should I find myself on the other side of the River Styx. It’s
better that you remember that now than test my conviction later.”
Her tone remained casual, but her lethal glare swung to Nix and I
wondered if his knees knocked together like mine.

I might not have figured out where the Fates
were holed up, but I did learn that Hera was a complete
sociopath.

That was probably an important thing to
remember.

Dinner was cleared away by nymphs. They
descended on our tables in skanky versions of our white robes. They
flitted around us, flirting and laughing.

I wondered if they were here by choice or if
Hera kept her servants in the same kind of captivity the Pantheon
was known for.

Dessert was laid in front of us, followed by
more wine. The other end of the hall had grown loud with laughter
and shouting. I looked down at Ares as he sloshed wine down the
front of his white tunic. His head tipped back and he bellowed his
humor at the sky.

The men sitting around him did the same,
finding his clumsiness hilarious. Bile churned in my stomach and
clawed up my throat. I wanted vengeance for Eva and Ana, for his
part in murdering my friends.

A chill slithered over me and the hairs on
the back of my neck stood up. Turning away from Ares, I found
Crete, also known as Hades, staring at me. His dark eyes held
nothing in them but an unnerving emptiness I felt all the way to my
bones. His thin lips pressed into a dissatisfied frown, as if he
wanted revenge too. As if I’d messed up his life in an unforgivable
way.