Page 45 of Ungodly Rich

“I didn’t realize you had a Hamptons house,” Julia remarked, glancing from Hera to Ares. “Harry had mentioned a place in Sun Valley, but I wasn’t sure….”

Hera was hardly inclined to give this mortal a full accounting of their real estate holdings. There were ski houses (Telluride, Sun Valley, Val d’Isère); there were apartments in cities around the world (Mexico City, Shanghai, the New Orleans Garden District); there were beach houses (Mayakoba, St. Bart’s—they’d just sold Mustique, no one who was anyone went there anymore) and country houses (Tuscany, Carmel, the winery in Calistoga). In the UK alone they owned a house in Mayfair, a castle in Scotland, and a sprawling estate in the Cotswolds, purchased from a marquess who’d fallen on hard times.

“We’ll go to the Hamptons house soon,” Hera promised, an idea forming. “You know what, why don’t we throw you two an engagement party there?”

Julia shook her head. “Thank you, but that’s not necessary.”

“Oh, but a party is the best way to bring families together!”

Not to mention that at parties, people lowered their guard, revealed their true selves. People acted foolishly and were easier to trick.

“That’s a lovely offer, Mother, but the Hamptons isn’t really our scene,” Ares said hastily.

“What is, then?” Zeus asked.

Everyone looked at him in surprise, and he pressed on. “What is your ‘scene’? New Zealand? Or perhaps Europe? Because I quite agree with you,” Zeus said pleasantly. “The Hamptons have gotten overcrowded.”

That wasn’t what Ares had meant, and they all knew it, but there was a note of finality in Zeus’s tone that made even the mortal woman fall silent. When Zeus made a decree from on high, everyone followed.

“Julia’s best friend, Abby, lives in London,” Ares offered, after a beat. When Julia started to shake her head, he cast her a pleading glance.

Hera gritted her teeth in a smile. “It’s settled, then! I haven’t entertained in London in far too long. I’ll call Norman right now and see when he’s free to cater.”

Julia visibly swallowed back a protest, then nodded. “That’s so generous of you, especially given everything you’re doing for the wedding.”

Zeus rose as if all this talk of parties and engagements had bored him. “Well, I’m out. Time to head to the office. Harry, you coming?”

“I’m actually on site in Delaware today.”

“Oh, right. The power plant?” Zeus looked at his son with interest for the first time that morning. “Call me if you have any issues sorting it out.”

“Thanks, but I should be all good,” Ares assured his father.

As her husband walked to the door, Hera stood. “Actually, Bruce, could I catch a ride with you? I’ve been meaning to stop by Bergdorf’s.”

Julia made a show of checking her watch—a plastic sport watch that made her look like a teenager. “Is Bergdorf’s open before ten?”

The nerve of this woman, challenging her openly like that. Hera met Julia’s gaze, and the two women stared at each other for a beat. Julia’s reflection flickered in the windows behind her, making her appear oddly sinister.

Zeus was the one who answered. “Probably not for other clients, but my wife has never been restricted to normal shopping hours.” He held out an arm, suddenly chivalry itself. “Shall we?”

When they were downstairs and in the backseat of the waiting town car, Hera turned to Zeus. “Thank you for backing me up on the engagement party.”

“Hmm?” Her husband settled himself next to her, already scrolling through emails on his phone. He let out a little huff of annoyance. “I forgot I’m having drinks at Jean-Georges tonight. They won’t let me in without a tie.“

Hera rolled her eyes affectionately, already digging through herpurse. “This is why you shouldalwayswear a tie, even if the rest of the world has given up on proper business attire.” She pulled out a bobby pin and held it between thumb and forefinger. Power sizzled pleasantly through her veins as the small hairpin lengthened, transforming into a silk Ferragamo tie.

“Blue, do you think, or gray?” She held the tie to Zeus’s throat, letting it flick back and forth between the two colors.

“I defer to you,” Zeus insisted. Blue, Hera decided, and the tie settled into its new color. She tucked it through her husband’s collar and tied it with swift, practiced movements.

“Thanks.” Zeus glanced back at his phone, then seemed to remember something. “Should I really drop you at Bergdorf’s, or are you going somewhere else?”

“Somewhere else.” Hera waited for her husband to ask more questions, but he just nodded and returned to his emails. His palm slid onto her thigh in a gesture that was both affectionate and casually proprietary.

Hera glanced at the tie, satisfied by her handiwork. There clearly wasn’t a problem with her magic. So why couldn’t the Eye of Argos tell her anything about Julia?

Hera had considered the possibility that Julia might be a demigod but ultimately rejected it. Demigods felt different. You couldsensethe divinity kindling within them, hot like a flame. Perhaps Julia was being shielded by some other god. Or, more troubling still, by the Fates.