Page 97 of Ungodly Rich

To Hera’s astonishment, Poseidon had granted his nephew’s request and pulled an island from the sea. Something he hadn’t done in centuries. But then, Poseidon had always harbored a soft spot for Ares. The two of them both lived in Zeus’s shadow, and while they seemed resigned to it, Hera imagined they must have shared the same frustrations.

Then all it had taken was a liberal application of mist, an old magic made of droplets of Mnemosyne’s tears mixed with Zephyr’s wind. Suddenly, the humans in the neighboring area shifted the very fabric of their memories. They all believed, without question, that this island had always been there. And now that the Ellenes had filled in the swamp, landscaped the golf course, and built a luxury hotel and spa, it could finally realize its potential as a luxury destination. And wedding venue.

Not that Hera had any intention of letting this wedding take place.

She remained unconvinced that Julia had found Ares by chance. Julia herself might not have known the truth—that her mother had been involved with Zeus, that Hera was responsible for Claire’s death—but she must have been here for a purpose. Surely some god had brought her here, as…what? A threat to Hera? A bomb that might explode at any moment?

Which of the gods would do such a thing? Perhaps the Titan Theia, goddess of sight, who had always despised Hera. Or Phoebe, goddess of wisdom, who still blamed Hera for her attempt to harm her grandchildren Apollo and Artemis. She briefly considered Hades, but what reason would he have for hurting Hera?

Perhaps, Hera admitted to herself, Athena was behind this. She hatedto think her own daughter would hurt her like this, but Athena had always,alwaystaken Zeus’s side over Hera’s. And she was certainly clever enough to have put the pieces together.

“As lovely as the island is, I can’t have all the guests arriving tomorrow,” Hera explained. “I need this wedding to be called off.”

Poseidon stilled. “Called off?”

“Ares cannot marry her.”

Over by the jukebox, Aphrodite was dancing, shimmying suggestively while Madonna blasted from the speakers. Hera highly doubted that “Like a Virgin” had ever played in this bar before.

Poseidon sighed. His jaw was shaded with the slightest hint of stubble, which Hera found oddly distracting. “Hera, if you want to break up the wedding, there are easier ways to do so than sinking an island—one that I pulled from the depths for you with great effort.”

“I’m not saying you have to go full Atlantis,” she hastened to clarify. “I was just thinking you could call up a seasonal hurricane?”

“A hurricane,” Poseidon repeated flatly.

“Keep all the guests stranded on the mainland. You’re Poseidon Stormbringer,” she cajoled. “I’ve seen you drown islands and call up tidal waves, I’ve seen you freeze the ocean into sheets of ice and shatter mortal ships until nothing was left but splinters. Can’t you keep everyone away so that this wedding doesn’t happen?”

It was, perhaps, not the most sophisticated plan, but it was the best she and Aphrodite could come up with at this late hour.

For weeks they had discussed other options. Aphrodite had suggested they engineer a reunion between Julia and one of her exes, then find a way to make Ares misinterpret it all. But the only ex she could find was Preston, and his unexpected appearance at the engagement party had only seemed to bring Ares and Julia closer. Hera had considered bringing Eris’s golden apple to the wedding, letting it sow discord among the couple, but then, that hadn’t succeeded in breaking up Thetis and Peleus, had it? All it had done was launch the Trojan War.

But Hera had refused to let Aphrodite dig into Julia’s past.I’m sure Julia is hiding something,Aphrodite kept insisting.

Of course she was, even if Julia wasn’t aware of her own explosive history. No one knew, except Hera, and Hera needed to keep it that way.

So here they were, about to stop the wedding with the oldest form of divine intervention in the books: sheer force of nature. It wasn’t a permanent solution, but it would keep Julia and Ares apart for the time being.

Would give Hera a chance to find another, better way out of this mess.

“What does Zeus think?” Poseidon’s blue eyes fixed on hers. “If you wanted a storm, the logical person to ask would be the Bringer of Thunder.”

Zeus had no idea, of course. And Hera needed it to stay that way.

Things between them had shifted over the past month. They were like two hormonal teenagers, mooning after each other, seeking each other out at truly dissolute times. Why, just last week they had been at breakfast, and Hera had felt Zeus look up from his poached eggs and study her. So she had taken a long sip of her tea and then licked her lips.

He’d stood abruptly, pushing back his chair, and grabbed her around the wrist to tug her upstairs. When they’d reached the door to their bedroom, one of the maids was already there, making the bed. One glance at the two of them and she’d reddened, stumbling back with profuse apologies. “You’re scandalizing our staff,” Hera had laughed as Zeus pulled her onto the half-made bed.

After, they had lain there together, Hera’s head tucked into Zeus’s shoulder as he traced lazy circles over her back. “Don’t you need to get to work?” she’d murmured, but Zeus had already emailed his assistant to clear his morning.

“I texted him while we were walking upstairs,” Zeus explained, chuckling. “I’m very fast when I’m motivated, you know. Except, of course, when I need to be slow…”

Textedhim.It was true, Zeus’s new assistant was aman.That, in itself, marked the change in him more than anything else.

“Zeus doesn’t need to know every little detail,” she told Poseidon.“His mind is troubled with his many cares; I hesitate to bother him with this. But I need to ensure that Julia and Ares don’t get married.”That Ares doesn’t then try to make her a goddess.

The sea god hesitated. “I don’t want to go against Zeus.”

“You wouldn’t be goingdirectlyagainst him. He has said nothing to you on this matter,” Hera pointed out. “And of course, we would never ask a favor of you without compensation.”