“Keep Nyx’s name out of your mouth.” Erebus’s features began to blur as his body rapidly dissolved into shadow and reformed, flickering like a candle. Any of the bravado that Hades had shown slipped away as he watched the primordial begin to lose control.
“You could join us, you know.” Hades switched tactics and let the charm slide into his voice. “Join us, join my brothers and me. You would have a place on Mt. Olympus. Temples would rise in your honor—agh!”
Hades was cut off as Erebus’s other hand came up and soundly punched him across the face, slamming him back into the marble.
“Temples like the one that Hera has destroyed?”
Hades coughed, spitting flecks of golden ichor onto Erebus’s sandals.
“I’m only the messenger,” Hades spat out. Erebus growled.
“I’ll let fucking Hermes know he’s been replaced.” He stepped away, his shadows recoiling immediately and dropping Hades to the stone floor. Erebus didn’t look back at him as he stepped inside the great hall.
If anyone had heard inside what had happened between Hades and Erebus, they didn’t show it. Nyx was already standing in the center of the crowded room. She was partially in her mortal form, her calves disappearing into a cloud that looked like the night sky. It rolled and curled where her feet would be, spreading around her like water. It created a rather terrifying but beautiful illusion.
The rest of the gods were scattered about the hall, some of them sitting at banquet tables that lined the walls. Zeus sat on his throne, with Ares on one side and Poseidon on his right. If Nyx had noticed that Hades wasn’t there, she hadn’t commented.
“There is your better half.” Zeus looked up from where he had been staring at Nyx, acknowledging Erebus. Nyx said nothing, refusing to comment on the fact that Zeus was incapable to comprehend she was more powerful than Erebus. Erebus said nothing, refusing to honor it with a response.
“You were saying?” Nyx brought the conversation back to the matter at hand.
“Yes.” Zeus waved his hand in the air like he was swatting at flies. Ares looked calm, always capable of turning off his temper when he knew the time wasn’t right. His helmet was nestled under his arm, and he absentmindedly tapped it with his other hand.
Poseidon, by comparison, looked more anxious. Only Nyx and Erebus could likely tell; his facade was polished enough that it would fool the other gods. Yet, his eyes shifted a little too often, and he was conjuring shapes of water in midair as if he wanted to distract or distance himself from the conversation. The ends of his tunic were wet, leading Erebus to believe that he, too, had been summoned last-minute and walked out of the sea.
“The time has come…” Zeus’s voice boomed throughout the hall, the sudden burst in volume causing some of the other gods to jolt to attention. “…for the two of you to pick a side. You both know by now what we are up against.”
He is insane.Erebus stood behind Nyx, shaking his head.If he thinks that he can put an ultimatum on primordials. On Nyx? On me?
Nyx said nothing, her expression one of net neutrality. She turned her head slowly to one side as a saccharine smile slipped onto her face. The night sky at her feet turned stormy, small rolls of thunder and flashes of lightning ricocheting off her legs.
“God of lightning,” she purred, taking another step towards Zeus. “Why don’t we have a word in private?”
It was not the response that Zeus had been expecting. His face seemed to pale, if only for a moment, as he watched the illusion at Nyx’s feet. The flashes of lightning seemed to mock him, to remind him that everything that happened once the Sun had set was her domain. Even the weather. He was cornered. Zeus was vying for a position of king of the gods and if he refused Nyx’s request, he would seem weak. He was not dumb enough to not accept small miracles; he knew that if she wanted to, Nyx could likely end the discussion—if not the war—right there in his throne room.
“Of course.” He clapped his hands once, loudly, letting larger bolts of lightning spark out from his hands.
“Let’s not whip them out and measure, hmm?” Nyx eyed his light show with discontent, letting the clouds at her feet fade away as she stepped down onto the tiled floor. Zeus could only manage an embarrassed chuckle as he looked away.
“Dionysus!” Zeus snapped at the god, who was lounging on a bench with a young man in his lap. “Do me a favor and have the wine poured when we return.” Dionysus had the least amount of care when it came to politics, his cheeks ruddy and blonde waves cascading down his neck. He didn’t bother looking up at Zeus or giving any indication that he heard him, other than to snap his fingers. All the cups in the room began overflowing and Erebus had to take a few steps back to avoid the puddles of wine.
“Great,” Zeus muttered and rolled his eyes, flicking his wrist towards a door behind the chair. He stood and disappeared into it, beckoning Nyx to follow him. She turned around briefly, giving the slightest of nods to Erebus before she walked across the room and disappeared after Zeus.
As she ducked through the doors, she saw that they were in a quiet antechamber of some kind. It was relatively small, only two small benches and a hearth in the middle of it, but it was richly decorated. Tapestries of deep purple hung from the ceiling and the tiles on the floor were all inlaid with gold and mother-of-pearl. The far wall had a low table, already filled with jugs of wine that had overflowed at Dionysus’s command.
“A small office.” Zeus flashed her a winning smile, answering her question as if she read his thoughts.
“I could only wonder why you’d keep such an… intimate room prepared, so close to your throne.” Nyx kept the smile plastered on her face, the threat apparent in her words. Neither of them had forgotten her curse and the centuries of chaos that had followed suit. Zeus gave her a polite nod, but his features were strained.
He sat down on one of the benches, extending his hand out as he offered up the second bench to Nyx. She walked around the fire, her feet once again disappearing into shadows and black clouds, before sitting down.
“Nyx,” Zeus grinned, “I’ll spare you the speech—”
“Lucky me.”
Zeus coughed, his nervousness becoming more apparent. “You know what we’re doing and why. I would implore you to join the cause.”
“Imploreme?” Nyx laughed, her dark eyes flashing in the firelight. Her black robes seemed to come alive, patterns of stardust and obsidian magic flickering across the folds. “Interesting. A mere moment ago, in front of the others, you were demanding that I pick a side.”
