Page 35 of Hades

Light surrounded her. Her golden hair formed a halo that gave her the look of an angel, but there was something else, too. Something I knew all too well. A secret hidden in the depths she tried to conceal. Darkness wrapped in sunshine. Violence disguised as sweetness.

I winked when Apollo came to the end of his speech. One he hadn’t wanted to give but relented for Rhea. All of this was for Rhea. This show, this farce. This fucking lie we were all perpetuating.

The officers stepped forward, all but Zeus and Asclepius. Together, we lowered the casket into the ground as Rhea sobbed silently in the arms of her son. The rope bit into my palms, rough and unforgiving. The weight of the coffin pulled at my shoulders, my back. Heavy as fuck. Heavy with secrets and sins and decades of evil.

Three days ago, Atlas, Zeus, and I had made a pact to find the truth. As the coffin holding our president sank into the ground, I said a prayer that we could clear this fucker’s name.

I didn’t believe in prayer. Didn’t believe in God. Not the almighty one who sat in the sky looking down, watching, judging as his creation fucked everything up. Not the benevolent father who gave a shit about the suffering of his children.

But today I prayed we didn’t have to dig this son of a bitch up, because he was fucking heavy. I felt the rope slip and pulled it tight. I wanted nothing more than to drop this fucker, let gravity do its work. Because despite humoring Zeus, I knew everything we’d learned was true. The way my father reacted was enough to convince me Lucas ‘Kronos’ Cooper was as evil as Indie said he was. As twisted and depraved as the evidence suggested.

We stepped back as Rhea and her children moved to the edge of the grave. Aspen went first. Her face, clear of tears, didn’t surprise me. Not given what her father had done to her. The way he’d effectively sold her to the enemy. Traded her like property to secure a goddamn treaty.

Zeus told me she’d forgiven him. They’d worked their shit out, but I wasn’t convinced. She lifted the shovel and threw dirt over his grave without a word. No tears. No emotion. Just cold, calculated finality.

Diana came next, her husband Bane at her side. She looked up at him, tears streaming down her face as she shook her head. He kissed her forehead and silently took the shovel, doing what she couldn’t. Protecting her even from this. Even from the simple act of burying the man who’d fathered her.

Then it was Zeus’ turn. I watched as my best friend looked down into the hole where his father lay and took a deep breath. His eyes found mine, and I nodded, reminding him this was for his mother.

The mother who never failed him. The mother who needed his protection. He nodded and scooped up a shovelful of dirt, tossing it over the coffin. The sound of dirt hitting its mark was louder than I expected. Hollow. Final. The sound of earth claiming what belonged to it.

Zeus held the shovel out to Asclepius, his uncle. Kronos’ younger brother. Asclepius shook his head, refusing to participate. Zeus whispered in his ear, and I knew he was giving him an order. Asclepius narrowed his eyes at Zeus, but he kept his mouth shut. Jaw clenched. Fury radiating off him in waves.

He turned and walked away, disobeying whatever Zeus had said to him. Zeus moved to follow, and I grabbed his arm, shaking my head. Now wasn’t the fucking time for a scene. Not with Rhea watching. Not with the whole goddamn club bearing witness.

Zeus took a deep breath and turned to his mother, who stared after Asclepius. Rhea took the shovel, and for a beat, we all waited to see what she’d do. Her eyes tracked her best friend, her brother-in-law, as he walked away from her husband’s grave. Abandoning her in her moment of grief.

“Where is he going?” she whispered. Her voice was small, broken. Lost.

“He’s struggling, Mom. Just like the rest of us,” Zeus answered.

We were all struggling, but not in the same way. Zeus struggled with the war in his heart, the one that carved a canyon so deep between truth and duty. Between the father he’d loved and the monster he’d been.

Asclepius was struggling with his guilt. The secrets he’d kept for decades would eventually come out, tearing a rift between him and the woman he was in love with. Had always been in love with. Would always love, even knowing she could never be his.

We all knew it.

Kronos knew it, and I wondered if that was why he’d done what he did. He was a selfish bastard. He could have let Asclepius have Rhea. She would have still been in the club, eventually. Instead, he took what his brother wanted, making it impossible for Asclepius to be loved back by her, even in death. Claiming her. Marking her. Destroying any chance his brother had at happiness.

Rhea gripped the shovel and stared down at the grave. She crouched low and whispered something we couldn’t hear. Then she stood, drove the shovel into the dirt, and poured it over the coffin. The dirt scattered across the wood. A final goodbye to the man she’d loved. The man who’d betrayed her in ways she didn’t even know yet.

She dropped the shovel and walked away.

It wouldn’t have been a biker funeral without a raucous party after. Rhea disappeared the moment she left the grave. Zeus motioned for Pegasus, a prospect, to follow her. Hours had passed since either of them had sent more than a text.

Rhea knew Zeus would never let her walk off without protection. She’d been part of a club her whole life. She knew the rules. But Pegasus was our best prospect, the most promising. He could give Rhea the space she needed while still protecting her if something went down. Smart. Loyal. Capable of reading a situation and adapting.

The attack hadn’t ended the threat. The Death Dogs’ numbers were decimated after the battle in Diamond Creek, but Satan’s Angels had chapters all over the country. A few years back, the Golden Skulls had taken out quite a few. Others got arrested, but their numbers still remained high. Still a threat. Still circling like vultures, waiting for weakness.

Letting Rhea out with only Pegasus was a risk, but Rhea wasn’t a woman you could contain. She was a force you didn’t want to battle. Even Kronos chose his arguments wisely when it came to his wife. He’d known when to push and when to back the fuck off.

I didn’t agree with Zeus or my father about keeping her in the dark. When she learned the truth, and she would, we were all fucked. She’d burn this whole goddamn club to the ground. And we’d deserve it.

“You heard anything from Pegasus?” Zeus asked, leaning against the bar beside me.

“No, but he’ll protect her. Today was a lot for everyone, especially her. She lost the love of her life, brother. She’s hurting. She needs to know the truth.”

“Not until I know the truth. I’m not telling her shit until I can confirm it,” he said, lifting his beer to his lips. The bottle stopped halfway to his mouth, and his expression twisted into a sneer. I glanced over my shoulder to see what had grabbed his attention.