Page 234 of Styx

Pallas, Nike, and Kratos

stayed in Olympus

to discuss battle plans.

As Nyx painted the sky dark,

I realized that Zeus had not

promised me anything,

no mention of goddesshood.

But as I watched Zelus heal,

his body finally coming back

together, painfully, slowly,

it occurred to me that

as long as my children

were safe from imprisonment,

from an eternity of pain like this,

I did not need any promises

from anyone. My own ambitions

were a small price to pay

for the safety of my children.

I felt weary.

But then on the balcony

came a flash of light. For a moment,

fear seized me,

thinking it was Zeus.

Instead, when the light passed,

I saw the figure wasn’t a God.

It was Asteria holding

in her hand the last

embers of a falling star.

My heart leaped at the sight of her.

I stepped out onto the balcony,