AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Their son is in the upperworld now,” I said absently, thinking of how great Tartarus was and how much he obviously cared for his son. His son’shappiness.
All twelve deities froze, turning to stare at me in an eerily coordinated action.
“Typhoeus is free?” someone asked. “And the upperworld still stands?”
“He is a giant of storms who can breathe fire,” Hera said with more urgency. “This is not the kind of creature mortals can overcome alone. He brought us here. He is a formidable enemy.”
“Only because we were already weakened,” Ares added, somewhat petulantly.
Typhoeus has been either used or imprisoned his entire life. He wants to be free.
“Maybe he just wants what you want. Maybe he’s been just as imprisoned here as you have.”
Zeus looked at me thoughtfully. “Perhaps it is a rather un-divine thing to admit, but none of us can pretend to know what the world is like now, what mortals are like now, what Typhoeus is like now. Freedom for us would be like being reborn anew.”
Stronger. That was what Dionysus said. They’d grown stronger from worship because of some trend that I’d perhaps been part of. They hadn’t come out and explicitly said it, but they’d hinted at it enough for me to work out thatwithoutworship, they’d grown weaker.
They weren’t infallible.
There was a way to curtail them if they acted against humanity’s best interests, and they could do an immense amount of good if they were truly there to help.
Without any memories of the time before, the choice seemed obvious. I just had to hope that I was making the right one.
I stood, and walked across the room, past the Olympians to the entrance of the cavern. I couldn’t see Tartarus, but I knew he was there. Watching. Waiting.
“Can I come out? Talk to you?” I asked, pressing against the invisible shield in the doorway.
Tartarus was silent for a long moment. “What is your decision, the Spirit of Dreams?”
Okay, no small talk, I guess.
“I don’t want to decide. I wantyouto decide.” I sighed, leaning against the wall with my shoulder. “I want you to decide that you’re worth more than what you’ve been accepting. You’re not table scraps, you’re the whole feast, and you deserve someone who recognizes that.”
I nodded to myself, that sounded right.
“If someone treated Typhoeus that way, would you call it love and tell him to accept it?” I pressed.
“She already treats him the same way, under the guise of motherly love.” He was silent for a long moment. “And it has never been okay.”
“Then make your decision, Tartarus,” I encouraged gently.
He let out a low growl, though it was more exasperated than anything. “Zeus, a word.”
I flattened myself against the wall, the corridor feeling very narrow with a giant god’s body in it.
“I want to strike a deal,” Tartarus said coolly.
“You want this cell occupied in our place,” Zeus replied easily. “We don’t need to strike a deal for that, we are perfectly in accord.”
“The deal is for you, not me,” Tartarus growled. “You will bring Gaia here where she will reside in this cell. And if The Twelve ever forget that their loyalty is to humanity, that you are obligated to help and guide them, then you will join her here, one by one. You will agree to this deal, and I will release you.”
Tartarus was a total badass.
“We are not beholden to you,” Zeus replied, chest heaving as he blew out an aggrieved breath.
I felt Tartarus move forward, even if I couldn’t see him. “Yes, little Olympian, you are. Accept your place, or stay in this prison for all of eternity. I don’t care either way.”
I really hoped Tartarus would at least getmeout if these guys decided to stay here. We were friends, right? Friends didn’t leave each other in prison cells.
