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"Fine," he bit out, his jaw clenched and red eyes glowing.
"You're a shit liar," I told him.
He slanted a glare in my direction. "Takes one to know one, asshole. Can you feel her?" When I nodded, he said, "Me, too. She's here."
At least we knew Renna's tracking stone worked. I'd be more confident about this rescue plan if Lucifer was here with us, but he'd disappeared with a cryptic remark about having to take care of something. It was either a weapon to take out Cronus or a sneaky fuck with his queen. Not that I could blame him.
Gods, I missed my mate. I needed her back in my arms, where I could keep her safe and fight off every goddess and titan on the damned planet.
"Yes!" Hera hissed, and magic spiked in the air until my whole face stung, my hand prickling where I gripped the hilt of a dagger. "Almost—got it!"
I staggered back when a wave of power blasted from the gold gates, setting my teeth rattling and prickling all the way to the tips of my wings.
"My fucking eyeballs," Kai snarled, grabbing my shoulder and squeezing to steady me, his pale jaw clenched. It hadn't escaped my notice that he kept touching me ever since the others were kidnapped. Like he was scared I'd be taken, too. Or I was the only thing keeping him grounded.
"The gates are open," Hera said, like we couldn’t see that right in front of us. She turned to give us a tense look, her long cloak glowing in the soft wind and her eyes heavy with reproach—and unease. "Go, quickly. I'll shatter them while you're rescuing your family; the way will be open when you flee Olympus."
I tucked my wings in tight, sucking in a deep breath and trying not to let the towering buildings intimidate me. There was something otherworldly about this place, all pale stone and columns with domes covered in delicate carvings. Unearthly clouds hovered around them, pearly and peach and perfectly, eerily fluffy.
"Let's go kill a goddess," Kai muttered, letting go of me and curling his hands into fists as he strode through the gap in the gates Hera had opened.
Kill a goddess.Yes,the feral part of me purred.Anyone who hurt our family deserves to die, and die screaming.My heartbeat quickened as I passed through the gates and started up the pale, winding path to the city above us.
"Wait," Hera called when we'd taken five steps.
I turned, Kai frowning beside me, and found the queen of gods hurrying after us. She tugged out the tie in her hair so it spilled around her shoulders, her circlet shining brighter, fiercely gold.
"For telling Lucifer to stop pressing me about my father, I'll come with you," she said, and before either Kai or I could react, she stalked ahead of us up the steep path, her back straight and blinding light flashing around her.
The light was a warning and declaration, and my pulse thumped even faster.
Let's go kill a goddess.
CHAPTER24
Hera stormed through the city and up to the impressive castle that cast its many-towered shadow over the mountain. There were four guards at the immense golden doors of the castle who made a token effort to stop her, but Hera dialled up her grace, shining so brightly that I couldn't stand to look at her, and they stepped aside.
Wordless, she marched through the vast halls of the castle, the blush pink ceilings so tall that every sound echoed back to us, distorted and long.
I shot Kai a look; he matched it with a quiet laugh of agreement. This place was too pristine, too perfect. Everything was either pure white, pearly pink, or gilded. And why did it smell of violets and roses? Wasn't that taking the wholegodly realmthing a step too far? I swore I could even hear the far-off tinkle of angelic voices singing.
Kai leaned close to whisper, "It's missing some bloodstains."
I grinned. "We can fix that."
"Don't even think about it," Hera muttered six steps ahead of us, turning to raise a brown eyebrow at us. "Don't start trouble; we're here for one reason."
Hera was here to bargain with Aphrodite. We were here to kill her and reclaim our family. The queen of gods didn't need to know that, though.
"We'll keep violence as a last resort," Kai lied, so convincing that even I believed him.
Hera's mouth thinned but she nodded. "The king's room is down this hall. If I know Aphrodite, she'll be on Zeus's throne."
Her eyes tightened, grief pinching them.
"I'll introduce you," she added, turning back around and walking faster, her shoes clipping the perfect white floor. "Then you can plead your case. Don't try to lie; most gods can taste falsehood."
Of course they could. A shiver went down my spine.
