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"Something like that. I'm going to have a shower," Hades replied, his voice low and subdued.
"You know where your suite is. The house will have fresh clothes for you," Thoth said, and in an awkward display of affection, he patted Hades on the back. Kema's mild concern for him ratcheted up. Thoth must have been really worried.
"Don't take too long. You need to help me raid Thoth's cellars. Who knows what monsters he has protecting them?" Hermes called after him. He grabbed another two beers from the fridge, and they all waited until Hades had gone before turning on each other.
"What happened?" Selene asked, tugging Hermes into the seat beside her. She ran her hands over him, checking for wounds. She had given up full-time nursing years ago, but Kema figured there were some things that never changed. Selene was the nicest person you could ever meet until someone tried to fuck with Hermes.
"I'm fine, Lady Moon," Hermes said, kissing her forehead. "Isis came to see us on the island."
Thoth sat down next to Kema with a tired sigh. Under the table, his hand took hers. "What did you see in your cards?"
Kema leaned over to check Hades wasn't lingering in the hallway. "I pulled the Empress, which had changed to Persephone's likeness."
"And she was pregnant," Selene said, slapping her hand over her mouth.
"I knew it," Hermes and Thoth said at the same time.
"You knew?" Kema demanded.
Thoth shrugged. "It was just a guess. Isis is a mother goddess. Persephone had a bad relationship with her own, but she would have wanted a person with that energy to talk to. It wasn't hard to put two and two together."
The roar of a motorcycle echoed from the back of the house, and Kema rose to get an extra two beers. Set and Ayla came in with smiles on their faces until they saw everyone sitting around the table.
"Why the grim faces? Something to do with Persephone running off?" Set asked, taking the beer from Kema. He hugged her, enclosing her in his scent of spicy desert air, leather, and a touch of grease. He wore his usual T-shirt, jeans, and scuffed boots, his long hair pulled back in a lazy ponytail.
Ayla looked windswept and gorgeous, as usual. How she managed not to get helmet hair from being on the back of Set's bike never ceased to surprise Kema. She never looked sweaty or dirty.
The only time Kema dared to get on the back of Set's bike, she returned with snarls in her hair and the feeling of sandy grit in her teeth. It had been lots of fun joy riding until she found an irate Thoth waiting for her.
"You really shouldn't phrase it that way, love. Persephone is upset, but she will be back," Ayla chided Set gently, taking her beer.
"How did you two find out?" Hermes asked and sent a glare in Thoth's direction.
"I never said a word!" Thoth shot back.
Set grinned. "Bellona called me. Said she had met Persephone in Egypt but wouldn't say where."
"She's with Isis on a magical island no one but lost goddesses can get to," Hermes said. Set's bottle slipped from his fingers, and Thoth caught it with his magic before it hit the floor.
"Isis is back? We need to tell Anubis," Set said, taking back his beer.
"She never left Egypt," Hermes replied, and Kema kicked him under the table. "What? Everyone else knows that Thoth kept it a big secret."
"Why are you like this?" Thoth snapped at Hermes. "Do you need me to check if Zeus's curse is back? Because you seem to be more insane than usual."
"Just tell him, Feathers."
Kema squeezed Thoth's hand to keep him from booting them all out of his house. Thoth gave in with a growl of irritation and told Set and Ayla about Isis, the island, and Persephone.
By the end of it, Set was rubbing at his temples. "I hope this magic house of yours has a fully stocked fridge because I'm going to need to cook something to deal with this stress."
"You better plan on cooking for a crowd because I think we need to get Anubis over here," Ayla said, chewing on her lip.
Set nodded and pulled out his phone. "I'll call him."
"Should we bring more people here tonight? We are going to overwhelm Hades," Thoth argued. Kema could see his social battery vanishing before her eyes.
"Hades is a heartbroken, volatile death god right now. If he decides to lose it, only Anubis has the power to contain him," Set said, getting to his feet and heading into the courtyard. He put his phone up to his ear. "Hey, Tahirah, are you two busy? We have a situation..."
