Demeter sat in the corner as Hestia and I greeted each other, and once we’d finished, she cleared her throat. “As thrilled as I am that you have returned to us, Hera, why did you ask for both of us to be here?”
I gave her a withering look, but I couldn’t afford anything more. “Zeus has control of the council,” I said. I didn’t need to attend meetings to know that. “And I suspect your voices are no longer heard.”
“Here to campaign?” said Hestia with amusement, but I leveled my gaze at her, and her smile faded.
“I am Zeus’s equal. His domain is mine as well, and we both have the capacity to rule. After everything Zeus has done to our family, I want to make it right. I want to give you back your voices. Your power. The respect you deserve.”
My sisters watched me closely, their expressions giving nothing away. If I couldn’t convince them, I would have no choice.
“Hestia, you want to keep peace within the family, yes?” I said, and she nodded. “The only way to do that is to restore the original council. Perhaps we can keep the others on as…advisors, but we must reclaim our rightful place as rulers.”
“But Zeus—”
“Zeus will have no say, not if we have the most votes,” I said.
Demeter furrowed her brow. “You’re suggesting a coup?”
“I am suggesting we restore order, sensibility and respect. Nothing more. A coup would mean a war, and none of us wants that.”
“But in order to avoid it, we must give you power,” said Demeter.
“No,” I said with more patience than she deserved. “In order to avoid it, we must redistribute power among the six of us, equally, as it has always been. If we are successful, Hades has agreed to return to the council as a full-time member.”
“Hades supports this?” she said, her surprise in every syllable.
“Hades supports fairness and unity. Hestia? What do you think?”
Hestia crossed her arms over her full figure. She too had aged—had Poseidon, as well? Were Hades and I the only ones who remained youthful? “If what you’re saying is true, then I would be supportive of reverting to the way the council was intended to run. Equally among the six of us.”
“Thank you,” I said, and I squeezed her hand. “Demeter?”
I could see the hesitation in her eyes, the uncertainty on her face, the doubt in the way she hunched her shoulders—she was going to say no. Why? Out of loyalty to Zeus?
Swallowing my pride, I knelt on the floor before her, taking her hands exactly as my dear husband had the day she’d revealed her pregnancy. “Demeter. Sister,” I murmured, and her gaze locked on mine. “Let us be whole again. Not just you and I, but all of us. We won’t cast Zeus out—simply restore order. Simply fulfill our duties to humanity, the same ones we fought the Titans for.”
Still her indecision remained. It was a pity I couldn’t use my abilities on my siblings, at least not without them knowing—but I didn’t want to force her hand. I wanted her to choose me because she thought it was the right decision.
“I’ll bless their marriage,” I said quietly. My last bargaining chip, though offering it made a knife twist in my gut. “Be our ally, and Persephone and Hades will be happy.”
At last she crumbled. “All right,” she said quietly. “You have my vote.”
I rose and kissed her cheek. “Thank you.” She would never have my forgiveness, and I would never be her sister again no matter how I addressed her, but if she did this for me, I would stick to my word and bless Hades’s marriage.
“We still don’t have the numbers though, even with Ares and Hephaestus,” said Hestia, and I straightened.
“We don’t, but we will.” I gave them both cordial nods. “Expect a council meeting to be called within the hour.” And in the meantime, with a little luck, Demeter wouldn’t have a change of heart. But she loved her daughter, that much was obvious, and she wanted the best for her. The only way she could get it was through me.
* * *
As I stood outside Aphrodite’s room, waiting for the courage to enter, I tried to think of what I was going to say. I had nothing to offer. Nothing to make up for what she would lose if she voted with me. But even during the most heated of debates, Aphrodite had never been particularly vocal. Ruling wasn’t in her blood, and perhaps that could work for me.
At last I took a breath and knocked. I would find a way somehow. Everyone had a weakness.
“Just a second!” called Aphrodite, and through the curtain, I heard her giggle. Something rustled, and I thought I heard a male voice murmur something. “All right, come in!”
Wary, I stepped inside. Aphrodite lounged on her bed, practically glowing, and a smile danced on her lips. As I’d predicted, she wasn’t alone. Leaning against the wall was Ares. Apparently his interest wasn’t simple wishful thinking.
“Hello, Aphrodite,” I said. “Ares. Did I interrupt?”
Ares opened his mouth to say something, but Aphrodite quickly cut him off. “Nothing that can’t be resumed at a later time. I’m sorry, did you want to speak with him?”
“As it happens, I came to see you.” I turned to my son. “You wouldn’t mind giving us a minute, would you, dear?”
He sighed dramatically, as if I’d asked him to carry the world. “Fine.”
“I love you,” I said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. He reluctantly returned it before trudging out of the room. Once he was gone, I moved closer to Aphrodite. “I’m sorry about the intrusion.”
“Oh, it’s fine,” she said, waving her hand. She sat up and ran her fingers through her blond curls. “It’s good to see you again. Ares didn’t tell me you were coming for a visit.”
“That’s because I’m not here for a visit.” I forced myself to smile as if this were all my idea. “I’ve returned to Olympus.”
She beamed and leaped for me before I had the chance to move away. Catching me in an embrace, she kissed both my cheeks. “Oh, that’s fantastic! Ares will be so pleased. He missed you, you know.”
“And I missed him.” I gingerly removed her arms and sat down on the edge of the bed. “I’m surprised the two of you have grown so…close. Did Zeus decide not to arrange your marriage after all?”
Aphrodite made a face. “Oh, he did, all right. Or—I guess Hephaestus suggested it, actually, though Daddy never gave me the chance to say no—”
“Wait.” I frowned. “You mean Hephaestus is marrying you?”
She nodded grimly. “I mean, I’m sure he’s a good guy and all, just—not my type, you know? I’d much rather get to choose, but…” She shrugged. “Daddy’s the head of the council.”
Everything couldn’t have been more perfect if the Fates themselves had intervened. Perhaps they had. I didn’t blame Hephaestus for this arrangement—no doubt Zeus had orchestrated the whole thing, knowing how much it would bother me to see my son marry a woman who didn’t love him. But in doing so, Zeus had unwittingly sprung his own trap upon himself.
I set my hand over hers, the most affection I’d ever shown her. “How would you like to choose who you marry? Or not have to marry at all?”
Her eyes lit up. “You could do that? You could talk to Daddy and convince him otherwise?”
“No,” I said slowly. “I could be the one in charge of your marriage. I could be the one with the power to arrange it.”
She frowned. “I don’t understand. That’s Daddy’s job.”
“Only because he’s head of the council.” I squeezed her hand. “There will be a vote tonight to decide whether or not to terminate his rule. When the six of us united to form the council, it was always our plan to have equal say. To make things fair.”
“Everyone already has equal say,” she said, a line forming in the middle of her brow.
“No, we do not,” I said gently. “Because Zeus has so many children who readily agree with him, he always gets his way. Like with your wedding, even though you don’t want to go through with it. But if we restore the council to its original int
ent…”
I trailed off, watching her expression flicker as she absorbed my proposition. “I wouldn’t be on the council, then,”
“On the contrary, you would all still remain on the council as advisors. It would just be the six of us who make the final decisions, that’s all. As it was when the council first formed.”
“Oh.” She twirled the ends of her hair around her fingers. “And if I did this, you would let me marry Ares?”
“Or not marry at all, if you so wish,” I repeated. “You would have complete control over your life.”
Slowly her pink lips twisted into a smile. “And we wouldn’t have to sit through all those boring meetings?”
“Not unless you wanted to. All I need is your vote, and it will be settled.”
Aphrodite beamed. “You’ll have it. This is brilliant—thank you so much, Hera.” She captured me in another hug. “I really did miss you, you know.”
I patted her hair. It was easy—too easy, and part of me knew I was taking advantage of her ignorance. But I had nothing to feel guilty for. This was the way it was supposed to be. And this was the only way we would restore balance. Zeus couldn’t be allowed a monopoly over the council any longer, and whether Aphrodite fully understood the implications or not, it didn’t matter. I was doing the right thing.
“I missed you, too,” I murmured. And to my surprise, I realized it was the truth.
* * *
Everything fell into place. Seven votes, that was all I needed, and now I had them.
Hades. Hestia. Demeter. Ares. Hephaestus. Myself. And now Aphrodite.
I arrived in the throne room long before the council meeting began. I’d missed the feeling of my throne, the power it emanated and the way it seemed to welcome me into its embrace. And as I waited, I stroked my peacock, listening to its soft coos. Everything would be all right. It already was.
I’d won.
The council began to gather shortly after. My sisters first, and then Poseidon and the children. Hades arrived on time, and finally Zeus strode into the room, his golden hair gleaming in the sunlight. There was a new boy now as well, one too young to have a throne, but he sat at Zeus’s feet. Another one of his bastards, then. How cute.
“I call this meeting to order,” said Zeus, although I was the one who had summoned everyone. He stood, radiating power as he always did, but instead it seemed to form a shield between us. As if he could sense the tension and knew I was his enemy now. “To begin—”
“Pardon me,” I murmured with faux politeness, and I too stood. Two could play at this game. “But I believe this is my meeting to direct.”
“On the contrary, I am the one who leads them regardless of who called it,” said Zeus.
I narrowed my eyes. “And how can you lead us when you do not know what is on the agenda?”
“I think you will find my leadership to be anything but lacking today,” he said, and he gestured. “Please, sit.”
Every single member of the council stared at me. I caught Hades’s eye, and he nodded briefly. It would do me no good to stir up trouble in the minutes before I asked the council to trust me, and though it killed my pride to do so, I sat down.
“Thank you.” Zeus stood to his full height. “We are all here today to discuss a dire matter, one that threatens the very foundation of our existence. Treason.”
I froze. What was he talking about?
Zeus turned to face me, a golden aura glowing around him. “Hera, have you or have you not spent the day convincing six of our rank to vote to have my children stripped of their thrones and me removed as King?”
It took every ounce of self-control I possessed to keep my composure. Who had told him? I glanced at Demeter, but she frowned, as confused as I was. Who, then?
Aphrodite. As my gaze landed on her, she looked down at her hands, and her cheeks turned pink. Traitor.
I had no choice now but to go through with it. Zeus could posture all he wanted—if he didn’t have the votes, he didn’t have the votes. I stood. “I did not realize that discussing a return to the natural order of things was considered treason.”
“And what, pray tell, is your definition of the natural order of things?” said Zeus.
I drew my shoulders back, every inch a queen. “I wish to introduce a motion to return the council to its rightful state, where only the original six of us shall be allowed to cast a vote. Everyone else may remain on as advisors, but it is only fair and right that we be the ones to make the final decisions. I do not think it is any great assumption to say that lately there has been no variation in the decisions this council has made. The same people—” I focused on Zeus, and then on the cluster of his illegitimate children “—have made each decision, ignoring the voices of others. That is not a council. That is a dictatorship, and I refuse to stand for it.”
“It is treason,” said Zeus, and thunder filled the throne room. “Wishing to replace your king—”
“You are not my king, nor will you ever be. You are a liar, a thief, and you have no right to rule over us all. You are no better than me, no more powerful than any of us, and you have proven time and time again that you cannot uphold the morals this council demands of its members.”
“And you can?” said Zeus.
“Yes,” I said with a sniff. “I can.”
“As I recall, pride is still considered to be a deadly mark against any candidate,” he said. “As is envy.”
“As is lust,” I snapped. “A crime you have committed more often than I have ever succumbed to pride or envy.”
“Then by your own admission, neither of us is fit to rule,” he said. “Yet here we are. I will not force my children to give up their rightful places on the council, places they have earned by passing the very test you created, when you yourself could not pass it.”
“And I will not back down until equality and fairness are restored.”
“Then we find ourselves at a standstill.” He folded his hands. “As I am still King, I will allow you a choice. If we take this vote and you win, we will do as you ask. But if I win, then you will be stripped of your title. You will remain in Olympus, where I can keep an eye on you, and you will grant me a divorce.”
I gaped at him. “That is completely unfair.”
“Is it? Perhaps you ought to consider yourself lucky you are not being tried for treason right now instead.” He nodded toward the council. “Tell me, Hera. Would you like to vote on it?”
I looked around the circle. My sisters both watched me, as did Hades. My sons would support me no matter what. And Aphrodite…
Somehow Zeus must have gotten to her. Perhaps in her excitement, she blurted out my promises, not realizing what the consequences would be. Surprise was not an integral part of this, but it would have helped to catch Zeus unaware. And if he had convinced her to change her vote…
I had to take that risk. For the sake of the council, for the sake of equality, for the sake of humanity, I had to try. And at last, I nodded.
“Let us vote.”
We went around the circle once. Hephaestus, sitting beside me, pledged his loyalty to me. As did Hades, as did Demeter, as did Hestia. As I’d predicted, Athena, Apollo, Artemis and Poseidon did not hesitate to vote with Zeus. And Ares voted with me.
At last it was on Aphrodite’s shoulders. She sat on the other side of Zeus, wringing her hands uncertainly, and several seconds passed in silence. She couldn’t change her vote. She couldn’t.
Remember. I pushed my thoughts toward her. You can have Ares. You can have the love you desire. All you have to do is say yes.
She looked up at me, her eyes red. I can’t be disloyal to my father. I can’t hurt him like that.
And what about your loyalty to yourself? What about your loyalty to Ares?
She looked at my son, who watched her with the same intensity as I did. Opening her mouth, she started to say something, but on her other side, Zeus set his hand over hers. That bastard. Loyalty was earned, not taken, and if he t
hought he could control her like that, snatching away her choice—
Power emanated from me before I realized what I was doing. As the invisible tendrils reached Aphrodite, her face went blank, and I slowly untied her connection to Zeus. It was so easy—so simple to remove that hold he had over her. To let her live. To give her freedom.
“Hera.” Zeus’s voice boomed. Aphrodite blinked, and all of my work unraveled. “What do you think you’re doing?”
I gritted my teeth. “Giving her a choice.”
In an instant, golden ropes flew from the air around me, binding me to my throne. I gasped, struggling to free myself, but it was no use. “You may not have considered this treason before, but now it is undeniable,” said Zeus, his voice echoing with the command of a king. “You are hereby stripped of your title—”
“Daddy!” cried Aphrodite. Hephaestus and Ares leaped to their feet, but Zeus waved his hand, warding them off me.
“—and you will be detained until the council decides what to do with you.”
“What?” I said, stunned. “You can’t possibly—”
“You abused your abilities to sway a council member’s vote against me,” said Zeus. “You will be given a trial for your crimes—”
“No!” I shrieked, fighting the bonds once more. They held even tighter, biting into my skin. “I am the queen. You can’t do this—”
“Oh, but I can,” said Zeus. And before I could say another word, my throne disappeared, taking me with it.
Part Four
For seven days and seven nights, I stayed locked in a small, dark room that even the sun didn’t touch.
No one came to visit me. Zeus had undoubtedly forbidden them all. I sat quietly in my throne, biding my time, and I went back through the past hundred years. Would I have done things differently if I’d known this was where I would end up? Would I have tried to be more compassionate, less consumed by pride?
The only mistake I regretted was my marriage to Zeus. I would have changed nothing else.
At last, on the eighth day, I returned to the middle of the throne room without warning. The sunlight blinded me, and though I didn’t want to show the council any weakness, I had to close my eyes.