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 intent…”
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.”