“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 thought 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—”