“My sons have destroyed a significant portion of the palace in order to settle a tiff that you apparently caused.” His voice is as empty as his expression, and that twists the knife in my stomach. Couldn’t he at least pretend to care?
“Not to mention put them both in danger,” says Hera. I see it now, the fear in her eyes—I hear it in her voice, as well. It isn’t all anger. I hug Eros tighter.
“They’re immortal,” I say. “Any damage wouldn’t be permanent.”
Hera glances at Hephaestus, and I know what she’s thinking. Once upon a time, immortality didn’t protect him. Who’s to say it wouldn’t happen again? I don’t know the whole story—no one but Hera does, and she’s never bothered to talk to me about it. But I know it had to do with a fall to the earth. And if they’ve really destroyed part of Olympus…of course she’s upset. Any mother would be.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “I was just trying to help him—”
“It’s my fault,” says Hephaestus. “I tricked her into thinking I was someone else.”
“Did you trick her into falling in love with you, as well?” growls Ares, and the two glare at each other.
“You should’ve never returned,” says Hera. “You’ve never been anything but trouble, and the pain you’ve put my sons through—”
“Hera,” says Daddy in that commanding voice of his, the one none of us can ignore. “Leave us. The rest of you, as well.”
The other members of the council grumble, but one by one, they leave. As Artemis passes me, she touches my elbow. At first I think it’s a sign of affection—maybe someone’s missed me, after all. Instead she leans toward me until her mouth is next to my ear. “Honestly, Aphrodite. How can you call yourself the goddess of love if you can’t even make up your mind?”
I bristle. As if she knows the first thing about love. “You can love more than one person, you know,” I snap, echoing the same words Hephaestus said to me the night before.
She sniffs haughtily, and I’m about to tell her where she can shove her attitude when Daddy says, “Artemis. Go.”
Giving me one last look, she follows Apollo and little Hermes, who isn’t so little anymore. They join Demeter and her daughter, Persephone, and the five of them enter a corridor we rarely use. No one heads down the hallway that leads to our chambers. That must be the part of Olympus that Ares and Hephaestus destroyed.
“Who?” says Eros, pointing toward their group.
“That’s Persephone and Hermes,” I say. “Maybe you can all be friends.” If the council lets me stay. His little face scrunches up like he’s considering it, and he leans back in my arms. Having friends will be good for him, as long as I can find a way to shield him from the worst of the hatred in this place. Keeping him away from Hera is a start.
As soon as the three of us are alone, Daddy reaches for my hand. “I missed you,” he says. “Never leave me again, my darling.”
I press my lips together. I don’t know what to say to that. “I’m sorry. For leaving the way I did, I mean. I didn’t think I had any other choice.”
“I understand. When I was your age, I would’ve done the same thing.” He smiles. “Speaking of youth, I’m afraid I haven’t had the pleasure of being introduced to this handsome young man.”
“This is Eros,” I say, snaking a protective arm around him. “Eros, this is Zeus, my daddy.”
Eros’s eyes go wide, and he sticks his thumb in his mouth. I ruffle his hair. Nothing to be afraid of, or at least I hope there isn’t.
For a moment we sit in companionable silence, both of us watching Eros. He pretends to be shy, but I can feel him glowing as he laps up the attention. Such a ham. The moment can’t last forever though, and eventually Daddy sighs.
“What are you going to do, my daughter?”
I stare at Eros’s golden curls. I thought coming back to Olympus would give me some answers, but I’m as confused as ever. “I don’t know. I love them both.”
“But you’ve only been with Hephaestus for a short while.”
I shrug. “Doesn’t matter. I can feel the way he loves me. It’s—warm. Gentle. Steady. And I want that, Daddy. I really do.”
“Then what is the problem?”
The words catch in my throat. “I love Ares, too.”
“And what is the difference between them?”
Everything. “Ares—I know who he is. I know what he is. I know he blows hot and cold, and I know he’s sometimes unreliable, but when we’re together, it’s like—it’s like the entire world’s on fire.”
“And Hephaestus?”
My cheeks turn pink. My father is the last person I want to talk to about this, but he’s the only one who can possibly understand. “With him, it’s just the two of us. Everything else goes dark, and no matter what we’re talking about, even if it’s something silly, it’s warm. Always warm.” Never cold like it is sometimes with Ares.
“Then it seems you have a choice to make,” he says. My eyes water all over again.
“How?” I whisper. “Everyone thinks I’m—I’m a whore for loving both of them, but I can’t help it, Daddy.”
“Oh, Aphrodite.” He moves into the space between our thrones and captures me in a hug. “You have nothing to be ashamed of no matter what your mother or sisters try to claim. You’re so full of love in a way they’ll never be, and it’s natural you love both of my sons. Some people are built for monogamy. They see love in one person, and they devote themselves entirely to that love. But people like you and me, we see love everywhere, and we know what a waste it would be to pass it by. That doesn’t mean we love our partner any less. It just means we share our love with others, as well.”
I sniff, and Daddy produces a piece of cloth. I take it and dab my eyes. “But what happens when it hurts our partners so badly that they don’t want to love us anymore?”
For a moment, Daddy’s silent. I shouldn’t have asked. I know exactly what happens then—I’ve seen it in Daddy’s marriage to Hera. We all have. “Then maybe they simply aren’t the ones we’re supposed to be with.”
“How am I supposed to choose?” I mumble. “Hephaestus says he’s all right with it, but I think he’s secretly hoping he’ll be enough. And Ares—he doesn’t want me to be with anyone else at all.”