Chapter 29
“No,” someone screams over the ringing in my ears.
A blast of white light blurs past me and I stumble away from the throne. What the hell was that? I turn, glancing over my shoulder to find Hera getting up off the ground and Jayden scrambling away from her toward me.
“Beth, get away from there,” Jayden gasps.
“What’s happening?” I ask, shaking my head.
“I’m not forcing you to make that choice. I took it out of your hands.” Kira grins at me. “Now, let’s finish this so we can go home.”
I slam into Kira, wrapping her in a fierce hug. “Thank you.”
No one else helped. Not even Raven helped the way Kira just did. Relief floods me as Hera groans and lurches off the ground. Hope blooms in my chest as I step away from Kira and turn to the woman who has ruined my life for the last time.
Magic pulses in my gut and I raise my hands, blasting the queen with everything I’ve got. Kira stands next to me, her fire and light shooting from her hands as well.
“Jayden, are you okay?” I shout.
“I’m fine, baby. Make her pay.” Jayden presses a hand to my back.
“Planning on it.” I visualize lightning chains wrapping around Hera with my eyes squeezed tight.
Jayden straightens his shoulders and steps up next to me, golden chains shooting from his hands. “It’s not enough. She’s going to break out of this.”
“Maybe we can use something else,” I say, a thought coming to my mind.
“It won’t hold her for long,” Kira says. “It wasn’t made for her, but if you can call it the same way as the other automatons, it could give us time to get her on the throne.”
“What are you two plotting?” Jayden asks.
“Watch.” I grip the charm Hephaestus gave me and focus on the golden net.
It appears above Hera’s head, and I drop it on top of her. The goddess screams and thrashes even as the net secures itself around her.
“Now,” I scream.
Jayden’s golden shadow chain snaps into place around her body and tugs her closer to the throne. I transport to the other side of the queen and my electricity shoots out of my hands, shoving her forward.
“You children can’t defeat me,” Hera roars.
“We already have.” I shove everything I have into pushing her to the throne.
Sweat beads on my forehead as I push harder. Jayden’s magic is lagging as he yanks her closer to the chair.
“Kira, we could use your help,” I shout.
White light bursts from Kira’s hands and gives Hera the final push we need for her to fall into the chair. Hera screams and golden light flares around her as thick gold chains snap around her wrists and ankles, locking her to the chair.
“Well done, daughter.” Zeus appears in front of me.
“Not me, Father. I failed to make the right choice. Kira saved us all.” I shake my head.
“That never should have been asked of you. It was too much weight to put on one person. I’m more interested in another choice you made. You chose to surround yourself with good people who will take some of that weight off you.” He pats my shoulder.
“Beth,” Jayden breathes as he rushes forward. “We did it. It’s finally over.”
“It’s over,” I whisper, clutching Jayden’s hand. “You need a healer.”
“I’m fine.” Jayden wraps his arms around me. “You shouldn’t have done that, but it all worked out in the end.”
Shame and relief batter my insides as I clutch Jayden. I’m not the hero here. I was weak. How could I make that choice, though? Maybe Father is right and that wasn’t a fair choice to force on me.
“Don’t beat yourself up, baby sister.” Apollo appears next to me. “This version of events only came to me days ago. So I put it in motion to save you from making a choice that would break you. I’m truly sorry we asked so much of you. It wasn’t fair, but now you can rest.”
“Rest. I don’t think she knows the definition of the word.” Jayden chuckles.
“You, Jayden.” Apollo places a hand on his shoulder and all the tension melts from him. “That’s better. How are you feeling now?”
“Much better. Thank you, Apollo.” Jayden bows his head.
“I think we should be thanking you, son,” my father cuts in. “You were willing to sacrifice yourself for us all. Even if my daughter wasn’t willing to sacrifice you. I don’t blame her, though. A love like yours is unlike we’ve seen among demigods.”
“Thank you, Lord Zeus.” Jayden bows his head.
“None of that formality here, son. Your group of heroes saved us all.”
“Yes, sir.” Jayden nods.
“Now, I must deal with my wife.” Father pats my shoulder.
I turn to look at Hera. She’s thrashing on the throne, and her mouth is moving but no sound reaches my ears. Someone silenced her. Good.
“I warned you once before when you thought to overthrow me that you would not get another chance again,” Father bellows. “I sentence you, wife, to a thousand years in that chair in the prison built for Typhon.”
“No,” Hera pleads. “You can’t do this to me. I’m your wife. Your queen.”
“Did you think about any of that before trying to overthrow me again?” Zeus roars.
Ares and Hades pop into the room, each with a goddess in chains. Aphrodite attempts to lunge for me, but Hades yanks her back.
“This is all your fault, you stupid bitch,” Aphrodite screams.
“You’re lucky Hades has you under control because my chains wouldn’t be so forgiving to the woman who had my mother murdered.” My magic flares hot in my palm.
“What?” Jayden’s gaze snaps to mine. “How do you know that?”
“She admitted it to me when we were fighting at Mt. Etna. She’s the one who found us and sent that monster after us.”
“Dad, don’t go easy on her,” Jayden says, crossing his arms over his chest.
“That monster was supposed to kill you too, but it failed,” Aphrodite whispers. “If you had died, this wouldn’t be happening.”
“You guys are continuously underestimating me. It’s ridiculous that you thought you could win this war.” I shake my head.
“Aphrodite needs a similar punishment to Hera, Father. She’s been working with Hera on this for more than three years. She murdered my mother and attempted to kill me more than once.” I turn to Zeus.
“Aphrodite and Athena are to be sentenced to five centuries in Tartarus,” Zeus bellows. “The jailor in that realm will assign your punishments during those centuries.”
“Gladly.” Hades grins. “Beth is the love of my son’s life, and I will avenge her mother. Maybe I’ll let her spirit have a crack at you, Aphrodite.”
“The snow nymph is out there somewhere too.” I point to the door. “She tried to stop us from finding the forge.”
“Where are Thad and Adrian?” Raven asks.
“They haven’t come back from their search in the forge yet.” Greyson jogs to the door and peeks out. “I hope they didn’t touch anything.”
“Adrian was the one who warned us that they may come to life; he wouldn’t touch anything.” I step closer to the door.
“Unless it’s something he thinks we need, but it’s all over now so why would he risk it?” Jayden asks.
“I don’t know. I hope he wouldn’t. We need them here so we can all get back to the academy and let everyone know that we won. It’s over and life can go back to normal.”
“We all leave together, always.” Jayden squeezes my hand.
“It feels like a trick. Is it really over? We can just be normal college students again?” I scan the faces of my friends.
“You guys can. You can finally rest without the weight of the world on your shoulders.” Kira grins and squeezes my arm.
I roll my shoulders back and blow out a relieved breath.
They’re right. It’s finally over and in the end, it wasn’t all about my choice.
It was the people I surround myself with being willing to step in and take the choice out of my hands.
Draven did it at Mt. Etna and Kira just did it again with Hera.
“You will call me to help if you need it.” I point a finger at her.
“Not a chance,” Kira says. “Jayden will send me to the underworld if I disturb your peace.”
“Like hell he will. The only reason he’s still here is because you saved us all. I mean it. Once your war begins, you know how to find me.” I narrow my eyes on her.
“Only as an absolute last resort, the world is burning down around me, will I call you for help. You have earned your peace.” Kira shakes her head.
“So have you,” I argue.
“Nah, we stayed on the sidelines too long while you guys went out and risked everything.”
“The ground support at the academy was appreciated, though. You didn’t have to help us, and you did,” I point out.
“Daughter,” Zeus calls. “You have another choice to make.”
“What kind of choice?” I ask.
“You and Jayden have changed a lot in the past months with overexposure to divine blood. I would like to offer you both a place in Olympus.” He grips my shoulder.
“If we stayed here, we wouldn’t be able to help our friends, though.” I turn to Jayden. “What do you think?”
“I think I’ll follow you anywhere, so it doesn’t really matter to me.” He kisses my temple.
“This is an amazing offer, Father, but I don’t want to be a goddess if it means I can’t assist my friends when or if they ever need me. Gods aren’t allowed to directly interfere, and I don’t sit on the sidelines with my hands tied. I’m not built that way.”
Apollo pops up next to my father with a grin. “Told you she wouldn’t accept that offer. I don’t know why you doubt the god of prophecy. I see all.”
“Yes, you were right.” Zeus’ shoulders slump. “It doesn’t hurt to try, though.”
Zeus holds his hand out and motions for me to put my hand in his. Once I comply, he does the same with Jayden. A golden band wraps around my wrist a second later.
“What is that?” I ask.
“That is the key, so to speak, to Olympus. You both may come and go as you please without being attached to it the way we are.” Father nods.
“You had to do it first, didn’t you?” Hades grumbles.
“You snooze you lose, Hades. You haven’t learned that yet?” Zeus laughs.
“Whatever. I was saving this for you just in case you made the choice I was dreading.” Hades holds his hand out to me.
“Wait, you had a plan for me to see Jayden if he died in this war?” I gasp.
“Not even death can tear you two apart.” Hades nods. “I try to always be two steps ahead.”