Chapter 30 Silver
SILVER
Iwoke up physically raw, rough, deeply satisfied, and for the first time in days, completely certain about my path going forward.
There was only one thing to do, really. It should have occurred to me days ago, but I’d been far too frightened to even think it.
After hours and hours of getting thoroughly shagged by the only man who’d ever made me feel, I knew what I wanted—and I also knew how to take it.
I considered stopping by The Royal Manor. Kleos would help, after she attempted to talk some sense into me. But I shook my head, whispering to myself, “This is my hunt.”
In my steaming bathroom, my mirror reflected a resolved expression. To my surprise, I looked determined, but not afraid. There was a little pink left at the tips of my hair. I hadn’t bothered to dye the rest today, and I didn’t see the point.
I was truly done with deception.
After my shower, I put on the pants Lucian gave me, a pink top, and my favorite boots.
Amavi wasn’t around, nor was Cas, so I had to assume they were together somewhere. Part of me regretted I couldn’t wait for them. Have breakfast, stroke my hound’s big furry head. But it was for the best today. Anything could have changed my resolve.
I decided to leave a note.
Take care of her. I’ll be back soon.
There. There was nothing else to say.
The last thing I did before leaving my empty house was recover the bow I kept under my bed, liking it close.
The moon was still visible in the distance, though the sky exploded with reddish hues over the mountain. In all likelihood, the Gold Bank was closed up in the vale. I made my way to the Hall of Truce, and rode down to the underside, which was almost deserted this early in the morning.
Still, the tram was running, so I rode it to the spot between the Gate of Wealth and Death, alone in the entire cab.
I hopped off in front of the Gold Bank. Cas had said the immortal bank was always open to people with accounts as ancient and full as ours. I guessed I had to put it to the test.
I walked up the seven steps leading to the door, and lifted my hand to knock. Before my fist could hit the burnished wood, the heavy doors swung on their axis.
“Welcome, Ms. Silver.” The beautiful blue-skinned, slender wraith who’d showed us to the head of the bank’s office a week ago bowed politely. “May I offer you refreshment while I notify Sir Dayn of your arrival?”
And to think I used to equate the bank with long lines and usurious mortgage rates.
“No need to disturb him today, Helena,” I said, remembering her name. “I just need to visit my most recently opened safe, and if you’ll permit it, use your portal.”
She smiled. “Certainly, miss. This way, if you please.”
I followed her to the room, still bare except for the box where I’d left the ornate silver, white, and gold quiver.
I threw it across my shoulder, surprised at how light I suddenly felt.
“The portal, now, miss?” Helena offered.
I nodded tightly.
We returned to the ground floor, and she opened a room close to the office we’d used last time, where there was nothing but a tall mirror.
“You may step through, thinking about your destination as clearly as possible. If you’re not confident, saying it out loud may help.”
I was confident, and had a clear goal in mind, but I wasn’t an expert in travelling by portal, and I’d never been to my destination so I made myself say it just in case. “Ares’s palace, Olympus.”
I let in everything I knew about Cas, his leathery scent, his presence, the depth of his voice when he chuckled, the feel of his hands on my skin, as every particle I was composed of exploded, before reconstituting themselves at my destination.
I grunted, nausea permeating my insides—but at least I didn’t actually throw up.
I stood in the grandest room I’d ever seen, with walls so tall I likely could pile up three Eiffel Towers one on top of the other. Everything was bright white, gold, or blood red.
To my relief, the house was quiet, though no speck of dust or rust showed any sign of disuse.
I walked to the window and gasped as I took in the golden, mauve dawn rising over the city of the gods. The very air was so sweet, it seemed to nourish my very soul at each breath. I could be distracted by just inhaling here.
I made myself focus. Ancient palaces, more luxurious than any pantheon, shimmered and glowed, each grander than the next, and above it all, one platform atop the highest hill was crowned by white columns. At their feet, I could see twelve seats, each pulsing with power.
I didn’t concern myself with any of them, my eyes focusing on the twin flames in pits on either side of the seats of the dodecatheon, one blue, the other, gold.
The hearth of the gods, holding the eternal flame Prometheus stole eons past.
It was some distance away—I’d have to pass four palaces.
I made myself take in the symbols over their grand entrance.
The cornucopia was likely Demeter’s, and the owl, Athena’s.
The trident, I decided, was likely not a problem—not so much because Poseidon was on Kleos’s side, and might forgive me trespassing on her account, but because I knew he didn’t tend to hang out here.
That left one problem: the palace showing a caduceus on top. I grimaced. Hermes, the fastest, most wicked of all the gods. Even if he wasn’t around when I crossed, he could materialize himself in a blink of an eye if he so wished. I had to evade him entirely if I could.
I bit my lip, trying to find other paths, but it seemed like the city was designed to ensure the imperial seat could only be accessed after passing each of those domains.
“What in the name of our father are you doing here?” the most melodious voice intoned right behind me.
I never even felt her approach, but when I turned, I faced a woman so tall I couldn’t hope to see her face. I only reached her toe. Yet her voice had been just a whisper buzzing in my ear.
In the next breath, she flicked out of focus and reappeared, only one head taller than me this time.
I knew her. Not only because of the memories Cas had allowed me to see, but because deep inside me, I realized I knew this person as well as I knew myself. Better, perhaps.
My sister.
What Cas and Apollo had claimed about genetics had made sense, reflecting my own observations and beliefs, but there was such a thing as chosen family.
Kleos, for one, had no drop of blood in common with me, but I considered her a sister.
And this gray-eyed beauty with ink-black tresses was just that.
“Athena,” I whispered, voice weak.
My theory had been that right now, as weak as a mortal, my energy was too inconsequential for anyone on Olympus to sense it. I figured I was just a little ant to the greater-than-life creatures who lived here. Yet she’d located me in instants. Would she call Zeus, bring me to her father in chains?
I wasn’t sure. Yes, I’d loved this woman like family lifetimes ago, but one thing I knew for a fact was that Athena was Zeus’s favorite child, always by his side, to offer her support and counsel.
“I asked you a question, stupid girl,” she said, though the insult held no heat.
My lower lip quivered. I didn’t know how to voice what had clearly ended up being the stupidest idea I’ve ever had.
“I’m here—” I croaked. “I’m here for Hestia.”
There was no point in lying. In fact, attempting to lie badly was the one guaranteed path to getting blasted out of here by a pissed-off goddess of wisdom.
My tongue untangled. “Cas—Ares, that is—won’t help us while she’s in danger. I need to get her out of there so he can be on our side. He will be,” I asserted, absolutely certain.
The gray-eyed goddess held my gaze for what felt like an eternity.
Then thunder boomed in the distance, once, twice, and again until there were twelve counts, calling all the gods to their seats.
She gave me away.
I backtracked, desperately looking around for somewhere to hide. The bow I carried, the quiver full of arrows, seemed as consequential as sticks and stones in the hands of children. I couldn’t even attempt to fight her.
No.
No. I wouldn’t hide. I wouldn’t flee.
If I was to meet my end, let it be here, against this goddess, and not the mercurial, cruel Zeus who’d likely take pleasure in torturing me first—or worse, use me to hurt my friends, to reach Highvale.
Hands steadier, I reached for the bow and one of my arrows, pulling it effortlessly, though the string had been so hard to move when I’d first tried.
I lifted my chin as a silver-white flame ignited at the arrowhead.
Let it end with pride rather than fear.
My heartbeat was steady, my ears buzzing, ignoring every sound to focus on the moment. On the hunt.
I knew just where to shoot. Athena would call to her shield, but if I willed the arrow to curve, and shot a second before she could recover, I’d get her.
I always managed an arrow or two when she was on the defense.
Floods of memories flashed through my eyes as the silver flame grew, from the arrow tip to the fletching at the end, and then engulfing me.
Bring it on, I thought, steadily, confidently. Not only because I remembered how to hunt, but because I knew, to the depths of my soul, that I would never lose against this woman.
Not that I was better than her. I won because she let me.
She always had and always would.
Slowly, the goddess’s shapely mouth curved up. “Well, that certainly is unexpected, little sister.”
The End
Until the second part of the duet, Swear Upon Darkness
May writes various genres and series. If you enjoy To the Cruel Gods, leave a review to encourage her to prioritize this world in her schedule.