14. Where Better Plans Are Made （And The Empress And Her Revenge Lived Happy Ever Forever…）
WHERE BETTER PLANS ARE MADE (AND THE EMPRESS AND HER REVENGE LIVED HAPPY EVER FOREVER…)
“Can she hear us?” Demeter’s words pierced the veil of her dreams.
“It’s Hera. She’s either listening in and pretending otherwise, or she’s dead to spite us all. Sorry.” Clio’s voice was hushed, the apology came in fast and almost reverently.
Hera tried to surface from the fog that clouded her eyes and desperately wished they’d continue speaking, as it was the only thing she could focus on. If only Nemesis would say something.
“Good thing Nemesis is not here to smack you, Clio.” Demeter’s voice took on a concerning quality. Hera wanted to shout, to ask where Nemesis was. Her Vengeance.
“I still can’t believe she did it. Actually, there are about a thousand things that happened that I cannot believe. Zeus being in love with Hera all this time and his heart breaking over her. Hera dying. Nemesis tying the thread and bringing her back.”
Demeter’s words held reverence. Hera struggled through the dreams harder.
Thread?
“Not even Fates stand a chance when Vengeance claims her spoils.” Clio whispered in awe.
Spoils? What was happening?
“Who’d have thought?” Demeter wondered as she ran her fingers through Hera’s hair. It felt oddly far and not unpleasant. But also, would they stop asking foolish rhetorical questions? Nobody would have thought, Hera almost screamed herself hoarse in her dream.
Nobody, sister, so quit asking questions and provide answers!
“I did.” Erato? “I knew this old romantic would never resist Nemesis. And I knew Nemesis would literally fight Death. I mean, they are perfect for each other. Hence, the Perfect Match arrows.”
Hera struggled against the binds that seemed to drag her deeper into the fog. Her chest was heavy.
“Well, only two beings knew about Abby’s damn arrow. And certainly nobody was aware it was Hera who was Nemesis’s intended. Damn, those cupids are just that good,” Clio murmured.
“They really are. I guess that was why Zeus went on believing Sabine had granted him his Perfect Match. The old fool didn’t know he’d had it all along and threw it away,” Erato said.
“And to think there was no arrow for him. That the arrow was for Hera, pairing her up with Nemesis from the start. Sabine is nothing if not perverse. I love that about her.” Somewhere close, Demeter tsked.
Hera felt the bed dip next to her hand and then a soft grunt from her future sister-in-law. Clearly, Erato was making herself at home on Hera’s bed.
“Listen, Zeus and his heart are of no consequence. It broke? Big fucking deal. Like, the fact that after terrorizing half the female population of Earth with his dick, it had been his ex-wife for him all along, was honestly a no-brainer. Sometimes, Justice and Fates do not work in mysterious ways at all. Biggest surprise ever this was not. Fuck him.”
No, thank you. Been there. Done that. Got the tiara that is useless now.
Clearly oblivious to Hera’s internal monologue, Erato went on.
“So Zeus and his heartbreak aside, can we talk about the Cupids? How good they are? Sabine and Abby in particular? So good at noticing true love. In this case, however, it was sort of obvious. The moment I saw the way Nemesis was looking at Hera, I knew it was all over for the old girl. Nobody survives Nemesis.”
There was a sigh. Demeter must’ve had enough of her fiancée and her puns.
“Hera survived because of Nemesis. Her standing up against the Fates and demanding the heart that belonged to her, arguing it wasn’t Hera’s to bargain with since it belonged to Nemesis after a confession of love… I admit I was impressed. Also, the tying of the thread—”
“Did you even know it was possible?”
Clio’s voice was excited, like a nerd in a museum. Hera wanted to roll her eyes in her sleep.
“Seeing as how Apollo fell off the balcony, and Poseidon needed smelling salts—”
“Ocean Boy always needs smelling salts.” Hera was happy to hear the voice of the shortest bear in the background. So, she was back at her penthouse.
“I mean, yes, sure, Poseidon is not the greenest algae in the sea,” Demeter acquiesced.
Hera wondered why they were discussing the damn God of the Seas; he really wasn’t all that interesting. As if reading her mind, Demeter graciously moved on.
“Still, clearly this was not something anyone had considered. But then, Nemesis and her power, her favors and her claims… Nobody disputes that which Revenge takes as her own. Apparently, even the Fates agree.”
There were steps and some parchment rustling.
“I think it’s the contract. No idea why Hera would sign this, mostly because, damn, it’s foolish, but Nemesis had a solid claim, Goddess of Vengeance or not.”
More rustling. Clio went on.
“Bargaining her heart on top of her soul is what saved her. Since it no longer belonged to her, Nemesis won on a technicality. Those Fates are nothing if not bureaucratic.”
“Are you all here to discuss bureaucracy?”
Hera nearly jumped out of bed at the sound of the one voice she had been desperate to hear. The air filled with the scent of gunpowder, steel with a hint of caramel, and she exhaled, her chest finally feeling lighter, breath coming easier.
“No, no, absolutely not!” Clio sounded flustered and harried. It was high time they all cleared out.
Nemesis obviously thought so, too.
“I left something for you in the living room. Your next assignment. See that you read the fine print before you go, History.” Hera all but swooned—insofar as someone in a state of unconsciousness could swoon—at the authority in the beloved voice.
“Demeter, could you please collect your fiancée? Thank you for staying while I was away, but I got it from here.”
More shuffling, some whispered goodbyes, take care and let us know how it goes. Then silence. The scents of gunpowder and spun caramel grew stronger.
“You can open your eyes now, my love.”
Hera blinked. Then blinked again.
Her love?
“I didn’t know I could?”
Nemesis’s smile was fond. Hera wanted to bask in it. Drink it by the gallon. Like nectar.
“I understand the reluctance to do so in the presence of our family. They can be a lot.”
“Our?”
Hera lifted a weak hand and traced the full lower lip, feeling Nemesis smile against her fingertips.
“Our. If you think that after everything you pulled—”
“I’m sorry. For what it’s worth, I was…” Hera stopped, thoughts running into one another in her mind, scrambled and confused.
“I don’t know. Millenia of disrespect, eternity of denigration.
Being his forever scapegoat. I wanted him to burn.
I was ready to die for it. Moreover, I thought him getting another wife would render me useless anyway.
And I didn’t realize that living would be the best revenge. ”
“I am the best Revenge.”
Nemesis’s smile bloomed wider. Hera kept caressing it, struggling to believe this was real.
“You are the only Revenge. Mine.”
Nemesis laughed, a low, wicked sound.
“It’s in writing now. Clio was right to fawn over the bureaucracy. The Fates do have their Ts crossed and Is dotted, you know.”
Hera tucked a lock of mahogany hair behind the surprisingly ticklish ear, making Nemesis twitch at the touch. Her heart overflowed with tenderness. She almost forgot the question she wanted to ask. Almost.
Ts? Is? What?
“You signed a bargain that if you were to break his heart, your own heart would be theirs, along with your soul. And while they could have had some claims over the soul part, since you gave your heart in an act of true love to me, they could not claim it. So the bargain was in jeopardy. Either of us could have pressed for a resolution. We’d have had to get Justice involved, and nobody has seen her in ages, anywhere in the world. ”
Nemesis caressed her face, touching her like the touch alone was the point. Hera felt tears fill her eyes.
“And you did, I take it? Press?”
Nemesis lifted their joined hands and kissed her knuckles.
“My favor. You owed me first. When we struck our own deal, you wanted my help, and I wanted… I wanted you, in any shape or form. You agreed without ever asking me, which should’ve perhaps been my clue you were on some mission of no return.”
Nemesis gave her a heavy glare. Hera shivered not unpleasantly. Nemesis lifted her eyes to the heavens.
“Dammit, woman, never again. “ Hera nodded solemnly and nemesis went on.
“Anyway, in the end, it was the sum of all things. What you owed me in exchange for the favor was the heart you gave me willingly. That was my argument. That the Fates had no claim on what was no longer yours. As for your soul… Well, now, I owe them a favor.”
“No!” Hera sat up in bed only to be gently pushed back down. “You hate owing favors. Those you owe favors to always drag you to Hell! Oftentimes literally. Nemesis—”
She was met with a kiss on her forehead.
“You think I wouldn’t descend into Hell for you?”
Hera let herself sink back on the pillows, pulling the now serious face closer. The eyes had lost some of their ice, watching her closely, seeing her thoughts. Hera caught herself thinking she didn’t mind. Not now, not with this woman.
“No, I think you’d have challenged Hades to release me. And you’d have not turned to see if I followed.”
The flash of a smile was her answer at first, then she received another forehead kiss.
“I’d have never turned away from you to begin with.
I’d have not taken my eyes off you. Which I never intend to anyway.
” Nemesis touched her face gently. “As for Hell, Hades could’ve hanged for all I cared about her conditions.
Orpheus made a rookie mistake but it wasn’t in turning around.
Wanting to make sure your love is okay is a lover’s nature.
Worrying about your love is a given. He should have struck a better bargain. ”
“Not everyone wrestles the Fates down and ties the threads of life back together, my love. Not everyone is as terrifying as you.”
“You think I’m terrifying?”