Chapter 27
THANE
Fire consumed everything in its path and illuminated the blackness of night with its red glow. Battalions of marshals fought against wraiths consumed with anger and vengeance, and they were losing. The wraiths' purple auras spat red sparks, and their usually void expressions were marred with fury.
We approached Hades’s vehicle, where her driver awaited us. The woman was as polished as ever, with a casual smile like the world wasn't burning around her. Though as we got closer, I caught the reddish stain of her blood-soaked clothing.
"Good to see you, Thane," she said politely while opening the door for us. Inside, Lamia sat in the front seat, her hollowed gaze watching our approach.
"Nice to see you, Dany," I replied with a grunt. I kicked Apollo hard in the ass to shove him into the car.
She frowned, her gaze going past me. "A disgruntled woman approaches, sir."
Hades and I turned, and my face went slack.
Brit was storming toward us, tears streaming down her cheeks.
My hand went to the Beretta at my hip, though even after everything, I hesitated in pulling it.
I didn't want to kill her. She was misguided, having thrown her faith into the very system designed to cause harm, but she was an innocent regardless.
"Let him go!" she choked out. "You monster! You don't understand, I need him!"
Rage lanced across Hades’s lovely features.
I held out a hand to stop her from burning the woman alive.
"Brit, he lied to you. Apollo was never going to help your sister.
He was going to kill you. Don't you feel it?
The cough you had earlier is gone, right?
It's because we've restrained his powers.
Otherwise, you'd be dead by morning. That monster—” I pointed to Apollo's hunched form within our car “—didn’t give a shit about you. "
Her eyes widened, and she stilled while digesting my words.
An ember of hope built within my icy chest. Maybe she would understand, and she could still save herself.
Unfortunately, that hope went out when her expression hardened.
She shook her head as if ridding herself of the turmoil my words caused.
"You're lying! You're a traitor to your country—a violent rebel set on killing all of us! I will end you!"
My soul fell and stuttered into utter darkness.
I should've known better, and really, I did.
She had lived her entire life believing in a system designed to chew her up and spit her out.
To admit it was all a lie was to admit her entire life was a lie.
Few people had the wherewithal to do so.
I sighed. "You were a good soldier, Brit. "
I pulled my gun and shot her in the forehead at point-blank range. It was a painless death, better than Apollo would've afforded her. I holstered my weapon, and she slumped to the ground. "Unfortunately, you picked the wrong side."
I didn't feel guilty about her untimely end. Her death was the fault of the system that created her, I was just the sorry sap that pulled the final trigger. I turned away from her lifeless form. "Let's go home."
Hades and I sat across from Apollo, with Lamia's head peeking out of the small driver's window next to him. Hades tipped her head to Lamia. "Is it done?"
She nodded. "I have sent the footage to Hermes himself and shared it to every phone in a thirty-mile radius. It should be major news by morning."
Hades smiled, her shoulders relaxing. "Good."
Her attention returned to Apollo. "Well, with that done, do you want to admit what your plan was?"
"And why would I do that?" Apollo snarled.
She shrugged. "Lighter souls fare better in the Underworld. Perhaps removing the weight of dishonesty from your shoulders would help you receive a lighter sentence."
He spat at her, but I threw my arm in front of her face to block the attack. I let out a low growl and wiped the saliva on my pants. "Fucking do it again and you'll eat another bullet. Answer her question."
"Fuck you, dog,” he snapped. Splotches of red marred his incredulous expression, oddly similar to a splattered tomato.
Over the headrest, Lamia buried a small blade in his throat. She giggled as golden blood coated her fingers, the sound blending into a symphony with his gargled gasps. Dany giggled from her side. "Answer Her Majesty," Lamia said, her voice light.
Silence spanned the space. Apollo was struggling to sit upright from his wounds staining his seat gold, their healing slowed by the chains wrapping his wrists.
Finally, he let out a ragged sigh, gold trickling from his cracked lips.
"It is like you said. Church attendance has been low.
There has been growing discontent among the civilians, especially in the outlying zones.
The lack of your presence has given people a confidence that Zeus wanted to squash. "
He laughed then, the sound descending into harrowing coughs that sprayed a fine mist of gilded gore over the interior. "You helped him accomplish his goal," he added, waving to the destruction outside our windows. "They'll be fucking terrified of you now."
She scowled, following his gaze out the window. We were approaching the border with Zone 3, though the barbed-wire wall that typically bordered the two zones was blasted open, the edges of the metal singed and warped.
I spoke then, brushing my hand over Hades’s thigh in a show of solidarity. "Let them be terrified. Hades can rise to power and use that fear against her brother. Zeus won't know what fucking hit him."
A devilish grin warped Hades’s pretty features, and she straightened. “The tides of Olympiara are changing, and a new immortal will take the seat of power."
Apollo laughed again, heaving against the blade still jutting from his throat. He settled against the seat and allowed his head to fall back. His eyes shuttered closed. "Oh dear, sweet Hades. Zeus is always three steps ahead of you. No one can stop him."
"We will, and we will not stop until the entirety of Olympiara is ash." Hades turned her attention to me, and I was consumed by her emerald gaze. "What do you think?"
A cruel satisfaction, jagged from years of abuse, grew in my chest. Olympiara had always been a cesspool of corruption and evil, led by the most corrupt of them all. Yes, Zeus would fall, and we would see a new leadership emerge from the ashes.
"I will follow you for eternity, Hades."