Chapter 16
Iuncrossed and recrossed my legs under the table, looking around at the ridiculous opulence for what must have been the hundredth time.
The moment Hedone had stopped talking, bright white light had consumed me, and then I'd found myself in this grand dining room.
Only the word 'room' didn't really apply.
There were no walls or ceiling, and stunning pastel colored clouds swirled above and around me.
A gentle, temperate breeze swept through my hair, and I closed my eyes.
It felt incredible. I was outside. Properly outside, where the air moved, and the sky stretched on forever.
The floor was made from the same white marble I'd seen so much of, as were the columns that ringed the circular space, but gold vines with tiny little white flowers wound their way around them.
I'd walked as close to the edge of the room as I dared, but it turned out I wasn't over my last brush with heights, and dizziness swamped me before I could see anything. So instead, I'd sat back down at the table.
Steaming hot coffee had been poured for two, and I picked the cup in front of me up and sniffed it. It smelled divine, and I was sipping at it before I could stop myself. A small happy moan escaped my lips.
“You humans and your coffee,” said a voice, and Zeus shimmered into existence in the chair opposite me. He was in blonde surfer boy form. Fury filled me instantly.
“Hello,” I said stiffly. “I've been wanting to have a talk with you, so I'm glad you've invited me to lunch.” He smiled at me, and my heart skipped a beat. I couldn't pretend he wasn't obscenely gorgeous. He abducted you. He's an asshole.
“So I heard. Shame about yesterday's Trial. I understand you missed out on a room with a view?” I said nothing, just sipped more coffee, letting my anger bubble.
“What do you think of the view here?” My eyes dropped to the table, shame pricking through my anger.
I was instantly annoyed with myself for giving my emotions away.
“Ah, but of course,” Zeus said softly. “You won't be able to go close enough to the edge to see.”
“As if you didn't already know that,” I spat. “You've done this deliberately, to mock me.” I glared at him, projecting as much venom into the look as I could.
“You and I have gotten off on the wrong foot, Persephone,” he said softly.
“The wrong foot? Explain to me how there could possibly be any other kind of foot? You kidnapped me!”
“That was when I thought you were just a useless little mortal human. I can see now, you may have lost your powers, but you kept your spirit.”
I stared at him, confused.
“You're saying this after I failed to cross the chasm?” I would have expected that to cement his poor opinion of me.
“You were clearly terrified, yet you tried anyway. I admire that.” I frowned suspiciously. “Let me show you the view, Persephone. This might be the only time you're off Virgo for a little while, and I believe you will appreciate the... openness of my realm.”
“Your realm? Where are we?”
“Leo. Sky realm of Zeus, center of Olympus,” he smiled at me.
Power emanated from him, and my anger was melting away.
I knew, vaguely, that he was doing it, but I was struggling to care.
“We are in my personal rooms at the top of Mount Olympus. The citizens of my realm live in houses that float in the ring of clouds around the mountain, or further down the mountain itself. And they get around in wooden ships with sails powered by light.” I stared at him.
“Now tell me, surely you want to see that?” His voice was warm and seductive and I couldn't deny that what he had described sounded amazing.
“OK,” I said, standing up. Zeus stood up too, then held his hand out towards the edge of the room. Glass appeared out of nowhere, wrapping itself around the marble floor and stretching up.
“You can't fall, I swear,” he said to me, then strode to the glass. I followed him cautiously. The dizziness didn't come as I got closer, and I wondered if that was because of Zeus, or because I knew I couldn't fall. Either way, I got close enough to the edge to see beyond.
And Zeus was right. The view was spectacular. If I'd had any lingering doubt that this was all in my head, it would have been dispelled at once - there was no way I could have invented what was before me.
Beyond the circular room was a thick band of fierce black clouds, crackling with purple electricity, but nestled in amongst them were massive mansions.
Many had walls made entirely from glass, presumably so that they could make the most of the view of the mountain I was on, and all had elaborate courtyards filled with greenery.
In the gap between the clouds and us were four or five of the ships Zeus had described. They were breathtaking. Reminiscent of pirate ships from movies back home, they were slightly different shapes and sizes, but all had taut metallic sails that sparkled and shimmered like liquid gold.
I couldn't stop staring at the one closest to us, the colors of the pastel clouds reflecting in the rippling surface.
“They're beautiful,” I breathed.
“I know. And they are a functional way to move between the realms. My daughter Athena is very good at creating things of both use and beauty.”
“Athena created them?”
“Yes. Along with your mortal world.”
I snapped my eyes to his.
“Athena created humans?” Zeus barked out a laugh.
“No, no, no. That was myself and my old friend Prometheus. Athena created the mortal world, where your precious New York is. Last time the Olympians fought she convinced me that humans should not pay the price of our disagreements, and I allowed her to create your world to put most of them. You know, as an experiment.”
“An experiment?”
“Yes. Humans are more resourceful than I realized though. The last lot managed to break the boundary into our world. Athena was most upset when I scrapped it all and she had to start again.”
My mouth fell open.
“What—” I started, but he waved his arm dismissively.
“I'm hungry,” he said.
My mind still reeling from what he had just said, I followed him dumbly to the table. Scrapped it all and started again?
“I'm sensing that you don't have a particularly high opinion of humans,” I said, sitting down.
“They have their uses. And we have many half human demigods here in Olympus. In fact we even allow them in the academies to learn to use their powers.”
“So humans can live in Olympus?”
“Not unless they are born here. Which many are.” He pulled a face, and snapped his fingers. A plethora of fruit appeared instantly on the table, all laid out on shining silverware.
“So, if I were to win these Trials, I still wouldn't be able to live here?”
“If you were to win, you would be reinstated as a—” he faltered, looking up at me as he leaned over to reach a platter of watermelon.
“A goddess?” I asked, thinking of what the voice in the garden had said last night.
“Hecate told you?”
I said nothing as the god shrugged. So it was true. I used to be a goddess. A shiver ran through me and I did my best to keep my face impassive.
“It doesn't matter if you know. The point is, I've changed my initial way of thinking.”
I raised an eyebrow at him, then reached for a bowl of grapes.
“The mighty Zeus admits he was wrong?” I said carefully.
He laughed, and it was a happy sound, that made me feel warm and safe.
“No. But all beings, great and small, are prone to changing their minds.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning, I want you to win.”
“Look, I'm really confused,” I said, my brain bursting with questions. “You brought me here to upset Hades, right? Because he doesn't want me here. When you abducted me,” I paused to glare at him, 'what were you hoping to achieve?”
“Honestly, I didn't really think it through,” he shrugged, the mischievous gleam back in his eye. “I didn't even expect to find you.”
I sighed, and rubbed at my forehead.
“Where's Skop?” I asked, suddenly realizing my kobaloi guard was nowhere to be seen.
“Oh, I didn't think he needed to intrude on our lunch.” Suspicion burned through me.
“There's not much point in me having a guard if you can dismiss him,” I said.
“I'm the Lord of the Gods. Dionysus's lapdogs will do as I bid them.”
Arrogance and annoyance were written across his face as he began to eat the fruit he'd gathered onto his plate. I matched his silence as we ate, thinking hard.
So far, he had been more forthcoming in his answers than I had expected. I needed to get as much information as I could out of him. And though my anger was difficult to hold onto, my distrust of him had gone nowhere. Clearly his powers had missed that emotion.
“So, I get my powers back if I win?” He nodded at me. “It seems like Poseidon wasn't a fan of me. Will he object to that?” Zeus made a pffff sound.
“Poseidon is a cautious old man, who gives himself too much to worry about. And Hades' unlawful actions have brought about a word of trouble for him too. Ignore him.”
“Why does he think I'm dangerous?”
Zeus looked at me, and the fruit suddenly vanished. In a heartbeat, it was replaced by mountains of pastries, the smell divine. He reached for something covered in shining chocolate.
“You know I'm not going to answer that,” he smiled. I picked up a donut, covered in powdered sugar, and bit into it. It tasted even better than it smelled. “I like watching you eat,” said Zeus, and my eyes snapped to his.
Energy rolled off him, and it was infectious. It seeped into my own body; life and ferocity building inside me like the purple sparks in his eyes. “I like to see a woman as beautiful as you enjoying using her senses.” His voice was low and husky, and heat flooded my core.
He abducted you! He's a god! You're not really feeling these things! The voice in my head was screaming at me, and I forced myself to listen to it.
“Is there any way I can get my powers back?” I blurted out.
“No,” he said simply.
“Please? I'd have a better chance of winning.” As I said the words, I wondered why I wanted them so much. I didn't want to win. I wanted to go home.
“No.” I let out a little snarl of frustration and Zeus smiled. “You are quite, quite beautiful,” he said.
“Will you at least tell me what they were?” I snapped, ignoring his comments, and my rising body temperature, as best I could.
“No. I'm inclined to let your frustration build a little longer. I think watching you—” he paused, eyes boring into mine, “Explode,” he said slowly, and every muscle in my body clenched, 'would be very pleasurable indeed.”
“Send me back,” I said quickly. “I want to go back to my room now.”
He reclined in his chair, a lazy smile on his beautiful face.
“Very well. Thank you for the pleasure of your company today. I'll see you soon,” he said, and the white light flashed.