by Meg Xuemei X
According to the myth, she was born fully armored from Zeus’s forehead. I wondered if she wore that same armor today. The crested helmet on her golden head must have come from her birth. In my humble opinion, it wasn’t fashionable. If I were her, I would commission a new one to impress others.
My gaze moved to her state-of-the-art shield and spear. A thunderbolt sparked on the sharp spearhead. It was said that Zeus allowed his daughter to wield his thunderbolt.
She represented a more formidable foe than Ares, since she was all about war strategy, and he was more about blunt, brutal force.
“Brother,” Athena said, half-turning to Ares, half-facing us. “Let me handle this first. Even mortals believe that the supreme art of war is to break the enemy’s resistance without fighting.”
Artemis and Demeter had told me that Athena would support me as well.
Part of me felt relief.
I was not a coward, nor were my mates.
The gods burned, flooded, and leveled Earth’s cities, and we felt a great need to avenge all the lost lives. But all-out war with them would only cost more lives. We’d be lucky if half of our army survived this battle.
Athena wasn’t my favorite person because of the injustice she’d done to Medusa and many others. However, if she could prevent this catastrophic war—
The Goddess of Wisdom swept her gray eyes over me and settled it on the generals on the platform of Bethesda Terrace. The war lords shifted nervously under her piercing gaze. No mortals could meet a powerful goddess’s stare.
“Generals, citizens of Earth.” Athena raised her powerful voice. “I’m the Goddess of Reason and Peace, among many other names.”
She meant that she actually had over twenty-five titles. I hoped she wouldn’t request text cues and recite them all. But she got everyone’s attention. The earthlings held their breath and hung on her every word.
“It’s going to get interesting whenever Athena is involved,” Hades said.
“But she always got involved in all things,” his winged-god captain murmured.
I gave Hades a glare. “Could you guys not provide commentary on everything?”
The God of Death arched an eyebrow. Right, I forgot that I was his pawn and obedient daughter.
“Your ancestors called me a friend,” Athena continued, her voice warmer, “for I protected them. That hasn’t changed. I still am the protector of civilized life. I’m the Defender of Earth.”
“She just took my title.” I said to Pyrder beside me, blinking in disbelief.
The Goddess of Wisdom had just pronounced that Earth was hers and her right, and the earthlings were her people.
If that was the case, where had she been when her kin burned half of Earth?
But I soon dropped my gaze in shame. I hadn’t prevented the holocaust, either. I hadn’t protected my people. I’d only paid them lip service.
“What’s her game?” Lorcan mused.
“She’s establishing herself as the good guy.” Alaric thumbed his chin. “That’s always their first step before they commit genocide.”
“It feels like she wants to divide us first,” Pyrder said.
“She might want peace,” I said, craning my head to look for her buddies, Demeter and Artemis.
But they were nowhere to be found. Would they betray the cause of our sisterhood? I had no idea if the goddesses made a habit of breaking their words or not, but history books didn’t have anything bad to say about Demeter and Artemis.
I moved my gaze to our army and scanned the soldiers spread all over the park and saw hope spark in their eyes. No one wanted to die today, and they now put their faith in the Goddess of Peace and Reason, who claimed to be Earth’s defender.
“Shut her up before she sabotages Cassandra,” Hades said. “The Olympians know Cassandra is the most lethal weapon against them. A tribe of them have tried to contain her and failed. Their target is her—”
Before the death god finished his sentence, Alaric’s bolts of lightning struck out, not at Hades but at Athena on the bridge.
Athena instantly raised her shield, blocking Alaric’s lightning.
“My bastard half-brother,” Athena said, her blazing eyes training on Alaric above the rim of her shield of gold and silver. “You forget I’m Zeus’s golden child. It’s never you but me. Your lightning can never put me down while I carry Father’s thunder.”
Red fire burst from Alaric’s palms.
Athena widened her eyes for a heartbeat. “How could you possess the dragon fire?” Her disdainful gaze then turned to me. “The hybrid, of course.”
That’s tribrid, sister!
Ares leapt and landed beside her, his stallion taking off and leaving the stage.
I actually thought the horse was the best part of their show.
The God of War raised his arm shield, ready to take anything my mates threw at him. He practically willed it to happen.
He wanted a fight.
He wanted blood and carnage.
Then Apollo strode onto the bridge. Behind him, all the powerful Olympian gods formed rows. Their power rippled through the air in electric charges.
I recognized Poseidon, one of the three original gods. He stood to Athena’s right side, since Ares occupied the left.
Apollo, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hecate, Dionysus, and a few other major gods stood in the second row. The third-grade gods brought up the rear, with my friend Phobos among them.
How had the God of Terror recovered so fast? Demeter had told me that it would take a long while for Phobos to even form a coherent thought.
Had Demeter lied to me?
She wasn’t among their ranks. Neither was Artemis.
The King and Queen of Gods were also absent. I’d certainly damage the bitch queen if she ever decided to show up. Alaric had a blood debt that required payment, and my mates’ debts were mine, too, just as their gold was mine.
The gods had made their stand.
The only one from their race standing with me was Hades, but he still might betray me at the last second.
No, that wasn’t quite true. One other Olympian god stood by me. That was Hephaestus, though he didn’t stand at the frontline with us. It was understandable. The God of Blacksmiths wasn’t a fighter. He was an artist. And he’d shown plenty of courage by sticking with me.
And now he stood beside Amber, determined to protect her.
“Well, the Olympians decided to have a costume party,” I said. “Somebody point me the clown.”
My mates chuckled, despite the dire situation.
The gods glared at me like circling vultures. They all wanted me dead.
I grinned at them, not kindly, since I was showing my fangs.
“Good citizens,” Athena said, “today I represent all the Olympian gods—your gods—”
The Goddess of Persuasion served as the mouthpiece of the Olympians, and here I’d thought she would stand with Demeter to fight for the women’s rights.
“None of you are our gods,” Pyrder shouted. “Earth isn’t yours. You’re fucking trespassers.”
Athena ignored my fae mate and continued her broadcast. “—to offer you a peace truce that we’ve never offered any other race before. We can destroy Earth with a flick of a wrist, but we want to preserve this planet. As I said, I’m the protector of cities, civilizations, and lives. I’ve persuaded my kind to give you a second chance despite your challenge to the gods. This level of audacity and rebellion against a superior race has never been heard of, but we understand that you’ve been misled.”
“What are the terms, Goddess of Wisdom and Justice?” the gray-haired general asked respectfully, and the other generals nodded in approval at his question.
Athena pointed her index finger at me rudely. “Give us Cassandra Saélihn, the most wanted criminal in the Olympians’ history, and we’ll leave Earth and grant you peace.”
My mates raised their flaming swords before them, magical fire and wind twirling around us in a tight shie
ld.
“Want my mate?” Alaric snarled, menace rolling off him in spades and dragon fire burning in his brown eyes. “Come and get her.”
Lorcan bared his fangs and looked very scary, yet it turned me on like nothing else.
The fae king and queen stepped closer to their twin sons and raised their fae-made swords. They’d defend their sons’ mate. No questions asked.
“Earthlings,” Athena called. “You don’t even need to lift a finger to seize her, since we know she’s extremely dangerous. We’ll do that for you. All you have to do is show us your alliance. Denounce her, and you all will live. And we’ll depart Earth forever.”
She was lying. I could tell.
The Olympians wouldn’t just leave the earthlings alone or they’d have done that a long time ago. For the first time in Earth’s history, our army had defied the gods and come to fight them. They’d never forgive “the cardinal sin.”
But how could I convince my people of her lies while she held them in her palms and offered them the thing they most wanted? They believed her. They thought they could all walk away. They believed they could go home to their warm beds, their hot meals, and their families, instead of dying here. And that when they woke up the next morning, the gods would be gone, as if they’d never come to conquer Earth.
All they had to do was denounce me in front of the gods.
I shut my eyes for a second as millions of ideas ran through my head in a messy thread. I needed to find a way to tell the earthlings the truth and shatter the illusion fabricated by Athena.
All warfare is based on deception.
The Olympian gods planned to take my mates and me out of the equation before they slaughtered Earth’s immortals and mortals.
“If you have such justice and compassion, as you call yourself goddess of such,” shouted Wyatt, “then where were you when our lands were burned? Haven’t you just shown us cold-heartedly how you demolish our cities and murder our kind, so-called Defender and Protector of Civilized Life and Cities?”
The shifters had become friends who supplied me with endless cakes and local brew, and now they even defended my honor.
“How dare you talk to your goddess that way?” Ares hissed. “You’re no more significant than a bug! Kneel and beg, and perhaps I’ll allow you to take one more breath.”
The God of War raised his spear, ready to strike down the shifter alpha. My tri-fires whooshed out, my dark power spreading to form a shield above our army. The shield wouldn’t last forever when the gods combined their powers to hit us, but at least I could shield the army for now and offer our warriors a fighting chance.
My mates added their powers to enhance my shield.
Athena put her hand on Ares’s arm. “I said to let me handle the warfare with the earthlings. All they need is to hear reason.” She turned to the Earth army again. “I’m not upset that you defied me, for now, as I can see that you’ve been under the dark spell of Cassandra Saélihn for a long time. The black witch is extremely deceptive. I admit that she has some neat tricks, but she’s no goddess. She’s the Eater of Worlds, a filthy beast that must be put down. She’s the reason the precious Earth cities were destroyed. She’s the cause of all chaos, tragedy, and disasters. Give her to me, and all will be forgiven. You’ll have Earth back.”
“Shut your hole, you lying bitch!” Alaric shouted. “I won’t allow you to defame my mate.”
My mates growled, ready to charge and to burn the goddess with their combined fires.
“What if we just give her to the gods?” a middle-aged, thin-lipped general shouted among his peers. “One life in exchange for billions of lives.”
“I disagree,” the gray-haired general said. “We’ll not give up Cass Saélihn, our symbol of freedom!”
I blinked in surprise. I hadn’t thought any general would be on my side.
Wyatt and Cadmar spat, but Dustin beat them to the punch and scolded the thin-lipped general. “Fool! You fucking fool! Without Goddess Cass and her mates to defend Earth, you’ll soon be dog meat, tossed out by the gods without your bones attached.”
The thin-lipped general’s jaw clenched. “We must pay the gods respect. Our cities wouldn’t have burned if we’d worshiped the gods the way they deserve. We have to think of what’s best for the rest of the human race. Sacrifice one girl and all will be saved.” He scanned the faces of the other generals. “Let’s put it to vote.”
The fae king’s knuckles were bone-white on the hilt of his sword. He was evidently putting great effort into restraining himself from running his blade through that general’s guts.
“Working with the gods and dividing us on the battlefield won’t get you far, mortal,” said the king in contempt.
The thin-lipped general’s face turned purple. He waved his fists and shouted for all the army to hear. “I say we give the gods what they want. We give the gods the girl! One dies so billions will live. Say you’re with me, army!”
No one answered him until a voice boomed, “I’m with you.”
The thin-lipped general’s eyes widened in shock as his pumping heart was torn out of his chest and throbbed its last beat in Celeb’s hand.
Celeb, Alaric’s half-demon captain, held the general’s heart and lifted it into the air for all to see. “The scum, the cowards, and the unworthy do not inherit our Earth!” he bellowed in rage. “And this is my vote!”
I was as shell-shocked as everyone, but my mates didn’t seem fazed.
Hector raised his sword and roared, “Who’s with Cass Saélihn, the true Earth Goddess who returned from her own captivity to free you all?”
Shouts and cheers broke out from the army.
Athena lowered her spear toward the platform of Bethesda Terrace, and a round of thunderbolts darted toward our group. Alaric’s lightning bolts met them right in the middle, canceling the thunderbolts out.
My dark fire lingered where the two forces collided, hissing.
“Don’t ever try that again, Goddess Chick of Twenty-Seven Titles and More,” I shouted. “Is that how you treat whoever disagrees with you? You’ve had a long history of cursing victims or turning them into spiders, but you won’t have a chance to put a curse on any of my people as long as I stand.”
Athena crowned herself Goddess of Justice, yet she was even less forgiving and more vengeful than the God of War.
A light flashed, and Artemis popped up in front of Athena.
The Goddess of the Hunt and the Moon appeared in her thirteen-year-old form in a knee-length chiton, a bow and a quiver of arrows swinging from her shoulder.
“Athena, what are you doing?” Artemis asked, her green eyes glinting with anger, making the world pale around her.
“Doing the right thing for our kind,” Athena said. “As you should have done.”
“So, it was all a ruse that you joined our secret sisterhood club?” Artemis asked, her jaw tightening. “While we trusted you, you were spying on us. How could you?”
“What you planned would never work.” Athena decreed in a high-handed manner, talking down to her fellow goddess. “I’m the Goddess of Wisdom, and you should listen to me on all matters and follow me.”
Artemis grew into a giant thirteen-year-old. “I’m so done with you, Athena.”
She stepped to the edge of the bridge.
“Artemis, where the hell are you going?” Apollo called. “Get back here!”
He lunged for her, but Artemis jumped.
The Goddess of the Hunt shifted and landed near me.
My mates wielded their swords, ready to cut her down.
“No!” I pushed away my mates and rushed to Artemis. “She’s on our side. She saved me. She’s my friend.”
Artemis grinned at me. “I’ll fight with you, Cass!”
She picked an arrow from her quiver, nocked it, and aimed it toward the gods on the bridge.
She spat. “The so-called Goddess of Justice has no honor.”
I hugged her from the side, needing this suppor
t from at least one of my kin more than anything. “When this is over and we survive, I’ll ask Boone to bake the best cakes for us. And you should try the shifters’ local brew. I only suggest you don’t drink it on an empty stomach.”
The shifters grinned at us.
Artemis grinned back, her green eyes sparkling like a living color. She liked animals (shifters are part of the animal species), but she also hunted them. Well, as I said, no one is perfect.
“Deal,” said the virgin goddess. “I want more. I want a harem. I want free popcorn with butter and salt on it, as you promised. And I want to go shopping with you.”
“Ambrosia, the fae chick, can go with us,” I said. “She’s annoying sometimes, but she has good fashion sense, and we can use her services for free. My best friend, Amber, might want to tag along. So we’ll have a girls’ night out! As for your harem, we need to talk in private.”
The generals just stared at us, dumbfounded. My mates shook their heads, with doting smiles ghosting their sensual lips. They knew how I was, and they didn’t give a fuck how anyone else perceived me.
Athena sneered. “Listen to your goddess. Is that the kind of role model you want? All she wants is man whores, cakes, and shopping.”
“Yet she’s more real than you, than any of you can ever be,” Hephaestus shouted from nearby. He’d finally stood up, not for himself, but for me. “Goddess Cass has a heart of gold. That’s what we want in a goddess!”
Just then I detected another potent power vibrating in the air.
“Demeter?” I called. “Are you around?”
The Goddess of Fertility, clad in green armor, landed by Artemis and me in a shimmer of light. She was geared up for war.
“What have I missed?” she asked.
A moment later, sparks of light rose and fell, and a group of minor goddesses materialized after her.
Demeter waved at them. “I brought some help, Cass. Thought you might need the extra hands.”
All the minor goddesses, the most repressed minority in the Olympian society, thrust their spears, swords, and axes in front of them, their defiant gazes fixing on the ‘important’ gods and goddesses on the bridge made of fucking jade.