Page 81 of Invoking Ruin

“And where is Momus now?” Eris asks, interrupting the brewing argument.

I breathe in, closing my eyes. There in my private darkness, Atê stands full of vengeance, bringing the sword down through Momus’ throat. Her eyes had been hard as emeralds, none of the playful spark I treasure in them.

Fierce little goddess.

“Dead.” Atê’s voice brings me back to the present. “Nyx stabbed him with the rift knife. The Void was eating him alive, so I ended him and the tear in one stroke.”

The hall breaks out into terrified, angry mutters. The gods here are loath to see their numbers shrink even more than they already have.

“Did you free Nyx from Tartarus?” Apollo asks.

I growl at that baseless accusation, loud enough for Artemis on my left to hear me. She glances over, frowning, and I swallow back the sound.

I’m reduced to making wild animal noises in the middle of a trial. I am losing my mind. So soon after recovering it, too.

Atê doesn’t so much as flinch at Apollo’s blow. “No. You can thank Momus and the Moirai for Nyx’s freedom. They told me to leave my stash for you to find, starting off a wild chase, but they were the real ones chasing me. Eventually, I had no choice but to lead them right to the knife. So you’ll have to ask the Moirai how Nyx slipped her shackles, because I don’t know.”

“You heard her, she doesn’t know,” Aphrodite says with a pretty sneer on her face. “Let her answer why she felt the need to harm my son.”

“Probably because your son is an asshole,” Atê mutters, and I’m sure this time she meant to be heard.

“How dare you!” Aphrodite is on her feet. “You kept him prisoner for months. Controlled him, had him kidnap and steal for you. You couldn’t even bother to get your own hands dirty.”

She’s heading towards Atê before I even realize I’m out of my seat, putting myself between them.

“Is that what he told you?” Atê laughs, shaking her head. “You think I can control every thought in his head? I’m not that powerful. You want Peitho for that. He didn’t want to go home. Didn’t want to have to deal with you. It was easy to convince him to help me if it meant avoiding you.”

“Liar!”

“Ask him. Ask him if it was his idea to visit Lethe to begin with. I hurt him at the end, I admit it, but he wasn’t some mindless drone. He’s just a bad son who can’t stand the sight of you. Deal with that.”

Deimos goes deathly white. “They should sew your lying mouth shut when they throw you in the pit, Ruin.”

He launches for her, and I step in before I can think, knocking him backward. Behind me, Aphrodite shrieks, but I keep my eyes on Deimos. “Don’t touch her.”

“Got your cock a little too wet, did you Dionysus?” Deimos snarls, his eyes narrowed to slits. “Or did she get her hooks in you, too? Maybe we should lock you up until you come to your senses.”

Nemesis comes forward, grabbing Deimos by the arm. “Enough.”

He visibly sags, the fight draining from his shoulders. “She has to pay,” he says to her, his voice gone soft, pleading.

She doesn’t answer him right away, brushing his hair back from his face. “Go stand with Dike.”

For a moment, he looks like he might argue, but then he nods, a sullen pout on his lips, and obeys. He stands with the silent goddess, who slides an arm around his waist.

“And they say I’m a bad influence on Olympus,” Eris says. When I turn, she’s mid eye roll. Atê is still kneeling at her mother’s feet, but her eyes are wide and focused on me.

I pull her upright. Enough of this kneeling bullshit. She can face these assholes standing.

“Are you done yet?” I ask Eris and Apollo.

Eris glares at me, then at Aphrodite, who is back on her throne. Ares is hovering over her with his sword drawn. No brotherly reunion to be found there.

“Will no one speak in Atê’s defense?” Eris asks. Her silver gaze falls squarely on me.

A hush falls over the room. No one is going to stick out their neck. She’s harmed everyone here one way or another, and they can’t let that go.

I don’t know if I can let it go.

---