Page 68 of Invoking Ruin

Atê’s right about one thing: I prefer the company of mortals. My fellow gods don’t have the same vitality. All we do is exist, our existence never-ending.

Until now, apparently.

Hera’s dead. So is Zeus. I’m sure other gods have fallen as well. I must have come close at least once, when I was unaware of my divinity. The thought repulses but excites me. It’s not the same as a clock ticking down, as a mortal’s awareness, but it does make my existence just a little less certain.

What happened in the last few centuries? Part of me wants to follow Atê and demand more of those answers, but the truth is, I know enough.

Nyx set us on a path to destruction and Lethe stole our memories, including mine.

And Atê…

They didn’t even regard her highly enough to consider her a threat.

Her collection is proof of just how isolated she’s been, how unnoticed.

What a lonely existence. Collecting things, with only a damn horse for companionship.

For a goddess who needs to be around people, mortal and divine alike, to exert her power, it has to have been torture. No wonder she hunted me down and did everything she could to keep me. Even at less than full capacity, I was someone she knew. Someone who paid her attention.

Fuck, I’m feeling sorry for my kidnapper. Something must have shaken loose in my head when Lethe took away her Oblivion.

I should really take the knife out of her hands. Take the knife, take Pegasus and leave her here. There must be some door or portal out of this divine garden she can slip through.

Then, I can go back to Olympus and the life she stole from me. My rightful place at my brothers’ sides. Forever. Always. My stomach sinks. Once I go back to Olympus, will I ever leave it again?

In this new world that has risen up, what will I even do there?

I deserve answers, ones I know Atê won’t give me. I deserve to be with my family, who won’t lie to and manipulate me.

Perhaps the last part is too much to hope for. Manipulation is just part of our kind, save for a few of us. Perhaps. I can’t see Hestia manipulating anyone, but it’s also been a long time.

They’ll find Atê eventually, if she’s without Pegasus.

How much havoc could she wreak before then, even without the knife?

This is far more complicated than it has any right to be. I can summon Nemesis by reaching into my pocket. Nothing could be simpler, but I can’t make myself do it.

Worse, I don’t think I want to leave her.

Slowly, I make my way back to the pool.

Atê is climbing out, water droplets glistening like jewels on her skin. She grabs a robe hanging nearby, deep green like most of her other fashion choices, and slips it on.

It suits her, makes her look like a queen.

Not like the conniving fugitive she really is.

Her matching green eyes are wary as I approach, no doubt expecting another argument.

“What happens now?” I ask her, crossing my arms, not missing the way her eyes drag over my bare chest.

She shakes herself and her gaze meets mine. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, what was your plan for this part? You have me. What was next?”

The pure and utter confusion spilling over her face is as gratifying as it is terrifying.

Her mouth opens and closes a few times. “Well… ah…”

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