Page 74 of Dead Heat

Hestia made a dismissive sound. “Who needs to be in charge of the crossroads in a small town when you can command an entire realm? Here you have the Five Rivers. The pools of Lethe and Mnemosyne. The Fields of Asphodel. And, of course, your very own throne.”

“I have a parlor room with a very nice sofa. It’s red.” No need to tell the goddess that I’d procured it from the side of the road before the trash truck arrived to haul it away. She might disown me.

Her eyes flashed with annoyance. “I don’t understand how this is even an argument. The underworld is yours to rule. It is your duty to take it.”

“I don’t want to rule.” I barely managed to shower and wear clean clothes most days. How could I be in charge of an entire realm?

“I cannot remain here indefinitely. I have my own home to attend to. If you refuse to take ownership, then we’ll have to find someone suitable to take my place until your parents return.”

Hope flared inside me. “What makes you certain they’ll be back?”

“We’re gods, darling. Which one of us hasn’t disappeared for an age, only to resume our rightful place later?”

I was afraid to ask my next question, but I plowed ahead, nonetheless. “Would you know if theyweren’table to return?”

My question drew a blank look. “Why in the heavens would they be unable to return if they desired it?”

“Are you familiar with the term ‘obliteration?’”

Hestia’s hand flattened against her chest as she laughed heartily. “Oh, sweetness. That’s a myth. A story you tell young deities to keep them in line as their power develops. Nothing can destroy a god, not permanently.”

Confusion rattled my brain. It was possible that someone like Hestia, who’d remained in her otherworldly realm, was simply ignorant of the possibility. On the other hand, if she was right… I didn’t allow myself to entertain the thought any further.

“Why have you opted to stay in your realm? Haven’t you been the teeniest bit interested in life on earth?”

Her eyes darkened like two isolated storms. “Absolutely not. No good comes from meddling in the human realm in any way, shape, or form. Besides, I don’t need to prove my worth by comparing myself to paltry humans. I already know who I am.”

Was that the reason Hades and Persephone had chosen to become avatars? To not onlybea god among mortals but tofeellike one? That didn’t comport with the few details I remembered about them.

“Did you know my parents became avatars?”

“I am unfamiliar with the term.”

“They took human form.”

She waved a hand at me. “Like yours?”

“A little different. I was a natural born goddess. They inhabited humans who were already alive.”

Hestia offered an indignant sniff. “Nonsense. They’re simply on hiatus together. You were the one I was concerned about. You disappeared without a trace. Charon abandoned his ferry in order to bring me word directly.”

“My parents told you they were … taking a break?”

“Yes, they announced their intended hiatus to the entire realm.”

“Did they say where they were going?” Because I had a hard time believing the headquarters of The Corporation was part of that official announcement.

Hestia’s mouth hitched at the corners. “Gods never do.”

What if Hades and Persephone hadn’t been willing participants? What if The Corporation had forced them into my parents with no way to escape and the threat of obliteration hanging over their heads? Just because deities like Aite had chosen to return in human form didn’t mean all the gods had a choice. It would explain Anubis’s sudden disappearance. On the other hand, if the organization had trafficked enough gods against their wills, it seemed to me there would’ve been an uprising long before now.

Maybe there had been. Maybe they’d lost.

Here I was, standing in the underworld of my birth, with more questions than answers. It figured.

“Where did Melinoe go in order to be reborn as Lorelei? How would that even happen?” Assuming Hestia was right, and I couldn’t be obliterated, how did I end up reemerging as someone else?

“I’m afraid I don’t have the answer to that. You weren’t the most social creature. You tended to keep to yourself, much like your father.”

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