Page 35 of Heroines of Olympus

“There is one last thing I have to tell you. There’s a traitor amongst the Allegiance. It’s-”

The door bursts open, startling her. Hestia freezes when she sees members of the Guard filing in, Aphrodite bringing up the rear with a victorious smirk on her face.

Hestia closes her eyes and says, “They found me out,” and then drops the stone, watching from the corner of her eye as it rolls out of sight behind the curtains.

“Seems like our little bookworm has been naughty,” Aphrodite tuts.

Hestia rapidly tries to come up with a lie that will get her out of this, anything to cover for what she’s actually been up to. Her mind, so full of information, fails her and comes up empty with any excuses. She stays quiet and sees what they know.

They all stand there in silence, and the tension builds to an unbearable thickness. Aphrodite’s face is the picture of evil satisfaction. The surety on it warns Hestia that they must be certain of their accusations and she truly does not know what to do.

Zeus walks into the room, his silver cloak billowing behind him.

As Hestia opens her mouth to say something, anything, Zeus holds a hand up to stop her. Shaking his head, he snaps his fingers, and a jolt of electricity shoots through Hestia and her body seizes before crumpling on the floor.

21

APHRODITE

The doors to the dungeon fly open as Aphrodite strolls in, Zeus and Guards behind her with an unconscious Hestia in tow.

They walk their prisoner past the long rows of cells until they reach a large one at the end. Dropping Hestia on the ground unceremoniously, Aphrodite smirks at how pathetic her rival looks lying there in a heap.

The lock clicks in place and the Guard passes the key over to Aphrodite as she admires the white stone bars. The granite hums with the millennia of magic it has been infused with, designed to keep even a titan in check if one could get them into it. Fortunately for Hestia, Zeus is hesitant to upgrade to a god cage, so this will do for the moment.

Disgust rolls through Aphrodite as she pictures a fellow god working with those rebels, thatscum.Would Aphrodite betray everyone herself? Of course, but for purely selfish reasons, like a craving for more power, or to get Andromeda back. These pests are disrupting the entire ecosystem just because mortals refuse to accept their place.

Aphrodite is still standing there, staring at Hestia’s still form with loathing when footsteps sound behind her.

Poseidon, Ares, Athena, and Demeter walk her way, whispering amongst themselves in hushed tones. Everyone Aphrodite summoned. Excellent.

“What is the meaning of this?” Ares asks, voice full of annoyance over being dragged down here.

Aphrodite hides her inner satisfied smile, instead fixing an expression of grave concern across her features before answering him.

“I received urgent information that I felt was imperative I act upon swiftly. I am in contact with someone amongst those impudent rebels. He claims he can give us Medusa. I was hesitant to trust him, insisting he present me with actionable information that corroborates his knowledge of the rebel movements.”

Pausing, Aphrodite assesses their reactions. This needs to go her way, so she waits to tailor her response to what she knows they will want to hear. Should she appear outraged? Hurt by the betrayal?

Demeter shakes her head. “Get to the point.”

Aphrodite fights a biting retort, and instead sadly replies, “I couldn’t believe what I discovered. It was outrageous. He told me we have a member of our inner circle who has betrayed us. He went through the different messages that had made their way to the rebels from the Olympic Temple. I went back and worked out the only people who would have had access to that information. The only person who was always just outside, always nearby when we discussed these matters, was her.”

Aphrodite points a shaky finger in Hestia’s direction.

Pushing betrayed emotions into her voice, she asks the group with a raised eyebrow, “Unless it was one of you?”

“Leave her here until I’ve reviewed these findings. Having her in the dungeon while we evaluate is one thing. I’m going to make damn sure she’s guilty before we condemn her to a traitorous fate,” Zeus commands, and Aphrodite has to resist the urge to roll her eyes at his swaggering authority.

“Of course,” Aphrodite replies demurely, gesturing for them to make their way back out of the dungeons.

Once they are gone, a final glance is thrown over Aphrodite’s shoulder for one last look at her slumbering rival.

In the hallway, whispers meet Aphrodite before she turns the corner. Certain words come through, but she cannot hear everything. Something about a witch.

The conversation stops once Aphrodite rounds the corner and finds Zeus and Athena. Zeus’s face is red in anger and Athena’s expression is masked irritation.

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