The Goddess Inheritance (Goddess Test #3)(13)
Author: Aimee Carter

No. It was a slip of the tongue, nothing more. Because if he did mean me, too, then why hadn’t anyone ever—

“It saddens me greatly to report that Athens has fallen.”

All my questions about my father flew out of my head. Athens had fallen? Irene sobbed, and Sofia hugged her, rubbing her back and murmuring words of comfort I couldn’t make out. Bewildered, I looked from them to Walter. How could Athens fall? This wasn’t ancient Greece—what did that even mean?

“How?” said my mother. “Why? We have no army there. No soldiers to threaten Cronus’s hold over the Aegean Sea. Why would he attack unprovoked?”

It wasn’t unprovoked, though. Cronus had promised no one would die as long as I stayed by his side, and now I’d abandoned him. My hands began to tremble, and I shoved them between my knees. Across the circle, Walter’s eyes met mine. He knew.

“We cannot pretend to understand how Cronus thinks,” he said, and a rush of guilt-laced gratitude overwhelmed me. He wasn’t going to tell.

“As for how he attacked,” said Phillip, rising to stand beside his brother, “he used my domain. It was a calculated attack with Athens pinpointed specifically—no other area was touched. However, the damage he did…”

Irene cried even harder, and Phillip raised his voice so we could all hear him.

“The tidal wave washed nearly everything away.”

My body went cold, and the golden room spun around me until I couldn’t stand it any longer. “Did—did anyone die?” I whispered.

Walter said nothing for a moment, and I thought I saw a spark of compassion pass over his face. “Yes. Nearly a million people lost their lives.”

Something twisted inside me, sharp and unforgiving, and if I could have thrown up, I would have. Nearly a million people were dead because of me, because I’d lied to Cronus. I’d known there would be consequences, yet I’d done it anyway.

No, I hadn’t known it would be anything like this. This wasn’t war between two equal opponents; this was a massacre of people who didn’t even know that gods and Titans were real.

“A purely symbolic attack then,” said Dylan, his brow furrowed. A three-dimensional map of Greece appeared in the center of the circle, complete with mountains, islands and seas, all to scale and colored exactly like they would be if this were an aerial shot. For all I knew, it was.

The map zoomed toward Athens until the damage was visible. During my first summer away from Henry, James and I had visited Greece, and we’d spent weeks in the city. My memories of paved streets, kind people and the modern nestled alongside the ancient might as well have been a dream.

Nothing was left. Debris and mud replaced what had once been a vibrant city, now washed out to sea. Tears slid down my face, and I wasn’t the only one crying. Beside me, my mother slipped her hand into mine, and even James’s eyes grew red.

Athens was really gone.

“Look,” said Irene suddenly, her voice thick. “Closer.”

The map zoomed in, and I averted my eyes. I couldn’t see the bodies, if there were any left to begin with. I couldn’t see the faces of those who were dead because of me.

“The Parthenon,” said Irene. “He left it standing.”

I cracked open an eye. The temple of Athena—of Irene—remained standing, untouched except for the ravages of time and history.

“A message?” said James, leaning forward.

“I cannot say,” said Walter gravely. “Perhaps he has a small amount of respect for all we have done for the world.”

“Or maybe it means he’ll keep us alive if we don’t stand in his way,” said Irene, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief.

“We must not fall victim to the belief that removing ourselves from this war will prevent it from happening,” said Walter with surprising gentleness. “He intends on killing us—all of us—for keeping him locked in Tartarus. Humanity is nothing to him, but he will not hesitate to wipe them out as well, knowing our existence is now linked to theirs. We have no choice but to fight until it is over.”

“One way or the other,” whispered Irene.

Walter nodded. “One way or the other.”

“Isn’t there something we can do?” The words were out before I could stop them, and each council member focused on me. “Cronus must want something.”

“You know what he wants,” said Walter, and my cheeks burned. Yes. He wanted me.

“We all know what he wants,” cut in Dylan. “Death. Destruction. Mayhem. War. To rule the world once more. Usually I’d approve, but not when we’re the targets.”

“So what do we plan to do about it?” said James. “Let him get away with this?”

“I have already called a meeting among my subjects,” said Phillip. “They know not to bow to his will no matter the cost.”

“Cronus has more power than all of us combined,” said Irene, a determined edge in her voice now. “We cannot fight back as we are and expect to achieve any measure of success.”

“What about the other gods?” said James. “They could help.”

“They have nearly all signed a petition insisting they will not,” said Walter. “Besides, they could all join us and put everything they have into this war, but it would still not be sufficient. They are not powerful enough to make up for the loss of Henry and Calliope.”

I gritted my teeth. Henry wasn’t dead yet. “I could talk to Cronus,” I said. “He—he was nice to me. He might listen.”

“No,” said my mother. “Even if you did have that sort of hold over him, he will stop at nothing until he has what he wants. He has waited and planned for eons. You will not change his mind no matter how fond of you he might be.”

Across the circle, James focused on me. I ignored the question in his stare and concentrated on the floating image between us instead. “It could work,” I said.

“That is a risk we cannot take,” said Walter. “Calliope has already proven she will kill you if given the opportunity, and Cronus may not be willing to protect you any longer. No, we must focus our efforts on coming up with a way to even our odds despite our missing members.”

Frustration, hot and unyielding, rose inside me. Of course they would invite me to join them only to dismiss every idea I had. What else did I expect? “What about Rhea?” I said. It felt like years since I’d decided to leave the Underworld to ask for her help. She was the only one who could match Cronus in power, and if anyone could win this war, it was her. “What did she say?”