The Goddess Legacy
Page 10

“Love,” said Zeus, and I nearly choked. “She is the goddess of love. There was no choosing involved. She simply is.”
“The—goddess of love,” I said tightly. “Very well. It certainly suits you.”
Aphrodite beamed, and without warning, she threw her little arms around me. “We’ll be great friends,” she murmured in her childish voice. “I can’t wait.”
I could. I could wait forever. But the way Zeus beamed, seeing her hug me—I had little choice but to hug back. If it made him happy, I would do it. He certainly did plenty to return the favor.
But that suspicion remained, a small doubt that refused to go away. Before I accepted this little trickster as my own, I would need to make sure that was all Zeus intended for her. Because although I wanted to trust him, in the face of the unknown, even I had my doubts.
* * *
That evening, after Zeus had slipped out of our chambers to tuck Aphrodite into bed, I followed him. My footsteps were silent, and I moved without detection despite the baby I carried. Her room was only one down from ours, where I’d intended the baby’s nursery to be, but Zeus had assured me we would be more comfortable across the hall from the baby instead. Perhaps he was more concerned about getting his rest, but the thought of being that much farther apart from my son ate at me.
I bent my head toward the curtain that separated Aphrodite’s room from the corridor. If Zeus caught me, I had a dozen explanations on the tip of my tongue, each one a greater lie than the last. But he’d done this to himself, bringing a stranger into our home only weeks before our son would be born.
“I don’t think she likes me.” Aphrodite’s voice, and barely audible at that. I set my hand against my other ear, determined to block out any outside noise.
“Who, Hera?” said Zeus. His voice was like thunder even when he tried to whisper. “She’s just a bit surprised, darling. She didn’t expect you.”
“I want her to love me.” The yearning in Aphrodite’s voice shifted something inside me. “I want a mother.”
“She will be your mother,” murmured Zeus. “And I will be your father. You’ll never be alone again.”
The same promise Hades had made to me. Except this time I knew Zeus wouldn’t break it. Not to me, not to this little girl, not to anyone. “I’d really like that,” she whispered.
“I know you would.” A pause. “Get some sleep. Tomorrow I’ll introduce you to all your aunts and uncles.”
“More family?” I could practically see her eyes widen in amazement.
Zeus chuckled. “More family.”
I stepped away from the curtain and hurried back into the chamber before Zeus could discover me. He wasn’t lying, after all. Once again, he’d proven Hades and Demeter wrong.
When Zeus returned to our chamber and lay down beside me, I curled up against him, resting my head on his chest. “I love you,” I whispered. “Every part of you.”
He kissed my hair. “As I love you. Never forget that.”
In that moment, I was certain I never would.
* * *
The day Ares was born was the happiest of my life.
As I held that squirming pink bundle, I understood why our mother had refused to fight at Cronus’s side against us. No matter how much I loved Zeus, no matter how loyal I was to him, Ares was as much a part of me as my heart. He was mine.
Zeus disappeared hours after Ares was born, presumably to celebrate with Poseidon and Hades. As soon as he’d gone, however, a knock sounded. “Come in,” I called.
Demeter pushed aside the curtains. I lay on the bed, curled up with the baby, who slept soundly against my chest. “Hera,” she murmured, slipping inside. “He’s beautiful. Congratulations.”
Regardless of any lingering animosity between us, I grinned. “Isn’t he? He looks just like me.”
“I’m sure Zeus took that well,” she teased. Sitting down on the bed, she touched Ares’s cheek. “He almost makes me want to have children of my own.”
“Maybe you should,” I said. “It’s about time you found someone.”
She shook her head, and something flickered across her face, something I didn’t quite catch. “I wouldn’t be very good at it. I think I’d rather plant roots first. Find myself.”
“Well, you do have eternity,” I said, and she smiled a bit sadly.
“I do.” She hesitated and pulled her gaze away from Ares. “I need to talk to you about something, and I need you to not panic or get angry. For your son’s sake.”
All of the contentment Ares’s birth had brought me drained away, leaving me with the same wariness that had plagued me before. “If you’re going to tell me you don’t think Zeus will be a good father—”
“He already is a good father,” said Demeter. “With Ares, with Aphrodite and with Athena.”
I made a face. Athena, his child with Metis during the war, before he’d married me. Thankfully, she rarely came around. The thought of being a stepmother didn’t hold much appeal to me, and dealing with Aphrodite was difficult enough. “I don’t see what she has to do with anything.”
“She doesn’t,” said Demeter. Another moment passed between us in silence. “Zeus has a mistress.”
My grip on my son tightened, and burning anger flared up inside me. “How dare you accuse him when you have no proof—”