Lexi's Fate

~20~

It shouldn't have surprised Lexi that she was able to enjoy Zeus's company. Despite his tendency to show off, he had been one of her favorite people for most of her life. He introduced her to horseback riding, accompanied her to the Beijing Olympics, and he had never missed visiting on her birthday. 

Then she found out he was actually an immortal god and planned to keep her as a servant in her own home. Oh, and he happened to be her birth father. After that, their relationship went to hell, and she had less patience for his tyrannical antics. At least, now she knew where they stemmed from.

"I was twenty-one when my powers started to manifest," Zeus explained as he thumbed through the book on his lap. "I remember how tough it was to control them at first. I had a terrible habit of setting my bedsheets alight. For several years, I slept on the balcony outside my bedroom."

Lexi had no interest in finding out what Zeus was doing to set his sheets on fire, but she chuckled at the image of the father of the gods curled in the fetal position on the floor. "How old were you when you stopped aging?"

"My powers reached full strength in my thirty-sixth year. My brother, Poseidon, had celebrated his thirty-second birthday before his powers came to fruition. Our sisters had all cultivated their gifts near the age of thirty. Hades was the youngest sibling to mature into his powers. The consensus around Olympus was that his powers did not warrant the additional time because his job as curator of the underworld did not require it."

Lexi's body tensed as she scowled. Did Zeus think she wouldn't take offense at him badmouthing the man she loved? "Is that why you don't treat him with respect, because you believe his godly powers aren't as great as yours?"

"What makes you think I don't respect Hades?"

"Gee, let me think. Because you never say a civil word to him, for starters."

"That is not true. Hades and I have an amicable relationship. It is only you who has not heard me say a civil word to him, and that is because he has taken you to the underworld without my consent."

"Hades didn't take me, I went of my own accord."

"And I still believe it was a foolish move on your part, but it is not too late to change your mind. I am willing to forget it ever happened if you will agree to..."

"Save your speech, Zeus. I love Hades and I would be miserable without him. End of story."

The pinched expression Zeus offered was one she had seen many times. He hated to be contradicted. "We will see how your story progresses once Persephone returns this winter. You have a strong will, Lexi, and I know you will make a great and powerful goddess someday. But you have yet to learn that pinning your hopes for happiness on a single being, god or man, will only bring disappointment. Even Hades will tell you that."

"Thanks for the lecture on codependency, but I'm perfectly capable of making my own happiness, thank you. If you will excuse me, we're done here."

Lexi left Zeus sitting under a pile of books and escaped to the kitchen, depositing her water bottle on the counter. She needed something stronger to silence the thoughts in her head, and the wine humidor held just the thing. Grabbing a bottle of Shiraz, a wine glass, and a corkscrew, Lexi slipped out of the house through the laundry room door. She carried her hoard to the stable, hoping for a bit of private time with Jackie O, since their previous visit had been cut short by a pair of horny gods. 

Her chest heaved at the memory of those few tense moments. If the thought of catching Hades and Clary in the act of passionate love making had her blowing up the horizon, what would it feel like knowing he and Persephone were pounding each other in the same damn castle? Lexi knew what she was getting herself into when she agreed to be Hades's consort, but now that Persephone's arrival was only two days away, she could hardly bear the thought. How did the gods handle it?