My Life From Hell (The Blooming Goddess #3)

Family Dinner (Part 2)

I slid into an empty chair between the two of them, glancing around to see if maybe Kai was here.

"What's with the family reunion?" I asked. I could smell Dad's citrus cologne, and knew better than to sniff for whatever brimstone Hades wore.

My father handed me a plate and motioned for me to load up. Ordinarily, I would have been happy to, but I was sulky that my dance-fueled peace had dissipated, and I didn't feel like breaking bread with two people who wanted me dead.

I set the plate down.

My father shot me a puzzled look. "Are you not feeling well? I know how much you like to eat."

Now I was definitely not eating. Which was a shame because I'd started to waver about the saganaki. "Such a charmer, Pops. Let's cut to the chase, shall we?"

"We thought we'd treat you to a last supper," Hades laughed. "Since you'll be dead soon."

I gave the smug bastard a tight smile. "So sure of that, are you?"

He nodded. "Yes. You've been outwitted and outplayed."

Zeus threw him a sour look. "My progeny. Mine to tell. You got to tell yours."

Hades muttered something about big babies, but flinched when Zeus sat up sharply.

Zeus smirked then turned to me. "We've warded up your ward." He gave me an assessing glance. "Do you understand what that means?"

"Yeah," I ground out. It meant that Zeus and Hades had put a ward up around our ward, effectively blocking our access to Eleusis and the ritual location.

Zeus patted me on the head, like a particularly clever puppy.

I jerked my head away.

He smiled as Marina set a plate of steaming moussaka—a kind of Greek eggplant lasagna—in front of him and a lamb dish before Hades. Zeus' smile was for the food, not Marina. She was dismissed with a lazy wave and no thank you. I doubted my father tipped, so this night had to suck for her.

Hades picked up his lamb and tore into it. I turned away from that grossness and focused on my father's dainty bites. Which were equally disturbing. It was like there was no middle with these two. Everything in extremes.

"My brother and I have realized that fighting is beneath us. We are not the issue here." Zeus speared a tiny bit of ground beef and cream sauce, and popped it into his mouth.

I rolled my eyes.

"It's true," he insisted. "The issue is humanity failing to worship us as is our due."

Astounding. I ran my thumb around the rim of my water glass. "Maybe you're not relevant to humanity, you egotist."

Zeus shot me a pitying glance.

Right. How could that possibly be the case?

"Thus have we decided that on the equinox, at the pinnacle of our greatest power, Hades and I will wipe out humanity and live in a pure world. A world of only gods."

"That's very Aryan of you," I snarled, trying to ignore the burning tingle along my arms. I'd learned not to show any weakness around these two. Not that they didn't generally ferret it out.

"We're housekeeping," Hades said through greasy lips. "Losing the clutter."

I smacked my hand against the table. "Are you hearing yourselves? You're going to wipe out mankind because they don't love you enough?"

"Worship, not love," Zeus corrected.

I shook my head. "I don't buy this for a second. The reason you've been fighting isn't because of people adoring you, it's because you both want to be top dog. How does this change anything?"

"With no Earth and no humans taking up valuable real estate in the Underworld," Hades said, pausing to slug back some wine, "we can unite our two realms. Gods and goddess can live freely and we will be rulers of the only two domains left."

I rose, fed up with the BS they were feeding me. "No. Here's what's really going to happen. You're going to kill all humans out of spite, and then fight it out until one of you is dead. And that second part, I highly support. But you are not harming any more humans on my watch. So thanks for the big reveal, but we're done."

I turned to leave but Zeus' hand snaked out and caught my arm. He yanked me back into my seat. "I wasn't finished speaking, child," he said in a mild voice that was totally at odds with his cold eyes.

I stayed put. And kept my mouth shut. This was not the time to get snotty.

"The reason I shared this with you, is that you are still of my blood." Pops looked a little put out at having to admit that. "I have tried to guide you and teach you the error of your ways but—"

I straightened up, totally incredulous at that whopper. "By repeatedly trying to kill me?"

He shrugged. "Tough love. Much as Persephone went astray due to Kyrillos' influence—"

Hades growled at that.

"I hate to see my daughter die." Zeus leaned forward. "You can be part of this new world. If you stand down and don't perform the ritual."

"You and Kyrillos," Hades added. "He got the same offer."

Zeus' lips thinned but he didn't say anything.

Both gods turned their attention back to the food, giving me, I guess, time to think it over.

I tried to wrap my head around things. I could understand them deciding to kill humans, out of spite or lack of attention. That made sense. But I came up short at how they thought I could go along with this. I may have been a goddess, but I was also most definitely human. Sure, I had a vested interest in the well-being of my god friends, but in the division of these battle lines, I was Team Humanity all the way.

My head throbbed. Were they blithely assuming I'd say "Thanks ever so"? This was possibly the most insulting, condescending interaction I'd ever had with gods. And there had been many.

My arms now itched so madly that if I could have ripped the skin from my bones, I would have happily done that. I jammed my hands under my butt and shook my head. "Let's see," I said. "Uh, no way."