Page 141 of Blood of Olympus

I clutched the searing welt, gasping, as Velira snapped her teeth at the goddess, who — to her credit — immediately blanched with regret.

“My queen, I⁠—”

Vel’s rolling growl cut her off, and she conceded a metre.

“Nyssa, I’m so sorry.”

I waved Vel back, eyeing the goddess who currently could not even bear to look at me for fear of rebuke. “I guess I deserved that,” I muttered, startling Athena so badly her horrified gaze whipped back to mine. “If I explain to you what happened, do you swear to keep your hands to yourself?”

The goddess nodded rapidly, looking more like a seizure than assent.

“He gave his life to save his son, who was hellbent on sacrificing himself to finish the final gateway. I couldn’t do it myself… I tried… and I would have given everything to do so, but neither Archimedes nor his father would allow that.”

Ever the wise, Athena deduced what I had not articulated. “The gates required your soul? Your essence? And you almost killed yourself trying to give enough for three,” she said, eyes flitting down my gold-stained clothes. “So Hephaestus gave what you could not.”

I nodded, a tear slipping free. “And in doing so, also repaired his son’s curse.”

“Oh,” Athena whispered. “He’d have preferred no other way to go out than that.”

“Archimedes now wrestles with that sacrifice.”

“He’ll get through it,” she said, resolute. “You did.”

I wasn’t so sure.

“I should go check on him,” I murmured.

Again, her eyes dropped to encompass my whole body. “Not like that. Wash up first, maybe take a nap. Give your powers some time to replenish and any wounds you’ve given yourself time to heal. I can send Apollo in, if you’d like?”

“No, it’s fine, thank you. I’ll take your suggestions under consideration,” I said, a slight smile pulling at my lips. “I fear queens should smell better than this.”

Athena grasped my metaphorical olive branch and returned the gesture. “You smell of justice, defiance, and courage, Nyssa. The realms couldn’t ask for a better smelling queen.”

“Perhaps, just a little soap.”

She chuckled. “Perhaps, just a little soap.”

Just as Velira said, Evadne was waiting for me at the door to my room. She jolted to attention as I rounded the corner, silent but watchful.

“Come in, Evie,” I sighed. “No use freezing your ass off out there all night.”

“Aros would have my” — her brows slammed down — “well, I was going to say ‘balls’ but since I don’t have them, and I’d rather not say my brother has access to any of my other parts, I’ll just say: Aros would have my hide if I left you unguarded for the night.”

A sharp laugh exited my nose in the form of a snort as she rambled. “Well you might as well be on guard from in here — where you have access to a pillow and a shower.”

“Most gracious… your grace.” She rolled her eyes at herself. “As you can see, words aren’t my strength tonight.”

“That’s alright, Evie,” I laughed. “Silence is just fine by me.” I quirked a dark brow. “But I’m definitely snagging the first shower,” I said, scouring the room for a change of clothes. My gaze snagged on a navy scrap of fabric hanging on the arm of a chair and I smiled softly to myself as faint trace of caramel filled the air when I ran my fingers over it.

“By all means,” she said with an exaggerated bow. “You look like you need it.” Her nose wrinkled as she straightened. “Smell like it, too.”

“Hey now, I’ll have you know that the goddess Athena said I smell like justice and courage, thank you very much.”

“Maybe if Justice and Courage got blind drunk in a derelict tavern, took on all of its fiercest patrons in a bar fight instigated by beating the biggest guy in there in an arm wrestle, made out a little bit, then ended the night swimming in a golden marsh.”

Momentarily stunned into silence, my brows flew up my forehead. “Found your words, did you?”

She had the wherewithal to blush. “So it would seem,” and then burst out laughing.