Page 54 of Blood of Olympus

Aros immediately sprang into action, marching over to the large marble doors. He cracked one open, spoke softly to whomever waited outside, then threw it wider, allowing them to pass.

A quivering demi-god rushed in, stumbling over his own feet in his haste. After quickly introducing himself, he hurried into a stuttering ramble about where he’d been sent earlier in the day.

“Paeon,” I interrupted. “Please get to the part about Neros.”

“O-o-of course, your grace. I was across the s-strait, in K-kardia,” he stammered, naming Hestia’s dominion in the mortal realm. The people who resided there worshipped her above all others in the pantheon.

They were predominantly women and children — favouring a matriarchal society — and a generally peaceful sort of folk who valued family above all else. They even went so far as to harbour orphaned children from any of Ephemeron’s other lands — children who would otherwise be discarded as merely another mouth to feed, and therefore a waste of time and resources.

Hestia fidgeted on the edge of her throne, reaching for and clasping Demeter’s hand tightly.

“My people — how do they fare?” she asked haltingly.

Paeon turned, dipping his head before answering. “All is well in Kardia, my Lady of the Hearth.”

She sagged, visibly relieved. However, it was no shared solace — each Olympian was equally desperate to learn of their own peoples’ fates.

The messenger swallowed roughly before speaking again. “As I s-said, my queen — I was in Kardia when I f-felt it.”

“Felt what?”

“War, Majesty.”

My mask must have slipped, portraying the confusion I presently grappled with.

Aros leaned in to explain. “Paeon is a demi-god of war. He has no influence over such things, but he can feel when war and violence are stirring nearby.”

Paeon nodded. “When I felt the call from Thaldon, I ran to Kardia’s temple and used its portal arch to travel to the Temple of Poseidon. Neros was but a few miles south of there. Though, in the end, I did not need to run the whole way. The devastation of the oceanic capital was clear, even from such a distance.”

Silence answered him. He shifted, scratching at his arm, then continued.

“Neros was burning. The road leading there was packed with people fleeing, and a few brave souls running towards the flames to lend their help. By the time I got closer, I knew for certain that the city was too far gone.” He shifted his weight from foot to foot, lost in the memory of his sprint. “Neros had already fallen. There was nothing left to save. No one left to rescue. Nothing but charred ruins and the stench of burning flesh.”

I swivelled, immediately locking eyes with my storm-wielder. His anger simmered beneath my breastbone, as hot as Velira’s belly, mingling with my own.

“And what of the attacker?” Caelus bit out, his deep voice barely holding back the depth of his emotion. “Did you see any sign of who or what might have wreaked such destruction?”

Paeon averted his gaze, shaking his head. “No. Nothing.”

“I have to go,” I murmured, more to myself than to anyone else. “I have to see it for myself.”

Caelus pinned me with his two-toned stare. You’re mad if you think I’m letting you go alone.

Who said anything about alone?

Without another word, my shadows whipped out, forming an inky doorway. I stepped through, caring little who joined me — the more, the better.

Let them all see the consequences war unleashes on mortals.

Let them remember what their power costs.

It was as Paeon had said: charred domiciles and burnt flesh.

The acrid scent of smoked pork seared my nostrils as my shadows dissipated, leaving me standing in the blackened soil alongside seven other gods.

Caelus, Aros, and Athena did not hesitate to follow me into the darkness.

What surprised me was that Aphrodite followed a second later, with Artemis and Hermes just behind her. And then Velira had managed to wriggle through the god-sized doorway as well, surely through some magic of her own.