Page 21 of Styx

at our home. It was not strange

to see my aunts and uncles here.

Oceanus’s halls were used to

the footfalls of divinity.

What did surprise me was

the way they were gathered

in the great hall.

And beyond that,

how all my many cousins were also there.

It was only when my grandmother

Gaia entered with her majestic siblings,

my great-aunt Nyx, the Night,

her consort Erebus, the Darkness,

and great-uncle Eros, of Love,

that I realized something peculiar

was happening. Why had all the Gods

collected in my father’s halls?

I almost gasped when I saw

the ever-reclusive God-King

Kronos and his consort, Rhea,

in attendance. While the older Titans

and the Primordials sat in gold palatial chairs

by my father’s polished aquamarine throne,

my cousins, brothers, and sisters

stood before them

keeping a respectful distance

from their powerful seats.

I took the opportunity

to look closely at my uncle

Kronos. His amber eyes