Page 52 of Harbinger

Still, the ties that had bound him to the ones who had cherished and supported him before the Fall had never broken. He’d sensed it with every forgotten ally who had appeared before him in the aftermath of the War in the Nether, just as he could feel his soul core acknowledging the deity holding his hands.

Determination filled Dione’s face when she raised her head. “Come, both of you. We must see my sisters!”

She whirled around and led them toward the palace, her attendants in their wake.

They entered an immense hall of pale marble and navigated a veritable labyrinth of passages and staircases before finally reaching a set of impressive, gilded doors on the third floor. Just like the staff they’d encountered along the way, the Potamoi guarding the room bowed respectfully before stepping aside.

“Are my sisters here?” Dione asked tensely.

“Yes, Your Highness,” one of the guards murmured. “They are having their morning meeting.”

“Good.” Dione looked at one of her attendants. “Prepare some tea.” She grasped the door handle. “And see that we are not disturbed.”

One of the guards hesitated. “Prince Astrid wanted to see you, Your Highness.”

Cassius startled. Prince Astrid was the demigod who wished to marry his sister Kalliste.

I forgot he’s from this realm.

Dione frowned. “My son will have to wait too.”

Dazzling brightness greeted them when they crossed the threshold into the room on the other side. Cassius blinked.

It was an immense office bathed in sunlight that streamed through a pair of floor-to-ceiling, clear, leaded windows capped by sculptured arches. Bookcases lined the remaining walls, the cabinets stretching to the coffered ceiling and their highest shelves accessible by elegant, cast-iron, rolling ladders. The scent of the candles and bouquets atop various console tables filled the air with a pleasant aroma.

In complete contrast to the graceful surroundings, the large conference table to the right was covered with haphazard stacks of documents that made it look like it’d been hit by a storm. So was the coffee table to the left and the couches and chairs framing it.

A stylish oak desk similarly drowning in paperwork dominated the far side of the space. Seated behind it was a harassed-looking queen with hair that matched her crimson, coral crown. She was currently scowling at the folder in her hands through a monocle.

“I swear, I’m going to kick Menippe’s ass when she comes back,” she was in the midst of muttering. “Why are her calculations so unnecessarily complicated?!”

The blonde Goddess sitting on one of the couches leafed through the paperwork in her hands. She was clad in the same attire as Dione and wore an identical coral crown.

“I’ll help you,” she ground out.

“This stuff is giving me a headache.” The brunette seated across from the blonde sighed, leaned back against the headrest, and dropped a document on her face. “When did she say she was returning from her trip? I mean, it’s been a hundred years already.”

“She didn’t!” the monocled Goddess snarled. She finally clocked Dione’s presence. “Oh.” Her expression cleared a little. “There you are, Di. We were wondering what was keeping—!”

She gasped and jumped to her feet, her chair clattering noisily to the ground.

The brunette removed the paper draping her face and squinted at the doorway. “What?”

Her eyes rounded. Her crown slid askew on her head as she jerked upright.

“By the Gods,” mumbled the blonde Goddess.

Paper fluttered to the ground as she rose, her face pale and the documents on the floor all but forgotten.

“Amphitrite,” Tisiphone said with a grin. Her gaze shifted to the brunette closing and opening her mouth like a goldfish and hastily righting her crown. “Panacea.” Her expression turned dry as she looked at the stunned redhead behind the desk. “A monocle? Really, Thetis?”

“Tisiphone!”

The three Goddesses rushed over and hugged the laughing Fury. It was a moment before they stepped back and turned to Cassius. They studied him with expressions of pure reverence, as if they couldn’t quite believe he was there, standing right before them.

“Awakener,” Thetis breathed. “No.” She shook her head. “Prince Icarus.” Her eyes gleamed. “We have missed you.”

Emotion tightened Cassius’s throat. “I’m pleased to be back.”

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