Page 33 of Left Hand of the Divine
The harsh lines on Zeus’ face hardened even further, and the room suddenly dropped to a bone-chilling temperature. Fucking hell, that was uncomfortable.
“Then let us begin,” Zeus said, his voice dark and dangerous. He pointed to a podium set beneath the foot of his throne. “Roux, Reaper. Step forward.”
Hades grabbed my wrist as I walked past him and pulled me to a stop. He pressed a kiss against my temple and whispered, “Remember, we are with you. You are not alone.”
I nodded and squeezed his hand. I cast a last look at the men at my back, squared my shoulders and stepped onto the podium to face the King of the Gods.
Zeus sat back down in his gaudy throne and crossed one long leg over the other. “Well then, Reaper. Would you care to explain why I no longer have a vault?”
“I could explain that, but wouldn’t it be more interesting to talk about how you covered up the break-in at the vault a decade ago?”
Zeus’ brows descended in a sharp slant. “Excuse me?”
I looked around at all the other Gods. “Let me tell you all a story about a woman. I don’t know her name because I can’t remember it. She broke into the Vault, somehow made it past all the creatures and managed to get all the way to the Diadem.”
“Impossible,” Zeus scoffed.
Ares leaned forwards, his bright eyes glinting with emerald fire in the low light. “No, not impossible. Improbable maybe, but not impossible. I am intrigued, Reaper. Please, continue.”
Zeus pursed his lips but didn’t interfere, and I took his silence as permission to carry on.
“There she met an ancient being, a creature of shadows. The Master of the Vault.”
All eyes snapped to Erebus, but he just stood there casually like their interest didn’t matter. To be honest, I was pretty sure the guy was more powerful than most of these Gods put together. He was a Primordial, after all.
“But before they got a chance to know each other, the woman stole the Diadem.” I braced my hands on the plinth in front of me. “The woman woke up in the Underworld with no memory of how she got there, no idea who she was and no Diadem.”
Zeus leant forwards, a nasty sneer curling his lips. “If that were true, where is this woman now?”
I looked him dead in the eye. “Right here.”
The God scoffed. “So, you are admitting to stealing from me twice?”
Seriously, that’s what he took from the story?
I turned to Hera, a beauty with soft caramel-coloured hair who looked completely bored. “Look, I’ll admit the tale is a tall one, but I went into the Vault because I wanted answers. I wanted to know the truth. I want to know who I am, and if I stole Nyx’s Diadem, then I want to know why. The connection I have with Erebus ties him to me on a level that I have yet to understand. It was never my intention to destroy the Vault, but I know that responsibility lies on my shoulders, and mine alone.”
Hera tipped her head to one side and cast a curious look at her husband. “Did you know there had been a break-in at the Vault all those years ago?”
“Of course I did,” Zeus replied, his tone miffed. “It’s my Vault, Hera.”
“And you, Reaper,” she said, her tone cutting as she turned to face me again. “Did you find your answers?”
I held her gaze unwaveringly. “Some of them, but not all.”
Hera unfolded herself from her throne and floated gracefully down to the ground before me. She landed softly, her navy-blue gown billowing gently around her feet. “Child, I cannot condone your actions, but I understand your need for truth. Tell me, would you sacrifice yourself to save them?”
With her standing this close to me, I could see that there was a sadness about her eyes as she spoke, and it made me feel sympathy for her.
“In a heartbeat,” I replied. “They are everything to me. I know that they followed me into the Vault willingly and by rights, should share in the punishment, but if there was any way to spare them from it, I would do that in exchange for me.”
A small smile played about her mouth as she glanced at Hades over my shoulder. “You even managed to warm a heart that I thought had been lost forever. There must be something special about you, Roux.”
“I’m just a Reaper,” I said softly as she trailed her gaze over my face.
Hera reached out and grabbed my chin in her hand; her touch was firm but not painful. “Oh, no. I think you are something much more than that. There is something hidden deep within your depths that not even I can see, but it feels achingly familiar. And your face… You look like someone I used to know, but I can’t quite remember who.”
“What is going on down there?” Zeus shouted from his perch.
