I had borne many things in the centuries since my birth. The indignity of bowing to my youngest brother had chafed the most, until the day I’d discovered the role that my own wife had played in the curse Hera had laid upon Olympus.

Being banished to the Underworld was nothing to this betrayal. I should have known. I should have suspected that the Queen of Heaven would attempt to twist Persephone against me. Demeter had probably given her the idea. If it hadn’t been for that damned fire… If she hadn’t distracted me, maybe I could have stopped it.

I slammed my fist against the marble wall and watched flakes of mortar float to the stone floor to mix with the dust at my feet. This was an argument I’d had with myself time and time again… and every time the ending was the same. What could I have done?

Nothing.

By the time Hermes had come and blown away Persephone’s enchanted flames, Hera had already done her work, and we sat there in blissful ignorance as the goddess’s curse settled over us.

I still remember the look on Hera’s face… there was something faintly satisfied and smug about her expression—more so than usual. It took some time for the curse to take effect, but as with so many things, Zeus was the first of us to discover what had happened.

He had returned to Olympus, his eyes red and his face streaked with salt tears as he described the beautiful girl who had died screaming in his arms while his divine seed burned her from the inside out. At first we did not believe him. It seemed too horrible to imagine. To reveal ourselves in our truly divine form was death to mortals, that much we knew, and Zeus had learned that lesson centuries earlier.

Spurred by Hera’s whispers, a princess of Thebes whom Zeus had taken as a lover, had demanded that her lover reveal his true identity. So unrelenting was she in her pleading that Zeus finally complied… Semele was the first casualty of Hera’s jealousy; her death forced Zeus, King of the Gods, to nurture her unborn child from his own flesh—my nephew Dionysus. But Semele had been directly influenced by the goddess. This was different.

And there would be more.

One, by one, each of the gods reported similar tales of horror. How their lovers, men and women in the prime of life, died in pain and misery while they were powerless to help or heal them. The memory of each of those deaths weighed heavily upon my brothers and nephews for countless centuries.

For some, the wounds were still too fresh, and to see Zeus now… I wondered how his joy affected those Olympians who had not accepted what had happened, or those who could not let go of the past.

Cameron was the physical embodiment of the prophecy made real, and Zeus could not have acted like more of a fool because of it. His pride had always been legendary, but that was eclipsed by this victory over Hera. With every passing day, Cameron seemed to grow more beautiful, and Zeus made sure that anyone within earshot knew about it. The young man was growing into his divinity, and his pregnancy, and it was clear to everyone which goddess had contributed to his divine heritage.

I watched from the shadows as Zeus coddled and cajoled his lover with every delicacy he could find. Any precious thing that Cameron requested he brought with no complaints and I catalogued them all.

I had never seen my brother like this. Any of my nephews could attest to the fact that Zeus was a notoriously absent father, and I wondered if some of that bitterness was what kept Ares and the others away from Olympus so long. Now that the prophecy had been proven real, Zeus had sent Hermes on a mission to locate every one of the Olympians and tell them that Hera’s curse could be defeated.

Rebuilding Olympus had seemed like a foolish dream, the lonely plans of an impotent deity… but now things could progress in earnest and Zeus was eager for the birth of his child.

I gritted my teeth as I suddenly regretted shouting at Cameron. He was a kind young man—better than my brother deserved, surely. And I was certain that it would not take long for my hot-headed brother to come stomping down the stairs to my library to scold me for treating him unfairly.

Poseidon was dealing with his own mortal… With the discovery of his own spark, my waterlogged brother had transformed from a wet fish to a passionate defender of Zeus’ claims. I expected he would bring his own lover back to Olympus very soon. But even sooner than that, there would be the squalling of newborn babes echoing off the marble columns of Olympus—a sound that none of us had heard in centuries.

While Zeus hungered for the moment he would hold his child in his arms, I could think of a thousand things I would rather do. More than a thousand.

Zeus’ triumph was in defeating his wife. Yes, he would rebuild Olympus with divine occupants who would love and adore him, but he had merely avoided the curse. It had not been lifted. Now that he had found Cameron it seemed he had forgotten what kind of danger our attentions brought into the lives of the mortals who had been chosen for us.

Brooke, Poseidon’s mortal, had almost died—and the daughters of Nereus had been eager to do Hera’s bidding. What else was lurking in the shadows? Zeus’ thoughts may have been consumed with Cameron and the birth of his child… but what of the rest of us? My selfish brother, never looking beyond his own desires. If Hera’s curse did not linger, there would be nothing to stop him from returning to his old ways.

Persephone had often tried to change me… and every attempt had failed. But this curse, it had changed all of us for eternity.

“You finally succeeded,” I muttered darkly.

“At what? I can’t recall a time that I’ve failed, brother… are you talking to yourself again?”

Almost instinctively, the hand that rested against the wall curled into a fist and I straightened as Zeus bounded down the stairs and into my library.

“Do you see any better company?” I growled.

Zeus waggled a finger in my direction and I frowned. I hated him when he was like this, and he was always like this lately. “Now, Hades, you should not be here in your dull library.” He poked at a stack of books that tilted precariously towards me. I reached out to steady them with a firm hand. “You should be down on earth searching for your spark. I know there is one out there for each of us!”

“That may be,” I said dryly. “But if I had known you had planned to turn Olympus into a nursery so quickly, I would have translated that prophecy differently.”

Zeus laughed and clapped me on the back and I gritted my teeth. “Well, you can’t put a timer on divine seed, brother. If the Fates want Olympus rebuilt, who am I to stand in their way?”

“The Fates haven’t spoken to us in centuries,” I said.

“Yes… well. A figure of speech. Old habits die hard.” Zeus paused for a moment and regarded me with an arched eyebrow. “Speaking of old habits… I’ll thank you to speak more kindly to Cameron in the future. He merely wanted—”

“To waste my time and mis-file my books,” I interrupted him briskly and pushed his hand off my shoulder. I was never in the mood for brotherly affection, and the air around Olympus had put me more on edge than I liked to admit.

“Be that as it may, I want him as happy, content, and healthy as possible before the birth of our son, and I won’t have you complicating things. Or ruining everything I have planned.”

“Healthy? He’s one of us now, he will always be healthy…” Was there even such a thing as an unhealthy god? An unhealthy appetite was one thing, and we’d already been punished for that.

“It’s just an expression!” Zeus shouted. His gray eyes shone silver in the dim light of the library and I allowed myself a dark chuckle. I loved pushing my brother’s buttons. He was just so… easy. So predictable. That was how Hera had done it, after all. If there was anything the King of the Gods could be relied upon for, it was his predictability.

Zeus raked a hand through his hair and let out a gusty sigh before leaning against one of the bookshelves. It creaked under his weight and I glared at my brother, but as usual, he didn’t seem to notice. “You have to be here for the birth… you know that, right?”

I nodded sternly and crossed my arms over my chest, my eyes on the creaking bookshelf. “Hermes told me.”

“Well, now I’m telling you myself so you can’t pretend that you didn’t get the message. I expect you to be there. Cameron expects you to be there.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Does the mortal know we’re all going to be watching?”

Zeus had the grace to look a little flustered. “No. No… of course not. You won’t be watching, you’ll just be there. With the others.”

“The others.”

My brother was getting more flustered with every passing second, and I was enjoying his discomfort immensely. “Yes… the others! This is the sign everyone is waiting for. The birth of a healthy child—my son—will be the moment that changes their minds about the prophecy.”

I rolled my eyes at his earnestness and plucked a book from the top of a nearby pile. “Have you chosen a name?”

“A name?”

“The newest member of the pantheon needs a name, does he not? And are you so sure it will be a boy?” I opened the book and looked at my brother carefully. He squirmed under my gaze and I tried not to smile.

“I promised Cameron that he could choose the name,” Zeus mumbled.

“Oh, lovely,” I sneered. “And what names are popular on earth right now? All hail, Skylar... God of Summer Winds.” I gestured grandly. “Or perhaps, Zoe… Goddess of those obnoxious spring storms you’re so fond of…”

“Careful, brother,” Zeus’ voice was deadly quiet, and I allowed myself to smile.

“Perhaps you should choose the child’s name,” I said with a wink and turned another page in my book.

“When it is your turn to fall in love, I shall take great pleasure in making jokes at your expense.”

I snorted in reply.

“You scoff at me now,” Zeus said. “But you wait. Your time will come.”

“You make it sound like a curse,” I spat. “I have had my fill of curses.”

My brother yawned and stepped away from the bookshelf. “Enough of this,” he said. “Has anyone ever told you how tiresome your constant glowering and growling can be, brother?”

I looked up at him, my eyes blazing. “Only my wife,” I said through gritted teeth.

Zeus smirked at me and walked away through the bookshelves and stacks of dusty books. “You should really get someone to clean down here… you should find yourself a mortal who loves you enough to do the work.”

“Get out!” I roared.

Zeus’ laughter floated back to me down the marble stairs and I flung the book I had been pretending to read across the room.

What right did he have to lecture me? He had found his ‘spark.’ And Poseidon… he was close to bringing his spark back to Olympus permanently. But how long would it be for the rest of us? Hermes, as always, seemed to be in no rush to do anything but his duty. Ares had been absent for more time than Zeus would want to admit, that was sure. Apollo had said nothing… and while he had agreed to oversee the birth of the newest Olympian, even I didn’t know where he stood, or what his plans were. The true test of the prophecy would be in the birth. Cameron would be tested—more than any mortal had ever been tested. This child was our future.

Future. It seemed a ridiculous notion for an immortal being to ponder, yet, against my will, I was pondering it.

It didn’t take long for Poseidon to return to Olympus with his own mortal in tow. I should have known by the determined set of my brother’s brow that trouble was brewing. If I’d cared enough, I could have watched him from the marble cistern… but I had more pressing matters to attend to.

Like Zeus, Poseidon’s mortal was sweet and biddable. But the God of the Seas had been gifted with a mortal who was as shy and reserved as the goddess who had contributed to his origin. Cameron was quick to form a bond with this new addition to Olympus. Brooke seemed fascinated by the swell of Cameron’s stomach, and I watched from the shadows as his eyes widened as he felt the child kick.

“Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?”

“Many things,” I grumbled as Poseidon strode through the marble columns towards me. Cameron and Brooke walked away from us, their heads bent together while they talked quietly, still oblivious to our presence. “What now, brother? Will you waste no time in setting a child in your spark’s belly?”

Poseidon shook his head. “I am not in the same hurry as our brother. Brooke is different… and he will need time to adjust.”

I leaned against the column and crossed my arms over my chest. “So, have you come to chide me as well?” I asked with an arched brow.

“Zeus will be in earnest now, that much is true. But I have not come here to lecture you… I came to tell you that you were right.”

I felt a smile creep across my face. “I don’t need your validation, brother.”

“Perhaps not, but all the same—” Poseidon paused for just a moment before meeting my eyes. “I thought you were lying. Not about the prophecy, every time I touch Brooke I can feel for myself that it’s true.”

“But?”

“But the danger we put them in… the goddesses knew that I had found him. Somehow, I’d marked him.”

I frowned just a little at my brother’s distress; he looked almost guilty.

“I don’t know how to explain it, but something about our touch—our intimacy—it reveals them to the goddesses. Hera sent the daughters of Nereus after Brooke.” My brother’s voice grew quiet and his unwavering gaze held mine. “They almost killed him.”

“And what did you do to them?” I asked. I wasn’t sure I knew what I would do if faced with the same predicament, but revenge was something I was very good at, and Hera knew that.

Poseidon waved off my question. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that Brooke is safe. Hera is growing bolder… we have to be sure that we are prepared—”

“Prepared? For what? To defend ourselves?”

Poseidon shook his head. “To protect our mortals. When you find your spark, you have to be sure that they will accept you, that they will accept everything being offered. If they don’t, if they don’t believe you, or any of us, we won’t be able to protect them from Hera’s rage.”

“You had better tell your tales to the others, brother,” I scoffed. “It does me little good.”

There was a hint of derision in my brother’s gaze now. “You believe you’re immune to all of this, don’t you? Is the Lord of the Underworld above something as petty as love?”

“Bah.”

“I see,” Poseidon replied. “Our brother, Zeus, used to believe he was above all of these mortal concerns… but look at him now. About to become a father. You’ve seen him with Cameron. I have to admit, I barely recognize him.”

“How Hera would laugh if she could see this,” I said with a sneer. “That her curse would have entirely the opposite effect than intended. This is the Zeus she always wanted, is it not? Attentive and loving, gentle and constant… all it took was a little curse.” I laughed grimly and Poseidon glared at me.

“Don’t let him hear you say that,” he said quietly.

“Or what? What will my mighty brother do to me? Nothing. He will be too afraid to wake the children,” I sneered.

“Fine. Keep your snarling and growling in your library where they belong. If you want no part of this, that is your choice… but remember what I said, brother.”

The marble chamber echoed with my laughter as I willed myself to earth and left my brother standing alone in the colonnade.

He could keep his condescending speeches about love and forgiveness; they both could. Let them wander the halls of Olympus with a herd of children. As long as they stayed out of my library and didn’t touch my dog... I could learn to live with the noise, but there was no way I would be contributing to it. I had better things to do.