The Iron Queen (Daughters of Zeus) by Kaitlin Bevis Read Free Book Online Page A

always sucked at answering questions. Where would Zeus keep my wife, Hera?”
    “To keep her from you?” Hera smiled. “As far out of your reach as possible. Beyond that, I haven’t the faintest idea.”
    I clenched my teeth to keep from cursing.
    “But I know of someone who’s always kept excellent tabs on him.”
    “And who’s that?”
    “My firstborn.”
    Athena. Demeter would know where to find her. I rose from the couch to go, then paused. As much as I hated to ask Hera any more questions, she was the only god I knew of who would know the answer.
    “After you married, were there ever times you couldn’t sense him?”
    Hera frowned. “What do you mean?”
    “Marriage, it’s unbreakable, right? He couldn’t—”
    She laughed. “Come now, Hades, you know the answer to that. Nothing is unbreakable.” I waited through Hera’s dramatic pause. “You can always kill her.”
    I rolled my eyes. “I meant from an outside source. Zeus hit her with lightning and it knocked me out. I haven’t heard her since.”
    “Knocked you out?”
    I waved away her surprise. “Yeah, I know. I always thought sympathy bonds were a myth, but apparently they come with equilibrium.”
    “Equilibrium?” Hera didn’t seem amused anymore. “With that infant?” She paused as if giving me time to object to her description. I refused to rise to the bait. Fluttering her eyelashes with a dramatic sigh, Hera responded, “Not possible. You’d know right away if you could feel everything she was feeling.”
    “Maybe we can only feel extremes. He hit her with lightning, Hera.”
    She fell silent, digesting this. “She’s still a baby, isn’t she? I suppose it’s possible he could have killed her.”
    I shook my head, unwilling to consider the possibility. “He still needs her. Besides, if she were dead she’d be down here.”
    “Doesn’t she have Thanatos’ power?” Hera asked, referring to the god of death Persephone had recently charmed to death. “If she swears fealty to Zeus, he could keep hold of her soul. He wants you to waste your time looking for her. What makes you think he doesn’t already have what he wants? Really, Hades, she’s a child. How long do you expect her to stand up to Zeus’ torture? Look on the bright side, this way Zeus can’t use her to kill you.”
    “To kill me ?” I barked an incredulous laugh. “That’s not going to happen.”
    Hera’s face turned puzzled then crafty. “You don’t know.”
    “Of course I know .” As if I would have married Persephone without knowing all the risks.
    “She’s a part of you, Hades, and you’re a part of her. You exchanged power to get married.” Hera ran her tongue over her top teeth. “She could kill you, but it doesn’t matter. If you can’t sense her, she’s dead. And if by some miracle she’s not, you should probably transfer enough power her way to put her out of her misery. Otherwise Zeus will have access to your realm and your head on a silver platter.”
    Persephone wouldn’t do that. I could see her breaking and swearing fealty to Zeus. All that would take was a second of weakness and the words would be spoken, but for her to physically attack me? Unlikely.
    Not that it mattered, if she pulled a Boreas and swore everything to Zeus, he’d inherit the ability to kill me.
    But he’d still have to face me to do it.
    “Do you think I want him to win?” Hera asked, pulling me from my thoughts. “Hades, I have nothing left to gain. And you have a responsibility to this realm to eliminate any threat. Even her.”
    Out of the question. But I could change the rules, make up, down and black, white. I could strip Zeus of his powers. Hell, I could make him allergic to water if I wanted.
    I’d spoken to Hestia. She hadn’t been happy, but she’d agreed so long as I promised it was a last resort.
    Hera read the thoughts on my face. “No.”
    “I could make your stay here much less comfortable,” I reminded her.
    Hera looked at me then.