"Well?"

"Well, what?"

"What can you do for her?" Mars pressed impatiently. I raised myself up from laying face down on the bed as Poseidon poked and prodded at me. Poseidon now paced the ground in front of the bed, his hand holding his chin as he pondered, a confused and worried expression plastered on his face.

"I don't know." He admitted quietly, leaning against the far wall and knocking the back of his head against it, frustrated. I leaned across the bed, picking up my T Shirt and pulling it over my head. Poseidon had no idea what to do. If he didn't think of something... He was my last hope.

"What do you mean you don't know? This is right up YOUR ally." Mars barked quietly, starring at Poseidon in mild horror.

"Up my ally, sure, but it wasn't my invention!" Poseidon yelled. "I don't understand the logic behind it, its not... Not my thing. I don't know what to do." He admitted quietly, not making eye contact with either of us.

"Mars, are you sure you know nothing in detail about the machine?" I pleaded at him. His eyes met mine, dark circles under them, exhausted and sorry.

"I don't know anything. I never asked." He rubbed his jaw with both hands, scratching up against the stubble on his lower face.

"Perhaps part of what hinders me is that whatever Neptune did to you, Athena, was by machine as well as water, a combination I've never seen. I know nothing of machinery." Poseidon spoke, his arms now crossed as he starred down at his shoes caked with mud and grass stained from running through the forest last night.

What time was it now? I stood from the bed and walked around to the other side of the room where a single, medium width covered window was. I reached up and parted the heavy black curtains covering it. A warm, golden early morning sun filled the room and covered my face and body. How many more sunrises would I live to see? This one was suddenly exceptionally beautiful. As high up as we were all there was in the sky were froffy milky white clouds and the sun, the only constant in this up and down life. It was comforting, truly. No matter what happened to me, the sun would continue to rise and set.

"Athena?"

"Mh?" I continued starring out the window, to enchanted by the beautiful, precious view in front of me.

"I asked how you would feel about bringing Hephaestus in on this." Poseidon repeated. I didn't hear him the first time apparently. Hephaestus... Always stormy waters between he and I. He blamed me for 'shaming' Aphrodite after the... Incident. I suppose it didn't help that I threatened to kill her. I could only hope he'd help me now. He certainly didn't owe me anything.

"Tomorrow." I told them quietly, pressing my hand to the cold, dew stained glass in front of me, thinking of all the relationships I'd ruined in the past. Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hera... Was any of it actually worth it. Hera, yes absolutely. It was less than a year ago she wanted me dead. But Aphrodite? Maybe. Hephaestus? Probably not. None of it seemed worth all of the wasted energy now.

"I don't think we should put this off, Athena." Mars said, aggressively ready to dive into finding a solution. A small, short laugh escaped my lips. The same god who threatened me with this very fate was now trying to reverse it. Ironic.

"I agree. We need to act quickly if-"

"You are tired. Both of you." I turned away from the window to face the two clearly drained men in front of me, both of them blinking roughly, trying to push the exhaustion away. A small smile passed my lips, but left just as soon. "We should revisit this when we are all well rested and thinking at our best, or I fear it would be a waste of time anyways." Both gods considered my words, the thought of sleep and rest tempting them like an insect is called to light. Irresistible. "You two go on and get some sleep, now. We'll have plenty of time after to think of a solution before we even reach Nivea." I gave them the final push, both of them slowly nodding in agreeance.

"Is that an order, your highness?" Mars asked with a smirk on his face, though I knew he was already convinced.

"It is." I smiled at him as he rose from his seat, he and Poseidon sauntered towards the door. I turned back to the window, the sun had risen higher impossibly quick since I last looked. The door clicked open, a single pair of footsteps shuffling down the hall.

"You'll yell if you need something? I'm only down the hall a small ways." I turned to face Mars, who stood half way in the room, half way out the door. The golden sunlight flooding the room and bouncing off his face, illuminating his skin with a liveliness. His scars blurred in the pure light and he looked like someone I used to know.

"I will." I told him sincerely. With one last lingering look he finally ducked his head and exited the room fully, closing the door and marching down the hall.

I sighed, feeling my eye lids grow heavier. It seemed a shame to sleep away my last days but I'd be no use without it. I gripped the velvet, heavy curtains and tugged them closed. The dark room enhanced my drowsiness as I glided over to the bed. Rolling the blankets down, I slid in to the silk sheets and let the firm but moldable pillow envelope my heavy head.

It was strange to lie in bed alone after months of sleeping next to Hades. I used to pretend he wasn't there, ignoring the possessive arm he always used to drape across me every night. Now I found myself reaching towards the left side of the bed, though I knew he wasn't there. Sighing, my eyes flickered up to the ceiling, where I starred until sleep claimed me.

*****

With a gasp, my eyes shot open, trying desperately to understand where I was. I stood under a stone balcony, gazing out onto a familiar land plagued by ugly new bulky, firm structures. The clouds hung low and dark, threatening to spill out with rain as the obviously had before. The ground I stood on now was the only dry ground, protected from past rain by the balcony over head. I knew this place.

Olympus. The last time I'd seen it, there was nothing left but the temple, all our city reduced to ash and rubble. Now, a large dark grey fort like structure stretching as far as the eye could see took the place of the homes and shops of my people. The fort was ugly, lined with Roman flags and shabbily constructed in some parts still, but impressive. I couldn't fathom how quickly the Romans must have worked to build this structure in such a short amount of time. It was evident they were feeling the pressure of war.

My feet moved slowly towards the structure, a sand-like dust coating them gently. I stood overlooking the structure at the edge of the cobblestone plateau. Why was I here?

A large black mass shot down at an impossible speed mere inches in front of me, hit the ground with a loud boom and cracking the cobble stone. The motion sent me tumbling back with a scream, my arm shooting up to cover my face and my feet working quickly to keep me from falling on my back. The now unsettled sand on the ground created a fog like cloud around the mass. When it cleared I found myself looking at Mercury, clothed in a scratched up and dirty hard shell black and grey battle armor.

With his helmet at his side he rose from his crouched position, standing to his full height which like Hermes, was not much taller than me. He payed no attention to me, not sparing me a look as he headed past me to the only part of this city I would recognize anymore. The temple, solid and thick stood seemingly untouched by the Romans destruction. Relief washed over me that they left our most sacred building alone.

The heavy doors flew open at Mercury's force and in he walked into the building. I hurried to follow him, sliding through the thin opening as he forced them shut again. With a boom, we were shut in swallowed by the dim lighting in the throne room. What was left of it anyway. All of our thrones were gone. The Romans were completely out of line, touching another gods throne was a sign of the utmost disrespect, to remove them from the sacred temple was on a whole other level. Instead of 12 thrones, 1 sat in the center back of the room. This 'New Olympus' would apparently have 1 ruler.

My blood boiled as I searched for Minerva, finding her no where in the room. Instead, Neptune crouched down by the throne, a bucket by his side and a scrubber in his hand as he rapidly wiped at the ground, cleaning something. As Mercury neared him, I did as well, following him down the regal red carpet stretching down the length of the room. As we neared, it grew clearer what Neptune was scrubbing, thought it appeared there was too much for just him to clean. Too much Ichor, that is.

There had been a murder here. More than one I noticed, seeing the pools of dark red blood scattering the halls reflect the candle light. Red blood, not gold. Innocents.

"Having fun playing housewife?" Mercury's voice torn me away from my anger, I turned to look at the two gods scowling at each other. "Who was the poor bloke? Was Mars back so soon?"

"No."

"Then who?"

"Who do you think, Jackass?" Neptune growled, standing up and tossing his golden soaked rag into the bucket below. Mercury tensed up, obviously knowing who Neptune meant.

"You can't be-" He nearly yelled. Neptune slapped a hand to his mouth, silencing him quickly and looking around to make sure they were alone. What were they so afraid of? I moved closer to the pair, intent on hearing everything.

"Shhh! Do you want to be next?" Neptune whispered harshly. Mercury grabbed his wrist and pulled Neptune's hand away from his mouth.

"You were part of this I know it, you little rat." Mercury squared up with Neptune, bumping chests with him. He whispered venom laced words at Neptune. "You're a traitor to your own kind. You've been whispering in her ear this whole time. Take Olympus, fine. Build a fort on the city, sure. But kill one of our own? That is not what I signed up for. The others will surely feel the same. I'll see you killed for this. Both of you."

"Hey, I didn't tell her to kill him." Kill who? Neptune rubbed his face in his hands stressfully. "I didn't know she would kill him... I swear to you, Mercury, I thought she'd imprison him or something along those lines. Put him on the next flight home and warn him not to return, but not kill. Never kill him."

"BUT SHE DID!" Mercury boomed, shaking the temples walls. In an instant he had Neptune by the front of his shirt, filled to the brim with angst. A loud long overdrawn creaking noise echoed through the room, earning the attention of the two men. The painfully slow, rhythmic tap of heeled shoes sent anxiety running though my body. From the edge of the room, out of the darkness seemingly stepped Minerva wearing a dramatic matte black slender gown with a cape to match. On her head, a gaudy golden crown encrusted with red jewels.

Though I knew I was not fully there, I found myself fighting every bone in my body on the urge to charge her. It would do no good, I knew, but still the urge was burning within me. Minerva observed the two men who had now detached from each other. Minerva's cold, hard gaze shifted back and forth between the two before settling on Mercury, a wicked grin spreading across her face.

"What seems to be the problem, boys?" Her low voice coaxed. Both men shifted uncomfortably.

"Nothing." Neptune answered far too quickly to ever be believed. Minerva narrowed her eyes at him, sauntering closer to the pair.

"It certainly didn't sound like nothing." Her voice teased at the gods before her. To her, this was clearly all a game of cat and mouse. One she knew she couldn't lose. "Mercury, something troubles you." His eyes shot up to meet hers, a sudden braveness taking over him.

"How dare you kill him?" Mercury spoke with an edge, exciting Minerva.

"A tad sentimental are we?" She stood feet away from the two now, a close enough proximity that both of the two gods should be trying to get away from her, but they held their ground.

"Sentimental? Minerva, you killed the king!" Mercury boomed once more. The king? Oh gods, she killed Jupiter. My hand flew to my mouth in shock. With Zeus gone and now Jupiter gone, the playing fields were equaled out, but it presented other problems. Mercury continued, a glare penetrating him by Minerva. "For what? To be queen of a piece of floating rock with a silly fort on it? It took all 24 gods and then some to bind the Titans last time, Zeus and Jupiter being essential keys. Have you any idea what you've done? You've doomed us all." Mercury was right, of course. With Jupiter gone we had very little hope. If they knew Zeus was gone too, they'd know it was a lost cause.

"Enough. I will hear no more of this." Minerva spoke calmly, though her knuckles were white from squeezing them so hard. Mercury looked defeated, his shoulders hunching as he shook his head. I'll admit, I was surprised he was still alive. "I did not summon you here to quarrel. I have a job for you." Her smile returned once more.

Mercury paused for a long time until Neptune nudged him. A range of emotions passed his face but he was finally able to get them under control and mutter out a response. "What will you ask of me?"

A dark laugh escaped Minerva's lips as she raised her chin high. "Well, you are the god of messengers. And I want to send a very clear message."

*****

I sat straight up, covered in a cool sweat and panting, to the sound of knocking at the door. I felt more tired after having that dream than I did before I even went to bed. Groaning slightly I pushed the comforter off of me, shivering as I quickly got up out of bed and headed to the door. Another impatient set of knocks echoed through the room just as I reached the door. I pulled it open expecting Mars or Poseidon but found myself face to face with a dimly lit Hades.

"Lord Hades." I breathed out, noticing his ragged appearance. He leaned on the door frame for support, grunting slightly as he breathed in. He was obviously in pain but trying desperately to conceal it, holding his face in a stern expression as to not give it away.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" He asked, offering a small smirk. Obediently I nodded, offering him a hand for support but he shook me off, taking small steps into the room and using the walls and furniture for support.

"What time is it?" I asked, still trying to help him but he wouldn't have any of it. Finally I gave up, looking over at the covered window for a clue of the time.

"Mid morning." He grunted out, reaching the bed and plopping down onto it. Relief washed across his face, glad to be off his feet. If it was mid morning, I'd only gotten a few hours of sleep, though it felt like forever and nothing all at once.

"You should not be out of bed." I cautioned, walking over to him and placing a wary hand on his forehead to gauge his temperature. It was still very high. The poison must've done a number on him for it to be taking this long for him to heal. Hades gently took my hand from his head to envelope it in his much large hand. I starred down at our two hands, being near to him made me feel safer. Whatever my mixed feelings about Hades were, he had always kept me safe. A small huff of a laugh escaped Hades mouth.

"I only came to check on you. You should not be out of bed, either." I opened my mouth to protest but Hades cut me off, raising his eyebrows. "You're exhausted. Have you slept at all?" I nodded, feeling small and young, like a little girl who's father was worried about her being sick.

"A little."

"I did not wake you, I hope." Hades brows twisted into a worried expression. I quickly shook my head, pouting slightly.

"No, you didn't. It was a nightmare." I admitted, meeting his concerned gaze.

"Do you have nightmares often, love?" Hades asked quietly, bringing his other hand up and brushing some stay pieces of hair from out of my face. I blinked at him, wanting desperately to tell him about everything, my decreasing health and the dreams I've had that came true, even the nightmares I'd experienced these past months in the Underworld, for I had had them. But I could not worry him, not when his own health was on the line. I couldn't worry him like that. I would keep it between Mars, Neptune, Hephaestus and myself for now.

"No." I shook my head gently. A guilty feeling threatened to wash over me for lying to Hades, but I quickly pushed it away. I assured myself it was for the best. I waited for Hades to accuse me of lying but after starring deep into my eyes for a moment or two he looked away, toying with my hand in his.

"Nightmares or not, you should try and get some rest." Hades sighed, tracing spirals in the palm of my hand, before letting mine go and dropping his hands. I resisted my urge to grab his hand again, to hold it close to me.

"Will you stay?" I asked before I knew what I was saying, longing for the feeling of being safe again. Hades looked up at me, confused. When he opened his mouth to speak I feared he may reject my offer. "Please? Hades, will you stay here with me please?" I asked again, knowing now even he couldn't refuse. A small smile crept up to his face.

"You called me Hades." He pointed out. It took me a second to think of what he meant but then I understood.

"I'm so-"

"No. I like it better." He smiled warmer, reaching up and placing his hands on my hips and pulling me a few inches. He starred up at me for a long while, admiring me for some reason, before finally he nodded. "Come, lets sleep." We broke apart slowly. He allowed me to somewhat help him stand and settle into his side of the bed before walking around to the other side and sliding into the sheets. I moved closer to Hades, wrapping myself around his right arm, inhaling his ever cool scent and feeling safe and homey at last.

"Goodnight." I said quietly, the sound of Hades quiet rhythmic breathing sending me off to sleep.

"Sleep well, love."

I'm really excited to be back at writing. Thank you all so much for being patient as I fixed both books up and wrote this chapter. I hope you enjoy it.

All the love, Elizabeth xx