Prologue - Truce

* * * Selene’s POV * * *

* * * 100 Years Ago * * *

The sandy ground shakes beneath us as Hephaestus, Cora, and I, hide, crouched behind the large, jagged outcropping of rocks at the edge of the stairs to Olympus.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see an enormous, black, fire-breathing horse thundering out of the tall and spiky reeds lining the castle—its muscles rippling in the light. A man cladded from head-to-toe in shiny golden armour rides on the beast’s back.

The armour glints as he unsheathes his massive broadsword, and with a ululating war cry that makes me question my stance on this war, he charges into the fray. I don’t need to guess who he is; I know who he is; by his war cry, and he’s terrifying. Ares is riding out to battle to aid his brother Zeus.

I stick my head around the rocks to risk a peek at what’s happening. I mean, a battle is going on—that much is obvious by the gathering of troops and the clanging of metal swords and shields. This battle is one of many in a war between the Gods that has lasted a thousand years. It’s become tiring and heart-breaking, filled with such unnecessary pain and loss.

There is also the roar of three headed giants as they wave their hundred muscular arms around, trying to hit something, anything. The earth quivers beneath them, and beneath the flapping of massive blue wings from the huge dragon above us. Its ice breath shoots mercilessly from its mouth, leaving a trail of frigid spikes in its wake. It’s a war between the Gods, after all.

This will be one for the history books. Literally. A war that has occurred over a period of a hundred years is by no means an insignificant event. Only I know Zeus won’t have his beloved humans teach this in their schools. But my children; the werewolves will live and learn from this.

Hephaestus, Cora, and I, have decided to help Zeus retake Olympus after Hades had overthrown him. Without much thought we happened to come here, back to Olympus, something I still don’t think it’s a good idea.

It had been Cora’s idea to infiltrate their base, to sneak behind enemy lines and speak directly with Hades. Zeus and Ares had already agreed to meet with us and hold a truce. But Hades being Hades, is refusing to do so, until we submit to his demands.

“Don’t! You’ll get killed.” Hephaestus grabs the back of Cora’s shirt and tries to pull her back to his side, the fabric stretching tightly against her torso as he does so - revealing several battle wounds. My poor child, this shouldn’t be her life.

Cora jerks out of his grip. “I’m not going to die from looking.” Cora makes a few cautious peeps and bobs. The little madam is obviously in agreement with Hephaestus. But then, Cora being Cora, she just has to see what’s happening. Her and curiosity are best friends forever, even when indulging it isn’t the best idea.

Sure, that friendship has gotten her into all kinds of dangerous and precarious situations, but she has lived her whole life for that shit. Life is way too boring without it. And because of it, she has become the fiercest and most feared warrior in our realm. Well, perhaps after Ares, he hasn’t earned the title ‘God of War’ for no reason.

My gaze returns to the fight just in time to see the intimidating Goddess Athena fly into the fray. I recognise her from seeing her at the dinner parties that Zeus regularly holds. I see she has no loyalty. But she is battle ready—her silver moulded chest plate, arm, and wrist cuffs glinting under the hot sun. She lands at a run on the clouds, and unsheathes her huge sword as she moves, pointing it at the sky.

Above her, the sun seems to draw closer, which is obviously impossible. Still, it looks like its pale rays are growing stronger, their heat intensifying until it feels like prickles on my skin, and my retinas are burning.

A huge man in gold armour swoops down from beyond the wispy clouds, landing just on the edge of the crashing white surf. It’s so bright that I have to squint to see him. Between the gaps in his helmet, lightning flares from inside, as the skies emit a deafening rumble of thunder. “Zeus!” Athena shouts. “I’ve been waiting for you!”

“Here I am.” His lightning erupts from inside his helmet and suit of armour, and blinding light flashes all around him. It’s like a nuclear bomb has been released, radiating pure power, and I aren’t quick enough to close my eyes or shield them with my hand. “Shit!” I pull back, rapidly blinking, but I can’t force away the sunspots in my vision. I wince; the dancing white flecks are nearly painful in their intensity.

Hephaestus’s hand grips my shoulder with concern, but the feeling is reassuring. “What happened?”

“My idiot brother just blinded me.” I rub at my eyes, but it isn’t helping. In fact, it appears to be making it worse. It feels like I’m rubbing sand into my skin. I’d once heard that the whites of your eyes didn’t have any nerve endings, and so, you couldn’t feel pain there, but right at this moment I beg to differ.

“I told you not to look.”

“Well, technically, you said to Cora, ‘Don’t, you’ll get killed.’”

“We need to get out of this realm and to a safe place.” He says and I turn my head toward him but can only see a vague outline of his body as it moves. It’s incredibly disorienting.

“No, Cora is right. We need to do this; this war has to end. I just need to give my eyes a moment, because we’re going to need to go fast.”

“I don’t … where the hell has she gone?” Hephaestus huffs, raising his chin into the air. “Can you sense her?”

I feel, rather than see, what I’m sure is his hand waving in front of my face and squint at the blurry dark form. Only instinct—and impossible familiarity—tells me it’s him, and not an enemy.

“Yes. She has entered Olympus, and I can see again.”

“Oh, for fire and brimstone’s sake! Could you please shut up?! You’re distracting me.” My head lifts toward Helios’s voice, but all I can grasp is a swirling mass of light on top of the sharp rocks.

I’d almost forgotten he was here, what with being blinded and all. Honestly, he hasn’t done much since we arrived, but stand there, look cool, and shout at his brothers now and then to ‘smite that guy’ and another. Based on all the hype about how dangerous his light and fire are, I’m a bit underwhelmed by him and his actions. “Maybe a little help here, then? My daughter is inside.”

Scowling at the sun God is probably not the best idea I’ve ever had, but I can’t help myself.

Hephaestus huffs derisively. “You’re wasting your time asking Helios for help. He’s the most selfish God there is.” The mass of light jumps down from the rock to land right in front of us.

Angered, Hephaestus jumps up and stands toe to toe with Helios. “Am I, now? You damn well know I’m here to overthrow my brother Hades. So yes, I will help.”

“You’ve been too busy idling your time away in the clouds to ever help with the troubles we’ve had—” he curses under his breath, muttering something about time wasted and paradoxes and that he shouldn’t spout things that he had no clue about.

The clang of steel echoes all around as the fighting beyond the rocks gets louder. “Aren’t you going to do something?” I gesture toward the mayhem raging on the other side.

“About what?”

“About the war happening nearby? About my daughter risking her life when it should be you. They are your brothers,” I rapidly blink at him, my eyesight becoming clearer.

Helios brings his hands together, well, almost together, there is a few inches gap between them as he swirls them. Between his palms, a sphere of painfully bright light forms. It’s so bright, I sense that if I touch it, I’d lose my finger inside it. Like it would literally vanish inside the burning light he’s just created.

Once a ball the size of a basketball forms, Helios draws his arm back and fires it over the rocks. I aren’t entirely sure what happens, or who it hits, but a pain-laced scream pierces through the cacophony of noise. “Satisfied?” he questions.

Hephaestus grabs my hand. “Get ready. I’m getting us to our daughter.”

My attention turns to Helios. “Tell your brother I said he’s a wanker.”

“Which brother? They are both quite bothersome.”

“Hades,” I clarify. “Tell him he can shove that cloud of darkness up his arse for what he has done here.”

Helios’s bark of laughter is unexpected. “You’re quite amusing. I haven’t laughed in years. Not since Hephaestus gave Poseidon boils all over his genitals for sleeping with his ex-wife. Again. I forgot how much I enjoy your company, sister” He slaps the top of my head and instantly my eyesight fully clears. I can see again, but now I have a headache, because he hadn’t been gentle.

“Now, go and save your daughter. Before I get bored and decide to turn both of you into deer, then feed you to the Titans as a reward for siding with the right Gods during this tedious war.”

I’m about to question his statement when his hands move in front of him again, but this time, a wall of light forms near us. “It will hide you from the enemy as you flee.”

“Thank you, brother,” I barely get the words out before Hephaestus yanks me to him, wraps an arm around my waist, and takes us into the air. As we fly, I turn my head back to the ground and the battle raging there.

Hephaestus had said it was going to be a blood bath, and he hadn’t been wrong. Limbs from giants and humanoid beasts, as well as tentacles from squid-like monsters litter the shore. The sand is no longer beige, but pink, and in some spots, crimson red.

Waves of ruby red crash onto the ground, the heavens open, and the rain is trying desperately to wash away the carnage but it fails. There’s just too much of it. “We’ll find a safe spot near those cliffs and figure out a way back in.”

“What if we can’t figure it out? I say we charge in and to hell with it” My stomach churns at the thought, but we have to consider the possibility. Not doing so, would be stupid.

Hephaestus’s face pales. “Let’s just get to safety first.” He swoops down, taking us toward a craggy rock formation. Some fruit trees and a stream stretch below in the valley. As we get closer though, I have to shake my head because I swear the mountain is moving.

A thunderous crack and groan reverberates in the wind, until the stone seems to unfold itself. Then the rocks slowly turn, crackling as they go, and a pair of large brown eyes made of mossy boulders with tree branches for eyelashes, blinks down at us. “Holy shit!” I cry out, just as the mountain starts to walk, nearly hitting us with its solid grey mass of a shoulder.

Hephaestus veers sharply to the right, nearly making me slip out of his arms. I double my efforts of holding onto him, by wrapping my hands in the fabric of his shirt—I don’t want to fall again. That had sucked the first time it happened, and I don’t need that kind of stress right now.

Dumbfounded, we watch as the rocky and wooden giantess strides up toward Olympus. She’s obviously joining the battle. I feel bad for the Gods who have to fight her. I wonder which side she is on.

Despite there being an entire piece of the terrain missing, Hephaestus flies us down to the stream. It’s still a good spot to reconvene, even without the protection from the sun, wind, and rain that a mountain provided. The second my feet touch ground, I sink to the soft grass gracefully, before I fall like a lump of jelly. My knees are having a hard time staying solid. “You’re right. There’s no time. If we make it out, can we give things another shot?”

Hephaestus’s hands scrub his face, and I can tell that he’s having a hard time keeping it together, but I appreciate that he’s trying. “If we make it out then yes, we can give things another go. But right now there’s no time, we have to help our daughter.”

I feel relieved for the slight reprieve from the chaos we’d transported into today. The babbling of the stream is almost enough to drown out the sounds of fighting in the distance. It’s a pretty spot, considering the hell being unleashed just through the woods and over the rise.

Hephaestus crouches near the stream, cups some water and brings it to his mouth to drink. Watching him makes me realise just how dry my throat is. I’m about to crawl over to his side, when he comes over, carrying a cup made of leaves with water inside. He hands it to me, and I drink it greedily. After I’m done, I inspect the leaf cup he’d fashioned.

“Impressive. I thought you didn’t have earth powers.”

“No, I said they weren’t as good as my other ones.”

“Then I’m doubly impressed.” I shrug.

“A boast without being an egomaniac.”

Sitting down beside me on the grass, he chuckles and points to a small discoloured piece of the golden tubes that form the outside wall of Olympus. “See that patch just there, that’s our way in. I helped Zeus make a secret escape doorway. That’s it.” He tells me.

And I can see it, we creep around the edge of the battlefield towards the secret door. The pain of seeing so many Gods, Demigods and beasts laid slain upon the ground breaks my heart. This is why we’re doing this, to end this madness.

The secret doorway opens to reveal a spiral staircase made of gold. My idiot brother has used a treasured metal for a feature nobody will see. “This staircase leads to the throne room,” Hephaestus tells me.

We silently run up the staircase, it’s no small task. Zeus’s throne room sits at the height of Olympus, some 1000m in height. I feel my lungs begin to burn as we reach the top.

There’s no time to recover, the view into the throne room shows that Cora has already infiltrated the tower. She is fighting Absalom and Aphrodite, while Hades watches on. I recognise where I am. The ancient mirror that Zeus proudly hangs on the wall is in fact a doorway of two-way glass.

“To our daughter,” Hephaestus says with steel in his eyes.

I nod in agreement, and he forces the door open. Together we charge into the throne room. I barrel into Aphrodite, sending her flying across the floor of the throne room, while Hephaestus assaults Absalom with fire.

Hades stands from his newly claimed throne and descends the stairs with his arms raised. Shadows descend upon the throne room, swirling around us and hindering our vision.

I call to the moon; I draw her closer to provide extra light. She does very little, but as the shadows twist and turn I catch a glimpse of the moonlight reflecting off something. To my horror I see that Absalom is carrying the God-killer dagger and he’s approaching Cora from behind.

“NOOOOOOO!!” I scream, distracting everyone in the room.

Cora turns and deflects the blow from Absalom. His blows are relentless, they trade strikes back and forth.

Hades disappears into the shadows and reappears behind Hephaestus and throws him into the shadows. He has entered the void and who knows where he will end up.

Cora is distracted by the disappearance of her father, and she loses her footing. Absalom uses this to his advantage and pierces her heart with the God-killer.

My world is suddenly filled with all-consuming anger, pain, rage, and heartbreak. I drop to my knees, and I don’t recognise the scream that escapes me. What I do recognise is the power of sleep escape with my pain, only its intensity is unlike anything I have ever felt before.

Aphrodite and Absalom drop to the floor in a deep sleep. Hades drops to his knees, fighting the intensity of my power. “Sister,” he states in wonder.

My power has never affected the Gods before, it’s used to bestow sleep and dreams upon the mortals.

A thunderous bang forces the throne room doors open, and Zeus and Ares enter. Zeus sends a monstrous bolt of lightning straight into Hades.

“Sister,” they exclaim as they rush to me.

“She’s gone. My daughter is gone,” I cry.

“Hades, you bring her back, or so help me,” Zeus threatens.

“Her heart was pierced by the God-killer. It can’t be undone. But I will bring him back,” Hades answers, and with a flick of his wrist, the shadows appear on the ceiling and Hephaestus comes crashing to the ground.

His pained and tormented cries upon seeing our darling daughter dead, brings more heartache to me.

“I call a truce. Right now. Stop the fighting. Send your troops home. We must find a way to exist peacefully, even if it takes another hundred years of debates. I won’t let her death be in vain. Peace is what she was fighting for, and peace is what I will deliver.”

“Truce.” Says Zeus.

“Truce.” Agrees Hades.

Every God agrees to the truce.

Now we have to find a way for us and our children to coexist in peace.