Cat and I share a look.
“What do you do as the King of the Gods?” she asks him, probably to boost his ego after tearing him down before.
“Nowthatis a question worth my time.” Xavier preens like a peacock. “I keep the lesser gods in line and monitor their goings-on. I make sure that everyone is doing their part to combat the mortal stupidity that we have to deal with.”
“You wouldn’t mean the mortal stupidity that gods have been instigating since they discovered worship? Sybil did cover that in our lessons.” I bat my eyes innocently at Xavier.
“But, of course, they taught youthat.Let me guess, they wanted to make sure you knew—”
Cat cuts him off. “But you don’t work in the Underworld?”
“No. Dead people creep me out. Of course, you three are caught somewhere in the middle. Not quite dead, but not quite mortal anymore. That’s why Essos was able to pull off sending your friend home without any great cosmic disturbance. The realm of the dead plays by its own rules.”
“Tiffany made it?” Zara’s voice is small and hopeful. Essos and Sybil have been tightlipped whenever approached about it, to the point that Cat and I stopped asking. I’m not sure Zara ever did.
Xavier is unsympathetic. “Yes, though she now lives with crushing survivor’s guilt for the missed calls and snoozed alarm.” Zara looks destroyed. “Steve is there to help her through it, though, if that makes it any better.” He doesn’t look like he cares either way. If Xavier knows that much about it, my guess is he has the heart of a romantic in there somewhere.
Cat grabs Zara’s hand and gives it a squeeze. We’ll help her through this later. For now, it looks like if a single tear is shed, Xavier will level the place.
“And whoever controls the realm of the dead, controls the dead? Can they control the influx of the dead? Create zombies? Does the God of the Dead change? Can there be a different King of the Underworld?” Catalina is scribbling in her notebook as she fires off these questions until Xavier makes her notebook and pen disappear mid-word.
“The King of the Underworld, or as some know him, the Lord of the Underworld, has, is and always will be, Essos. Removing him from power would be like a monarch executing another monarch, a precedent no one wants to set. If you want to get specific about it, if a ruler is shown to be ineffective, someonecouldput forth a vote of no confidence. If there is enough support among the gods, that person could be removed, but it is unlikely. Short of a riot, I’m stuck with my job, and Kai and Essos are stuck with theirs, no matter how much the latter would love to walk away. And there is no such thing as zombies.” Xavier seems to think on this, but shakes his head as if realizing he doesn’t want to venture down that path. “At least, I don’t think so—you’ll have to ask Essos.”
He conjures an apple and takes a bite. “Gods, this teaching thing is exhausting. No wonder Sybil was going to leave you all to be fed to the wolves. I can see it now—you not showing my wife the deference she commands, and then all of a sudden, BAM, it’s World War III. In case you were wondering what set off the powder keg for World War I, it was my wife.”When he looks at our appalled faces, he laughs. “I’m joking. Someone else started World War I—my wife helped kickstart the French Revolution.” He stands as we remain silent. “Well then, tough crowd.”
Sybil enters the room as Xavier begins to tell us about his parents, the God and Goddess Supreme. Sybil touched on them during an earlier lesson, but it was one during which I struggled to focus, naturally. I’m curious to learn more, but he stops talking as they approach.
“That will be all for today,” Sybil says curtly, their long legs carrying them quickly toward us.
“I’ll be the one to decide that.” He towers over them. Distantly, I think I hear the roll of thunder.
“Yes, you would be, but I’ve been informed that you missed an important meeting this morning with your brother-in-law, and he is quite displeased. He’s demanding you contact him immediately.”
“Displeased with me? I’ll make sure that barnacle-covered fish fucker knows who can demand what.” Xavier pushes past them, static crackling in the air, causing my hair to rise. “I amtheGod of Gods. No one gets to be displeased with me.” He pushes his way out the door, still cursing under his breath.
“Now that he’s gone, Helene would like you all to change into workout attire in order to—and I’m quoting her—‘sweat the mortal off’ at the beach.” Sybil lets out a sigh after dropping this information.
“Helene is back?” I asked, confused.
“Yes, and she hates to be kept waiting. Off you go. Oh, and ladies, don’t mention this to any of her brothers.”
The three of us scurry off to get changed.
I’m the first one on the beach, really on a roll for being punctual today. I’m lucky Helene greets me with a smile after the way we left things at the ball. I never got a chance to thank her or apologize. The beach is covered in various workout items—more tires, dumbbells, cones, and yoga mats. I can’t imagine what she’s going to have us do.
“Helene?” I start, hoping to gauge her mood.
“Daphne.”
“I just wanted to—”
“I’m going to stop you right there. I don’t have the time or the patience to listen to you craft some sort of half-assed apology about why you thought it was appropriate to yell at me, a goddess, someone who could smite you without skipping a step. I said you had a heart of darkness; don’t go and ruin it by backing down now.”
Cat isn’t far behind me and gasps when she sees the layout. Zara is the last to arrive, and she runs to Helene and gives her a hug. Helene frowns and pats Zara on the shoulder before disentangling from her grip.
“So, I heard that the Calling Ball has been moved up, which means that I need to kick your sorry asses into shape. There’s going to be an expectation for you to be able to keep up with everyone, and if you’re getting winded by the fourth dance, that’s going to reflect poorly on all of us. I’m not interested in that. We’re creatures of grace. If one of you were to become a goddess and you, say, struggle with letting someone else lead—” she looks at me pointedly, and it makes me want to kick Finn in the shins “—that problem will likely only become a larger problem when you descend into godhood. Though I’m not positive about that—this will be the first time a mortal has been allowed such a gift. As it stands, I’m not willing to take the chance, so, chop fucking chop.”
* * *