Love's Forge (10 page)

* * * *

Zeus paced in Hera’s bedroom as he waited for her to emerge from the bathroom. Even though he’d explained it was urgent, she was still making him wait. One minute she was telling him she’d never stop loving him and the next she was cursing him for clinging too close to her. He’d known convincing her they didn’t need anyone but each other would be difficult, but he hadn’t counted on her stubbornness affecting every other part of their lives this much. Since she’d been determined to make him wait, he’d decided not to tell her it was about Ares. She’d be mad, but that was her own fault.

To his surprise, she emerged in a very ordinary outfit. She wore tan slacks, a yellow cotton button up shirt, and brown sandals. He’d hardly ever seen such things in her wardrobe.

She huffed as she came to a halt. “What?”

“You look nice, just different.”

She looked down at her clothes and smoothed a wrinkle from the pants. “I’m too tired to make any effort. I thought I’d go trudge around in the garden.” She went to her dresser and began putting her long black hair up in a bun. “What’s the big news?”

“Ares had some news for us. Eris discovered who was behind the spell.”

She stopped and let her hair fall down her back, throwing the hairpins and elastic band aside. “What? Who?”

“Lachesis.”

Hera stared at him. “But why? What good could come of this?”

“Hephaestus and Aphrodite are supposed to be together, and apparently she was tired of waiting.”

“Has she lost her mind? She thinks they’ll be happy after this?”

“Hephaestus still thinks so, or else I think he’d have released her by now. It’s all new to us though.”

Hera crossed her arms and walked toward the window. Zeus didn’t want to push for a reply. She’d have one soon enough. She leaned forward and pressed her forehead against the pane. “Why didn’t he tell me? Years ago? Why?”

“You two have never been close.”

“And whose fault is that?”

She’d spoken so softly he knew she wasn’t blaming Hephaestus. She was reprimanding herself.

“Hera, let’s focus on the present.”

“The present, the past, what’s the difference? What’s the point? The mortal world changes and forgets so much. Here everything piles up around us.”

Zeus was not used to Hera speaking abstractly. Was she this upset about what was happening? “Are you that unhappy?”

She turned to him and tried to smile. “I’m not unhappy. I promise. I just get so frustrated at times.” She bit her lip and ran her fingers into the hair at the nape of her neck. “What’s the point of being immortal? I don’t mean what’s the meaning of life or anything, but why do we keep going on and on if we don’t matter anymore?”

Zeus and Hades had often discussed these issues. Hades pondered these topics frequently and had a number of theories about them. “Would it be fair for us not to? What if one of us died once the number of people who believed in us dropped off? We’d all be dead.”

“That’s not exactly what I mean.”

“Then what do you mean?”

She shook her head sadly. “I don’t know.”

“Then let’s focus on right now. Do you want to do something about what we’ve learned?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Come on. We’ll go trudge around in the garden, as you put it, and decide the best action to take.”

She let him take her hand and lead her outside. Though he was pleased not to be dealing with her temper, her lack of fire disconcerted him. It wasn’t like her. Had something happened? Was she depressed? That was completely unlike her. She lived in constant motion, always making decisions quickly and stepping right into action. Perhaps she felt calmer because Ares was free, but he knew she was still concerned. He couldn’t be sure how she truly felt about Hephaestus and Aphrodite as a couple. She didn’t seem optimistic, but would she put that aside if Hephaestus appeared to be happy? Was this going to permanently fracture her friendship with Aphrodite? Hera had a tendency to bring up old arguments when she was angry, and he hoped she wouldn’t revisit every conflict she and Aphrodite had ever had. Aphrodite had been unhappy for months now. He knew that much. It wasn’t his place to do anything about that. Hera’s feelings always proved harder to read. Unless she opened up to him fully, he didn’t know what he could do to help her. He’d give up all his powers if he could only make her happy.

Chapter Five

Hephaestus had been heading back to the bedroom to get Aphrodite when he felt someone at his door. It was Eros. He knew he had to let him in, but Eros could be so much like both his parents Hephaestus had no idea what to expect from him. He opened the door, and Eros barged in and shot past him.

“Where is my mother?” he called back over his shoulder.

“She’s in our bedroom,” he said as he caught up with Eros, who had stopped in the large foyer.

Eros looked at all the doors and hallways, and then looked up at the ceiling. “You live in a huge cave? Figures.”

“Does it? Sorry you don’t like the décor.” He smiled to himself. His stepson, if he could use that term, had just called him a caveman, but not straightforwardly or to his face. Eros obviously had Ares’ temper but not his courage.

Eros turned to glare at him, but before he could speak Aphrodite came down the hall from their bedroom. She looked surprised to see Eros.

“Hephaestus, I’m fine. I said you didn’t have to send for him.” She smiled at Eros, and Hephaestus could see she was nervous about her son’s reaction. “So, I suppose you’ve heard.”

“I’ve heard my mother was kidnapped!” He ran up to her and took her hands. He started looking her over as if she were a child who had fallen down while playing. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, really,” she said. She pulled her hands away and turned around in a circle for his benefit. “Not a mark on me.”

“There’s a bruise on your arm!” he said, grabbing her hand again to look at it. “Looks like finger marks to me.”

Hephaestus wanted to laugh. As many problems as he had with Eros, he’d always found him amusing. He’d grown up a lot since meeting Iris, but Hephaestus still thought he’d gotten a healthy share of childishness from both Aphrodite and Ares. He held back his laughter because he could hardly blame Eros for caring about his mother.

Aphrodite, to his surprise, looked offended at Eros’ insinuation. “Your father did that while we were under the spell. Hephaestus would never hurt me.”

Eros turned bright red. Hephaestus felt bad for him in a way. He knew Ares had teased him for years about his affair with Eros’ mother. It had apparently stopped since the truth of his parentage had finally been confirmed, but Hephaestus knew it had probably had a lasting effect on their relationship.

“I promise I haven’t hurt her. And at the moment, she is here as my guest. My reaction was wrong, but once I admitted to myself it had to be a spell, I let Ares go and let your mother choose if she wanted to be here or not. She is my wife, after all.”

“She didn’t make that decision of her own free will. And what happened before you let Ares go? What did you do to her then?”

“We’ve both already answered that question,” Aphrodite said. “What do you think he’s done? Chained me to the walls and beaten me with a whip? Does it look like he’s hit me? Do you think he’s raped me?”

“He forced you to marry him! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t plan on staying married.”

“What? You do now?”

“Lots of time has passed. There have been lots of changes in all those years. I’m considering it. That’s what’s happening right now. It was my plan before that spell screwed everything up.”

“Your plan, huh? This was your plan when you were lying to all of us and pretending to help him win someone else?”

“What would you all have said if I’d suddenly told you we were married? You’d have been just as upset no matter when we told you.”

“I’d have been fine if you’d told me when I came of age and if it hadn’t been such a disgraceful, twisted act! Do you know how this feels? You’ve been married since before I was born yet never cared enough to confide in me. Or let me help you.”

Hephaestus stepped forward. “Eros, you’re being too hard on your mother. Take it out on me, not her.”

Eros turned on him. “I have never been so glad you aren’t my father! The Fates knew better than to let you have any offspring!”

“Eros, stop it!” Aphrodite said.

“You think so? How do you know I don’t have any children? Maybe I do. Maybe they’d disagree with you and be happy to claim me as a father.”

“What do you mean?” Eros asked.

Aphrodite stared at him. It was too late. She was going to be angry, but he really wanted to put Eros in his place.

“Harmonia. She’s my daughter.”

Aphrodite gasped, and Eros paled. “What?” he asked. He seemed to shake his shock off after a moment. “You’re lying. She didn’t have a father. Some people thought it might be Ares or Zeus, but they both said no. I don’t know why you’d want to make this up. She and Eris were both born without fathers. They’re like twins in a way, harmony and discord—all that cosmic unity crap they both talk about.”

“She told you when she came earlier?” Aphrodite asked in a shaky voice.

She didn’t look angry. She looked hurt, yet he didn’t regret his words. “I’m sorry, but yes, she did. You kept it from me all this time. I think you owe me the apology.”

She shook her head violently. “No! Just a few minutes ago when we were talking, you knew! You said you wished we’d had children, and you knew! You were trying to make me feel guilty!”

He couldn’t believe she was going to act like the injured party in this. “You lied to me! I never knew my daughter because of you. Do you know how it felt when I told you Harmonia had been here but you asked about Eros? My mother has always favored Ares, and now I have to live with you favoring his son over my daughter.”

“I love Harmonia! It was her choice not to live here. I didn’t want to have a child with you or marry you! I wasn’t born to be like others! I’m not supposed to fall in love!”

“And be happy? That’s what you mean. You think you can’t love, can’t be happy!”

She glared at him, her anger finally rising. “You said I was free to go, well I’m going!” She snapped her fingers and was gone, leaving him and Eros standing there alone.

Eros looked at the ground. He appeared timid despite the display of temper he’d just given them. “So Harmonia knew?”

“Yes. She liked the mortal world, so Aphrodite said she could stay if she never asked about her father or sought him out. She agreed on the condition she at least be told who it was. She kept the secret until now.”

“My mother’s damn good at secrets. She blabs everyone else’s, but she sure keeps her own.”

Eros looked hurt, and Hephaestus didn’t know what to say. Finally, he said, “She’s very vulnerable. I guess she likes to keep the upper hand and now she doesn’t have that advantage.”

“At least Harmonia knew who her father was,” Eros said bitterly. “Fuck this.” He pushed past Hephaestus and headed for the door.

Amazed at how childish they were both being, he called, “Eros, I love your mother! I wish you’d believe me.” When Eros didn’t answer, he readily admitted to himself he was glad Harmonia was his and not Eros.

After the door slammed, Hephaestus looked around at the empty room. He’d planned a relaxing, possibly romantic day with Aphrodite. Now he was alone. Would Eros tell anyone? Probably. The gossip would be thick for days. He’d told Harmonia he’d keep the secret for now, and he wanted to apologize to her for revealing it so quickly. He headed for the door, hoping to find that his daughter was more forgiving and understanding than her mother.

* * * *

Zeus sat in the garden with Hera and Lachesis watching Hephaestus approach. Hera hadn’t perked up much. She’d had a brief moment of yelling crude insults at Lachesis before retreating into her own world again. Now she sat looking very passive and dejected. Lachesis appeared angry, but she could often be hard to read as well. She resented Zeus’ interference and insisted she had the power to do as she pleased. He had argued that the work of the Fates had never been meant to include manipulation, at which she’d taken more offense. She’d certainly never be sharing his bed again, but he no longer cared. He knew what he needed more than anything, and as soon as all this was over he and Hera were going to spend lots of time alone forgetting about all of this drama.

“Hello, Lachesis. I see my mother has enlisted your help,” Hephaestus said. “I’m glad you’re willing to do this. Everything will be settled more quickly if we know why this happened.”

“Oh wait till she tells you,” Hera said. She met her son’s gaze. “You’ll love it.”

Hephaestus raised his eyebrows and sat down. He looked to Lachesis, who was now glaring at Hera. “I think you should go ahead and tell me.”

Lachesis didn’t bother to smile. “Hephaestus, I told you that you needed to fight for what you wanted. You and Aphrodite have been miserable when you both could have been happy. I decided to give you good reason to fight for what you wanted.”

Zeus watched Hephaestus carefully. He knew Hephaestus didn’t have the same temper he and Ares
and Hera had, but he didn’t want to take any chances.

“And you think you had the right to do that?” Hephaestus asked. “You thought this would make people happy?”

“It got your blood pumping, didn’t it?” She smiled.

Zeus scowled. “Lachesis, I don’t think you understand how serious this is.”

“Two people who’ve had tons of sex had sex one more time. I don’t see the problem. Unethical, I suppose, but not that bad.”

“Maybe I don’t see it that way. You put a spell on my wife and my brother.”

“Like you care that he’s your brother,” Lachesis said, actually rolling her eyes.

“Excuse me?” Hera said, her voice rising.

Hephaestus held up his hand. “That isn’t the point. What I’m getting at is you in essence raped two people to get what you wanted.”

Lachesis had the sense to stay silent for a few moments. “That’s not fair. They enjoyed it. Don’t you remember how much they were enjoying it?”

Hephaestus began to speak, but then he paused for a moment before quietly saying, “My wife had bruises on her back and wrist. Both of them were confused afterwards. The enjoyment was short lived.”

Lachesis sighed. “So what are you going to do about it?”

“Nothing I could do will change what you did. Alala and Ares were supposed to get married tomorrow. The wedding has been put off. You think that’s good?”

“No.” Lachesis looked at Hera and Zeus. “Have you told Hera about her grandchild yet?”

Zeus wondered what Lachesis could mean. “You mean Eros? What does he have to do with this? You won’t convince us Ares isn’t his father.”

“Oh, Ares is his father, but Aphrodite has another child.”

“Harmonia?” Hera asked as her breathing sped up. “What do you mean?”

“Hephaestus?” Zeus asked.

“She’s my daughter. She came and told me early this morning. I promised I’d discuss it delicately with Aphrodite, but Eros and I had a fight and it came out then. Harmonia has forgiven me. I just came from seeing her. Aphrodite, however, may be less understanding.”

“Gods!” Lachesis said. “Nothing works on you! Your daughter is the goddess of unity! You’re supposed to see that for the sign it is!”

“Maybe we’re tired of signs and symbols!” Hera said. “It was a nice touch with mortals. It was fun being so powerful, being worshipped, but Zeus said something once that has made me think. We have our own lives that matter. Being deities and interacting with humans was a small part of our existence, and very often things ended badly. We were right to withdraw from their lives. Maybe those were our glory days, but I think they are long gone. You’re a part of all of that. When are you going to quit and get a life of your own?”

Lachesis blanched. “You just told me to get a life. How mortal!”

Hera leapt up. “You fucking bitch! You’d love for me to get pissed at Aphrodite, but this wasn’t her fault. How much of the other shit lately has been caused by you?”

“Language, please! You are the queen of the gods, after all.”

“I couldn’t care less. That title means very little, and you know it. Being a god means little once mortal belief has faded. Moving on is better.”

“And have you moved on? Still traveling back in time to tell mortals all the gossip? You’re the one who keeps the myths alive, adding on to them whenever you’re bored or need a confidence boost! Maybe Zeus should reprimand you for meddling!”

“I know she tells mortals all kinds of tales,” he said. “It’s fine with me if she makes them up or tells every embarrassing detail. It makes her happy. She’s not demanding virgin sacrifices and obedience. She’s not frolicking through history appearing to people and manipulating their lives. She tells them stories. She inspires them and teaches lessons and entertains. She’s doing far more good than you are, especially now.”

Hephaestus cleared his throat. “I’m going to leave you three to your argument. I’d like to be alone.” He turned to Lachesis. “I’m not going to do anything, but I think what you did was very wrong. I’d appreciate it if you’d leave me and my life out of your plans. I won’t turn the other cheek next time.”

Lachesis smiled, but it looked false. “At least you know how to control your temper. Thank you for that.”

Hephaestus went to his mother and kissed her on the cheek. “Mother, everything will be all right. I’m going to make things right, no matter how long it takes.”

“Tell Aphrodite we’re not angry with her. We understand.”

“I doubt she’ll see me. Will you send Ares to tell her what we’ve found out? I’m sure they need to talk.”

She nodded. “Once he knows she’s free, he’ll be glad to go.”

Hephaestus nodded to Zeus and walked away.

“Lachesis, don’t you think you should consider what Hera said? Eternity is a long time to live only one way. You don’t have to lay down your powers to try a new way of life.”

She shook her head. “You don’t know what that would be like.”

“Neither do you.”

She didn’t reply.

He refrained from pressing her. “Look, you’re free to go, but this is a warning.”

“What happens if I don’t heed it?”

“I’ll let Hera do whatever she wants if you do something like this again.”

Hera laughed and moved to stand behind him and put her arms around his neck. “I like the sound of that.”

Lachesis nodded, and then she faded away.

Zeus sighed with relief. “You feel like a vacation?”

“I’d love one. Soon.” She rested her chin on the top of his head. “I thought you didn’t know.”

“No one enjoys going among mortals the way you do.” He tilted his head to look up at her. “Contrary to popular belief, I do read books as well. You could have been a little more creative in some places.”

She kissed his cheek. “I like seeing what they make of us.”

“You like making me look like a jerk.”

“Sorry. Forgive me?”

“Maybe.” He stood and took her in his arms. “When this is over, let’s go away together. I want to be alone with you for a while.”

She rubbed his shoulders. “When this is over, I’ll consider it.” She kissed his cheek and walked away, clinging to his hand for a moment before letting go.

He watched her walk off into the roses. He didn’t exactly have problems of the same magnitude Ares and Hephaestus currently did, but he still had goals for his love life that he intended to meet very soon.