Zeus.

“I thought I told you to remain in Olympus,” he said, and before I could protest—before I could so much as utter a single syllable in my defense—he gripped my hand, and we disappeared.

* * *

“You can’t do this to me,” I howled, pacing up and down Zeus’s office. “She’s relying on me to get her out of there, and the moment that damn earl finds out the others are gone—”

“I have no idea what you’re going on about, nor do I care,” said Zeus mildly, sitting at his desk. “Mortals are none of our concern. Forcing Apollo to save the life of that boy was foolish and wasteful. He is just a mortal.”

“That’s exactly the kind of attitude that’s making us go extinct.”

“That’s quite easy for you to say. You are not the one who must explain to the Fates why he is still among the living.”

Despite my anger, a bubble of hope formed inside my chest. Perry was alive. But if I couldn’t convince Zeus to let me go back down to the surface, Tuck wouldn’t be, not for long. “Please. Ten minutes, that’s all I need. If you don’t let me go, she’ll die.”

“You should’ve thought about that before you disobeyed me,” said Zeus. “You will remain here in Olympus, as I have ordered. Do you have any idea what you’ve done to your mother and me? We thought you were dead.”

“Like you’ve talked to my mother in the past thousand years,” I said. “If you don’t let me out of here, I’ll—”

“Leave anyway?” said Zeus calmly. “Run away, as you’ve already done? So be it. If you leave Olympus, I will see to it that you are permanently removed from the council and banned from ever setting foot here again. Your duties to the Underworld will be revoked, you will be replaced, and I suspect that soon enough, you will fade completely. Is that what you want?”

I swallowed. “I want to keep my promises.”

“And is your promise to the rest of the council no longer a priority?”

“Not when my friend’s life is on the line.”

“Then it is your choice. But I hardly think you’ll have any chance of reaching her in time, so do choose wisely. Mortals have an afterlife, and even if she does unfortunately die before her time, she will live on in Hades’s realm. But if you go…well, I would rather not see that happen.”

“That’s a comfort,” I snapped, and he stood.

“Do not blame me for this mess, Hermes. I am only doing what I must to keep this council intact.”

“Until we all fade because no one’s doing a damn thing.”

“We are doing all we can. Just because you are not privy to everything that happens does not mean we are doing nothing.” He waved his hand dismissively. “Go to your chambers. Tomorrow I will come up with an appropriate punishment for what you have done.”

“You mean practically killing the only friend I’ve had in centuries isn’t enough?” I said, but he wasn’t listening anymore. Instead Zeus flipped through several sheets of parchment, and the office melted away, replaced by my chambers.

Perfect. Now I really was trapped.

I slammed my hand against the golden wall, and the room trembled. Not all of Olympus shook though, as it would have if my father had done it instead. Another reminder that I was replaceable. Next to nothing compared to the original six. And Zeus’s neutrality to whether I lived or died—

I should’ve protected Tuck. I should’ve done more somehow. They were my real family, not this, and even if I outlived them all, at least I would’ve had them for a moment. It couldn’t end like this. Not for Tuck, not for the boys, not for anyone.

But even if I did drop from Olympus, I’d be stuck on the other side of the world. I didn’t have the ability to travel in the blink of an eye like the original six—I relied on that drop-off point, and the best I could do was go down at sunset and hope to hell they hadn’t hanged Tuck early. It wasn’t enough to guarantee her life, and I couldn’t settle for anything less than that now.

I paced. And paced. And paced some more. I practically wore a path in the floor of my chambers as the hours passed and Tuck’s sunset grew closer and closer. She had to be awake by now and wondering where I was, and the thought of her fear only made my anger boil over. I couldn’t let this happen no matter what it cost me. I couldn’t live with myself otherwise.

At last I cursed and headed for the door. I didn’t have a choice—dropping down at sunset was the only way I could hope to get to her in time. It had to be enough. Any other possibility was unacceptable.

Before I could cross the room, however, a soft knock sounded on my door. I threw it open, prepared for a fight, but instead Iris stood on the other side, looking pale and disheveled.

“Iris? Are you all right?” I stepped aside for her to come in, and she slipped past me, hugging her arms.

“I’m fine,” she said with a weak smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Or I will be soon enough. Zeus wasn’t too happy with me helping you out.”

I touched her elbow. She set her hand over mine, holding it as if it was the only thing keeping her grounded. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I should’ve never asked—”

“Don’t be ridiculous. If I hadn’t wanted to help, I wouldn’t have,” she said. “Did you get the girl out of there?”