k_a_webb | The Deities’ World: Hephaestus: Returning Home (part 2) (Reply)

“Zeus?” Hephaestus asked, knowing that the ex-king of their pantheon was like.

Ares, biting hard on his lip again, nodded, a blush rising on his cheeks. “I know it’s stupid to let him get to me.”

“Sometimes, love, Zeus gets to us all,” Aphrodite said, and Hephaestus nodded. “He’s clinging onto the past because he knows he’ll never be viewed the same way again and he hates that. All he wants is to be more than he is, even though he started chose to be a weather god and only became the head of our pantheon through sheer luck. We all know it was meant to be Hades, but the problem with conversing with mortals is that they sometimes only hear what they want to hear.”

“The people of Earth only see me as a war god too.” Ares sighed. “I think, really, that’s the main problem, but Zeus just made things worse.”

“Maybe it’s time you had a chat with Lucifer.” Hephaestus smiled. “You have a lot in common, Ares, and being able to talk to someone who can truly understand the problems you’re having will probably help more than us being sympathetic.”

Looking thoughtful Ares nodded. “It sounds like a good idea, but I’ve never been introduced to Lucifer.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll get Archimedes to help you out.”

“Archimedes? Seriously?”

Hephaestus nodded. “The two of them met when Lucifer came across Archimedes’ cottage and they’ve been friends ever since. I know how strange it seems, but they get on really well.”

“I can understand why. Archimedes really is easy to get on with.”

“He is, isn’t he?” Aphrodite’s hair brushed his arm as she passed a cookie of some form over to Ares. “I think that’s more Sephy than it is Hades, because Hades could be difficult to get to know until he got married. Trusting people wasn’t something he was all that good at, but Archimedes, even though he spends a lot of time with his books, trusts anyone until he’s given a reason not to.”

“What do you think of Callie?” Ares asked.

“Callidora…” Aphrodite trailed off as though she was thinking of what to say. “I like Callidora, but takes after Hades much more than she takes after Persephone. From what Sephy said Callidora is both a strong seer and has a strong death sense, so she could follow either of them, although no one thinks she will.” There was a short silence. “Why are you asking?”

“Hecate asked me to guide her. I don’t know how long for, but I wanted to know if either of you had some idea why Hecate would ask me to help Sephy and Hades’ daughter. It seemed… a little strange, really.”

“From what I’ve heard,” Hephaestus said, smiling, “Hecate wants Callidora to get a good grounding in all the possible paths she could take and obviously she’s decided that you could help for some reason. I doubt she’s asking you because of you were the Greek god of war.”

Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.