Broken God by Nazarea Andrews

from happening.
    I am clearly the
one responsible because I had the wild and wonderful send of freedom to leave.
    Without his
permission.
    "Believe what
you want, Uncle. You all always have. But my history speaks for me. I have
never raised a hand against the pantheon. I have done everything in my
considerable power to keep the pantheon healthy and whole. Including taking my
own gift of prophecy, despite the fact that it meant I lived with my powers
bound and on the cusp of insanity for eons."
    "And yet you
were the only one who was unaccounted for while one of our own was murdered.
And your own priestess spoke the prophecy that spelled out our deaths."
    "Del was not a
priestess," I say, automatically, jumping to her defense without thinking.
    "Did you kill
her?" Hades asks, point blank.
    I twist to stare at
him.
    "You know damn
well that I didn't. But why don't you ask Veritas to verify if I am telling the truth.   You know I can't lie to her."
    None of them move
and I smile, all mad hatter, and even sane, that smile feels familiar and
comfortable on my face.
    "You want to
believe that I am the killer. Nothing I say will change that because you've
been waiting to blame me since Del spoke her prophecy. Do what you think is
necessary. I'll be doing what I've always done."
    "Which
is?"
    I smile at Poseidon
and rise. Because I am a god in my own right and it’s time these half-forgotten bastards
remember it. "I'll protect the pantheon."
    I ignore the way
father shouts for me as I leave the room, and avoid the eyes of my family as I
stalk through the halls of the house to where I know I’ll find Artemis.
    Her room is still
familiar—it hasn’t been shaped by her power too much, although the walls have
deepened to a dark forest green that I know she must find soothing.
    I feel surrounded
by my sister here, and that should soothe me but it doesn't.
    Because I am
nowhere in this room.
    I am nowhere in
this fucking pantheon and I should be. This is my family, and I have as much
right to be here, to be present as any other.
    I flick a finger
and my power flares through the room, giving the forest green a golden tint,
turning the bed into a boudoir for my Del, sending low Gregorian chants through
the room, steady and sonorous and I let out slow breath.
    It's not perfect.
It is not mine but it feels less like her and more like us .
    We've always found
the best balance in the in-between--where my sun meets her moon, my healing
meets her killing.
    She steps into room
after me, her steps hitching and then smoothing out as she studies me.
    "You okay ?"
    "Father thinks
I'm responsible. Or Poseidon does, and he's listening to the old bastard."
    She hums an
acknowledgment. "They aren't the only ones."
    Trust Artie to be
blunt and honest about it. I sigh. "How many?"
    "Not many.
Aphrodite and Ares. A few of the cousins. Poseidon's daughters."
    "Where does
Hades stand?"
    "Hermes is
whispering in his ear. He doesn't stand against you, for now."
    Not as much as I'd
like, but it'll do. I nod at her and Artie frowns at me. "You're
different."
    I shrug. "Not
so much."
    Her eyes go wide,
slowly and I feel her power flare. I push mine out until it feels like the room
is bathed in a moonlit noonday sun, and I almost laugh at her frustration. Her
stag shifts under her skin and
I relax, letting my power drop.
    This is what she
expects. For me to flare my power, and then fall apart. Lost in visions and
stumbling on my words, incoherent as I play the cards over my fingers and toy
with a future I can't understand or stop, and whisper about Del, the girl I
could never save, no matter how often I tried.
    She's watching me,
and I feel the breath of it, the quiet tension as she waits for me to shatter
into madness.
    When did my twin
sister stop believing in me?
    “Do you remember
the year we went to Olympus? Mother took us there and disappeared and Hermes
picked on us, and Aphrodite was a bitch. Do you remember how horrible it
was?"
    Artemis freezes and
I