“The underworld. To spring Aphrodite,” Ares said. He chewed for a moment, and cleared his throat. “If Hades gives me any trouble…”
“Gives you any trouble?” Hermes scoffed. “After we just saved every god’s life? He’d better fall down groveling and shower you with pomegranates. He’d better shove a bunch into a fruit basket and send it over here posthaste. Trouble.”
Athena smiled. “If he gives you any trouble, you know where to find us.”
Ares nodded, and she thought she saw the corner of his mouth turn up. Just a little. Then Odysseus’ feet sounded on the stairs, and Ares stuffed the last of his sandwich in his mouth and left. Hermes, too, took his plate and waggled his eyebrows.
“Was it something I said?” Odysseus asked as both gods and two wolves walked past him. He slid his arms around Athena’s waist. The feathers had fallen out and healed without a scar. Before long, she might not even remember what they felt like twisting through her skin.
She put her hands over his. He was her hero, as he’d always been.
“Well, goddess,” he said, and kissed her. “Where to now?”
*
“Weather’s getting warmer. Everyone says we’re going to have a hot summer. I thought about bringing flowers, maybe in a pot, but if I don’t get here for a few days I don’t want them to wither. Of course, maybe you could do something about that?”
Cassandra stood before Aidan’s grave, talking to him, as she had every day since they’d returned. Every day. But it wouldn’t be that way forever. Eventually the visits would slow, and then stall out. That was just how it was. No matter how much you loved someone.
“You’re not here anyway,” she said. “Under that rock and all that dirt.” She looked up into the sky. Aidan was there. The sun. He was in the light, and the wind. And he was with her, too. In memories, and even the fat gold coin in her pocket. The past never left.
“Your sister is thinking of selling her house. But I don’t think she will. I think she’ll keep it, as long as we’re still here.” But Athena wouldn’t stay. She, Odysseus, and Hermes would move on, and soon. Andie said that every time she and Henry went over, it felt as if they might walk in and find the place vacant. Cassandra hadn’t seen any of them in days. Only Thanatos. Thanatos lingered, and looked at her in that way he had that told her he wasn’t going anywhere. Cassandra didn’t know whether Athena would bother to say goodbye, or if she would ever see her or Hermes again after they left. But she was surprised to find that she hoped she would.
A horn sounded. She turned and saw the Mustang, with Andie and Henry inside.
“Guess that’s my cue,” Cassandra said, and looked down at the grave. Walking away was always hard. She was glad that it hadn’t gotten easier. But she did it.
As she left the cemetery, she reached into her pocket for the coin, and twisted it between her healing fingers. Heads and tails winked in the late afternoon light. She flipped it high and watched it spin end over end.
She had no idea on which side it would land.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The end of a trilogy. When I started writing, I never had any designs on writing a series of novels with overlapping characters, let alone an actual trilogy. And then Anna Dressed in Blood happened, and then Girl of Nightmares went pretty well, and I thought, I can probably do a three. And truth be told, I’m happiest with the last two legs of the Goddess War books, which is a nice surprise. There was plenty of pain trying to wrap up this last one, don’t get me wrong, but par for the course, I don’t remember exactly what that pain was, only that it was there.