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thoughts, no hope, nothing. If I had a human body, that would be the point where I would die. Death is freedom. How had I never realized that until now?
    But I’m not human, so something worse happened.
    I started to heal.
    Healing from a lightning strike at godspeed is exponentially more painful than the initial strike. My liquefied muscles re-knit. Haltingly, my heart began its painful pump, faltering until my blood returned to its veins and capillaries, rebuilding the infrastructure of my body. Cooked flesh healed as my nerves roared back to life. Death would be a mercy. Hell, at this point I’d settle for loss of consciousness, anything to put a stop to the horrific pain. But Zeus was far too skilled to allow that to happen.
    I screamed as another bolt hit me. Gods, it hurt! Electricity tore through my body like liquid fire, setting every vein and nerve ending aflame.
    “Okay, okay!” I sobbed, collapsing against the wall. There was no way out. It didn’t matter how hard I fought or how resourceful I was. The crushing hopelessness that accompanied that realization brought me to a point where I just couldn’t take the pain anymore.
    My head hung, and I stared at the bright blue sky beneath my feet. I twitched my fingers outside the misty wall, tantalized by the sky and the freedom it represented just beyond my reach. If only I could just drop through the floor and back to my realm.
    “Do you have something to say?” Zeus’ voice slithered through my ears, sending a shiver through me.
    I nodded, tears chasing each other down my cheeks. I’m so sorry, Hades.
    Hades couldn’t hear me. Maybe equilibrium didn’t cross realms? Or maybe Zeus had somehow burned away our connection. I took a deep, shuddering breath as I realized it was probably for the best that Hades couldn’t see where my thoughts were headed. I’d wanted to be stronger than this. But torture was torture. And I was broken. After dealing with the Reapers for months, I’d thought I could handle anything, but Zeus put me through levels of anguish I hadn’t known existed.
    Calm washed over me as my body entered the blissful stage of non-feeling. Everything was going to be okay. Suddenly another bolt hit me, tearing through me and reawakening the pain. I couldn’t even scream.
    “I asked you a question,” Zeus reminded me.
    I couldn’t take the pain anymore.

Chapter X
     
    Aphrodite
     
    Melissa sighed, again. The sigh was loud, heavy, and brimming with irritation. I rolled my eyes, flipped to another page in my fashion magazine, and circled another picture.
    Shooting me a dirty look, she tossed her brown hair over her shoulder with a huff. She sat on the floral-patterned comforter on Persephone’s loft bed as far from me as possible, with her knees drawn to her chest and her arms crossed over them. Melissa couldn’t have looked more sullen if she’d tried. Gods, she probably was trying.
    Melissa hated me. Oh sure, she’d deny it if I asked. After all, she did have that luxury. But her actions belied her words, conveying a hatred that ran almost as deep as the jealousy she so obviously suffered from. Whatever, I didn’t like her either.
    “How can you sit there and read”— her emphasis on the word made it clear how little she thought of my reading material—“while she’s missing?”
    I snapped the magazine closed and popped it on the wooden desk with enough force to stir every paper within five feet. “Your moping is no more helpful. They aren’t going to find her any faster no matter what we do. So excuse me if I don’t want to die of boredom while Persephone’s gone.”
    I should have never suggested Demeter leave me with someone I couldn’t charm. I’d forgotten my oath to never charm or allow harm to come to any of her priestesses. Especially Melissa the Teenage Bitch.
    Melissa narrowed her eyes and muttered something under her breath. I clenched my teeth and picked up the magazine.
    “I should be doing something.” Melissa