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“No. I have my own holdings. I meant what I said about you having my two percent.”
Nemesis nodded and took a sip of her juice. Hera did not reach for hers.
“I guess. I don’t know. The company is valued at billions…”
Nemesis laughed, but it wasn’t an easy, joyful laughter.
“Are you asking me if I had the money or if Zeus will find out this was some kind of fraud and come take back what’s no longer his? You wound me, Your Majesty.”
Hera half expected her lover to get up and leave her alone on the bed. Zeus would have. He’d also sulk for days on end at the perceived slight.
“I see your mind working, Hera. It’s not a slight to think I don’t have billions of dollars, Your Majesty. Because I don’t.” Nemesis took another sip, her eyes twinkling. “They all gave me their shares.”
Hera dropped the grape she was holding. Nemesis picked it up and popped it into her own mouth.
“Artemis, Athena, Aphrodite…”
“Yeah, all the As. And Demeter. I might’ve even finessed that fool Poseidon out of a few percent of his shares. Just because. Through a few proxies, I made a barter offer. He was never any good at business. It just made me feel good that I acquired a percentage of everyone’s shares.”
Something in Hera’s chest cracked. She flinched, touching her sternum. She must’ve imagined the sound of it. But she wanted to know one thing before she drew the final conclusion.
“You went to some extraordinary lengths, Revenge. Was it for the plan? Or because showing me the unity of the Gods was something you knew would please me?”
Nemesis’s smile was warm. Uncomplicated. Hera blinked just to make sure she was not imagining it.
“You already know I’ll execute the plan. As for how I execute it? The answer is the latter. I don’t need another reason.”
“Surely it cannot be that simple.” Hera leaned in and took a sip from Nemesis’s glass, the ice blue following her every move, heating up again. Hera felt the delicious tension rising in her belly.
Oh, this is fun… So much fun…
Why was she only experiencing it now? At her zenith? Why had this been kept from her for all her years? All her ages?
She knew her smile was probably bittersweet, because Nemesis’s expression changed to concern, the sharp features softening, the eyes growing wary. Yet the voice was mellow as Nemesis spoke.
“It is that simple. You were stunned in that boardroom. Stunned and amazed by the fact that all those gods and goddesses came together to spite Zeus for you. Yes, I made it happen, but it wasn’t very hard. They were very willing to help. Help you. And I wanted you to see it. So why does it have to be anything else?”
Hera looked away for a second, regret making it hard to breathe.
“It has never been easy. Love is a battlefield.”
The moment the word left her lips, she wished to catch it back, like a bird, like a stone.
But Nemesis surprised her again, not latching onto the meaning, Hera was not ready to give in to whatever was happening between them.
“Okay, there, Pat Benatar.” She set the glass down and flopped down next to Hera, making the broken headboard creak ominously. “I don’t know much about this love business, not my domain, as you know, but I’m pretty sure both Aphrodite and Erato have written books about it, and while some of the Muse’s prose is wordy and angsty, it’s not all that complicated. Girl meets girl. Girl falls for girl. Both girls make mistakes. Girls have the best sex this side of mortality or immortality. Girls either break up or don’t, if they are smart, and the author does not revert to clichés. And then…”
Hera watched Nemesis’s mouth move, even as she felt the words ricochet off her conscience.
“And then?”
Nemesis lifted a hand and tucked a lock of Hera’s hair behind her ear.
“And then they live happily ever after. And if they are immortal, they live happily ever forever.”
Hera felt tears threaten, but she did not turn away. Some things were not meant to be hidden.
“You read too much romance.”
