A Game of Retribution (Hades Saga, #2)

by Scarlett St. Clair

“I must know Briareus’s fate,” Hades said, hating the way the Fates’ eyes gleamed. “Briareus, you say,” said Lachesis. “One of the Hecatoncheires,” observed Clotho. “The storm giants,” Atropos affirmed. “Why?” they asked in unison. “As if you do not already know,” he gritted out. They were all quiet, and Hades recognized his own behavior in them. They would not continue until he gave them the answer they wanted. “What will it cost me when I kill Briareus?” He hated asking the question before he’d even tried seeking a loophole, but he knew how this worked. He had seen the cycle repeat over centuries. There would likely be no other way to appease Hera, and the one thing he was not willing to sacrifice was Persephone and their future together. “You wish to end a life I have spun?” Clotho said. “A life I have measured?” Lachesis continued. “A life I haven’t cut?” Atropos asked, affronted. As they spoke, a gold thread shimmered in the dark, twisting and looping around each of the Fates. He watched it, a thin line of energy that made up the fabric of the world. “I do not wish to,” Hades said, but the alternative was a price he would not pay, so he had to know this one. “As you are aware, this is Hera’s vendetta.” “And you she has chosen for the deed,” said Clotho. The thread morphed into a silhouette of Hera, Persephone, and himself. The Goddess of Marriage stood between them and used her spear to sever the thread that connected them. That was not the end of Hera’s rage, however...