"Crack—"
The wine cup was crushed, but Hera acted as if she heard nothing. She tried to stand up, but Zeus's power, flowing through their clasped hands, kept her seated. Clearly, the Divine King had anticipated her reaction.
The Golden Apple, a treasure that could allow deities to traverse the long span of years and reach their power's limit at the fastest speed—Hera had thought that her siblings had used up the accumulation of Mother Earth from two epochs, and no such treasure existed in this world anymore. But she had forgotten; there was one exception.
That Sacred Stone which replaced the newly born Zeus had, under various influences, not only preserved the power of the Golden Apple but even amplified it. Now, Hera watched Apollo growing ever stronger in the image, a chill spreading from her chest.
Zeus had deceived her again—no, the Divine King did not deceive; he simply omitted certain details.
