The throne room of Olympus remained silent long after Hades had vanished.
Ares still gritted his teeth, flexing his fingers as if testing that he could move again. His pride had been wounded, but he said nothing. Even he knew what had just happened.
Hades had humiliated him with a mere flick of his fingers.
And what was more terrifying? He hadn't even tried.
Zeus finally sat back on his throne, his storm-blue eyes flickering with unreadable thoughts. Hades was more powerful than he had anticipated. He had expected a shadow ruler, someone bound by the limitations of the Underworld.
Instead, his brother had displayed an authority beyond Olympian law.
Poseidon stepped forward, resting his trident against the marble floor. He had remained silent throughout the meeting, but now he spoke.
"You see it, don't you?" he said, looking at Zeus.
Zeus exhaled sharply. "That he's grown too powerful? Yes."
Poseidon shook his head. "Not just powerful." He paused, his sea-green gaze narrowing. "Unstoppable."
The words hung in the air. The thought that no god had dared to speak.
For all their power, the Olympians were still bound by balance. The sky, the sea, the Underworld—they had divided creation. But now?
Hades was no longer bound.
The Underworld was growing, shifting into something greater than just a land of the dead.
Zeus clenched his jaw. "We should have never let him claim that throne."
Poseidon's expression darkened. "And what would you have done? Kept it for yourself? Left it as a realm of chaos?" He shook his head. "We gave him nothing. He took what no one else wanted. And now he's made it something only he can control."
Zeus hated that he was right.
Hades had carved out his domain without Olympus' favor—without their permission. And now? They could not take it from him.
Not without a war.
Zeus clenched his fists. "If he keeps growing, he will be beyond us."
Poseidon sighed. "Then you best hope he never turns against us."
For the first time in centuries, Zeus felt uncertain.
This chapter sets up Zeus' growing fear of Hades and hints at the power struggle that will shape the gods' future.