Gladiators

Chapter Twenty Five

Percy glanced at his two companions as a woman in a pink dress and with a mixture of the features of Nico and Jason- blue eyes and dark hair- jumped off of her rose-red throne and ran towards Kallias, both embracing each other in a tight embrace as if they were surrounded by a tornado, and the only safe place was in each other's arms.

It was easy to figure out which god was which.

Ares was fuming on his blood-red throne, murderous intent in the black holes of his eyes. Hephaestus looked dejected and resigned- he looked utterly defeated, but yet oddly happy as he watched his wife hug her lover. Zeus looked nervous- Hera only spared the rejoicing couple a glance before leveling her cold gaze upon Jason, her eyes narrowing.

Artemis looked indifferent, Athena looked relieved, Apollo smiled his award-winning smile, and Dionysus looked like he couldn't care less. Poseidon looked happy, smiling slightly, Demeter looked relieved, and so did Hermes. The winged man looked ecstatic as he watched them hug.

Percy easily recognized the woman in pink and the winged man from his vision- Aphrodite and Eros.

Dionysus sat on the end, his throne purple. Next to him was Apollo on his golden throne. On the other end was Hermes on his floating, light blue throne. His staff was in his hand, and he floated just above his throne, his winged sandals flapping like lazily. Artemis was next to him on her silver throne, a silver circlet sat atop her black, curly haired head. A bow and arrows were slung across the back of both the twin archers' thrones. Ares was next to Artemis, his throne blood red and human bones were around his.

Next to Apollo was Hephaestus, his throne covered in soot and ash. Percy wasn't sure was the natural color of it had been. Demeter was next to Ares, her throne grassy and flowers were sprouting all over it. A flower crown sat atop her blonde, slight curly hair, and flowers were intertwined in different places all the way down her long hair. Hers seemed to give life while Ares's foretold death.

Next to Hephaestus's and across from Demeter's was Aphrodite's, her light pink throne have cherubs floating around it with Eros standing next to it. Next to Aphrodite's was Athena's, her throne a rich brown, and an owl perched on her shoulder. A crown made of an olive branch sat atop her head of dark, curly hair.

Across from Athena's was Poseidon's, his throne a deep blue. His trident was held loosely in his hand, and his crown was made of sea barnacles and a star fish. Hera was next to his in her golden throne, a peacock sitting on her lap as a cuckoo bird sat on her shoulder. A lioness was laying down on her feet, seeming as if she was asleep. The woman's raven hair was pulled up tightly in a bun, not one strand loose. Her jewel-encrusted crown shown, but her eyes showed the darkness of her soul. Years of betrayal can do that to you, Percy thought.

But at the center of the semi-circle, in a throne higher than the others, sat the king of the gods. He had a crown on his head, and he wore a deep purple robe that matched his wife's. His throne was also gold, and a lightning bolt was in a holster across the back of his throne. His sky blue eyes- the same as Jason's- looked void of emotion. Not approving, but not disappointed as he looked past the couple and towards his son, differing greatly from how Poseidon looked on in pride at his own child.

"Good Perseus, you completed our quest for you." Zeus said blandly, clearly not caring. "Thank you so much!" Aphrodite cried out, still not releasing her lover. "Sorry about the prophecy. It would have rhymed more, but Aphrodite refused to let me change the wording." Apollo said apologetically. "Just please, no more crying!" Athena begged. Hermes and Demeter cried out their agreement.

Ares moved his gaze to glare at the three instead, causing unease to erupt in the three's hearts. "Question- how do I know that Ares isn't going to do it again, and that we'll have to go looking for Kallias again?" Percy asked, looking warily at the god of war.

"Lord." Ares growled angrily, so much fury in his voice that Percy had to stop himself from flinching. "Because I am making him a god." Aphrodite declared, staring daggers at her ex-lover, Ares. Zeus raised an eyebrow at her. Aphrodite instantly turned to him and gave him her best puppy-dog face, pout and all. Zeus sighed, and Aphrodite smiled.

"What do you want to have your domain over?" Zeus asked, leaning his head on his hand. Kallias thought for a while, obviously really thinking about it. "I want to control jealousy and redemption." Kallias finally said, smiling. Aphrodite leans on his shoulder, cuddling closer to him.

Zeus clicked his finger and lightning flashed. "There, it's done." Zeus grumbled, then looked to his youngest godly son and youngest Olympian, Dionysus. Dionysus sighed and clicked his fingers, a glass of wine appearing in Zeus's hand. Zeus drank a long gulp, completely ignoring them now and watching random nymphs filling the other gods' glasses with Hebe, the goddess of youth.

The gods all left their thrones, either shaking the newest god's hand, completely ignoring him, or, if that god was Ares, shoving their shoulder into Kallias's violently. Artemis walked up to Percy, Jason, and Nico, smiling at the three, but Percy couldn't help noticing that the smile did not reach her eyes. In fact, her eyes looked empty- sad. Percy remembered someone once tell him that the eyes were the windows to the soul- so what does that say about the lady of the moon?

"Congratulations, boys. Jason, it's nice to meet my younger half-brother. Stay out of trouble, you three." Artemis then walked from the grand palace, her bow and arrows slung over her shoulder, her matching silver tunic and skirt sparkling like the moon. Apollo followed her out, bow and arrows over his shoulder, smiling and waving to the three as he hurried after his twin sister. His yellow tunic and pants shone like the sun.

Athena walked past the three, only glancing at them. But she did smile slightly. Percy took that as a good sign. Dionysus completely ignored the new god and the three demigods as he walked out, obviously uninterested. Ares just glared at them as he walked out after knocking Kallias's shoulder with his own. Hera shook Kallias's hand before leaving the throne room, leveling Jason with one of her glares that Jason was almost already accustomed to. Poseidon clapped his son on the back and smiled warmly at him before leaving the room.

Most of the other gods had followed, leaving only the plain looking girl, Aphrodite, Kallias, Eros, and the three boys.