Goddess (Starcrossed)

her head slowly. “That wasn’t actually the deal, as you’ll recall,” she said. “I agreed to give you Everyland in exchange for my family’s safety. I never agreed to go to Tartarus.”
    Zeus sighed like he regretted Helen’s decision. “I really wanted to avoid a fight. You know I’ll have to destroy you if you do this,” he said reluctantly.
    “How?” Helen asked, backing away from him. “I gave you Everyland—my gift to you—but I didn’t give you its borders. Those I keep for myself.”
    Zeus looked around in a panic. Helen knew he was trying to open a portal and leave. She could feel it, but he couldn’t do it. And as long as Helen existed and held ownership of the borders, he never would be able to leave.
    “Welcome to my Trojan horse,” she said with a tight smile. “Enjoy. You’re going to be stuck inside it for eternity.”
    Helen saw Zeus’ face freeze with horror, and then she left him, locked in her heavenly prison forever.
     
    Helen appeared on the battlefield and looked around frantically. A part of her expected to find Zeus standing right behind her, laughing at her insane attempt to imprison him, but he wasn’t. She concentrated and could feel him in Everyland, screaming at the beautiful blue sky. He really was trapped. Helen allowed herself one half-crazed laugh before she started running.
    Helen negotiated the uneven ground, trying to peer through the confusion of smoke, shouts, and combatants running this way and that. The Kraken was still pounding the beach with its tentacles, killing indiscriminately. Combatants from both sides scrambled over the dunes in their desperate attempt to flee from it.
    She stumbled forward, her feet catching on something and sending her sprawling. When she looked back, she saw that she’d tripped over a dead Myrmidon. Something moved under her, and she realized she’d landed on another Myrmidon. This one was barely alive, but he still recognized her.
    “Tyrant,” he hissed, clamping on to her wrists.
    Helen broke free and clambered off of him. She looked around and saw dozens of bodies—Scions, Myrmidons, and strange sea monsters—all entangled in death after what must have been a huge skirmish. She climbed to her feet and ran to the tent. Luckily, she found her family there as she’d hoped.
    There were several dozen soldiers left, gathered around the map table, which they had pulled out in front of the tent so they had room to gather around it.
    Lucas spotted Helen first and ran to her.
    “What happened?” he asked, holding her tightly to his chest. “We heard you challenge Zeus.”
    Helen pulled back and looked Lucas in the eye. “I beat him,” she said, still not wholly believing it herself. The other Scions grouped around her, making shocked sounds. “I tricked him and trapped him in Everyland. As long as I exist, he’s never getting out. What about the Myrmidons?” she asked.
    “We think there are only three left,” Castor said darkly. “Telamon had them retreat. They’re done—for today, anyway.”
    “We still have that Kraken to deal with,” Hector reminded her, his face grim.
    Helen nodded and turned to Orion. “Does Poseidon control the Kraken?” she asked.
    “Sort of,” Orion replied. “He can set it loose and call it back again, but once it’s free, it mostly does its own thing.” He gestured to the slapdash carnage around them.
    “All right,” Helen said with a sharp nod. “I guess Poseidon’s next.”
    “Helen? Are you sure that’s the wisest—” Jason began, but Helen didn’t let him finish.
    “Challenge! I challenge Poseidon!” she shouted, somewhere in the direction of the ocean. Nothing happened. “Damn it!” Helen swore, turning to face the group. “Does anyone have a pumpkin?”
    Cassandra went to one of the campfires and pulled a pot off the flame. She dumped the liquid out quickly and came back to Helen, placing the pot on the sand in front of her. Helen looked at the pot skeptically.
    “Cauldron,” Cassandra said with a shrug, like it was self-explanatory. The pot disappeared, and orange fire erupted in a circle as Hecate accepted the offering.
    Poseidon came up the beach, flanked on all sides by his fellow Olympians. He stopped just outside the ring of fire but wouldn’t enter it. Hermes was at his side, speaking to him urgently.
    “She did what?” Poseidon remarked, his surprise making him loud enough for Helen to hear. He glanced back at Athena, and she nodded once to