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Zeus growled lowly, though it was an outward sound and Arielle would not be able to hear him. Of course Evermore would only come here and then go straight back. He had no reason for her to go elsewhere. Even if he did want to take her somewhere else, did the headmistress honestly think he wouldn't take care of one of his own? Well, in a roundabout way, she was one of his own.

... Thank you.

Hades was growing concerned at Zeus' silence. He moved close to his brother and whispered, "What is going on, Zeus? What are you planning?"

Moments later, Zeus raised one of his arms and Ever appeared before the throne platform in a flash of lightning.

She looked around her in surprise and then finally found her bearings. She stared wide-eyed at those in front of her. She had only seen Zeus a number of times, and Hades was now with him. She noticed Ares, but for once, he was not her main concern.

She went over and bowed in front of Zeus and Hades equally.

"My lords..."

Hades looked livid. Absolutely livid. His eyes were blood red as he focused them on Ever and then turned them to blaze into Zeus.

"ZEUS! What is the meaning of this?! How DARE you summon MY FURY without consulting me first! She is MINE!"

Ever's eyes widened in fear and shock and she stumbled backward at the rage she felt and heard in front of her.

Zeus turned and smirked triumphantly at Hades, though there was a hint of extreme danger within his eyes.

"And, as I explained earlier, Hades, she is mine as well. I have the right to call her here."

Hades growled and fire started to blaze out of his eyes. Thunder and lightning started to roll in toward the throne room.

"Like TARTARUS you do! The Underworld is MY domain, not yours! Everything in it is MINE!"

Ever's eyes quickly looked over and locked onto Ares'. When their eyes met, her breath was nearly knocked out of her, but she managed to nod and smile slightly at him in thanks.

Just seconds later, though, a lightning bolt crashed down onto the marble floor right in front of where she was kneeling.

She cried out in fright and jumped back. People were afraid of and intimidated by Ever? Get her around Zeus and Hades, two of the three top gods, and she could be terrified.

Hades heard his fury's cry and quickly spun his head in her direction. At seeing the fright in her eyes and the scorch mark right in front of where Ever had been, he held up his hands and called out loudly and deeply.

"Alright! Alright. I'm done. I'll concede... for now. We will finish this later, Zeus."

Zeus chuckled and shook his head. "I'm sure we will, Hades. I look forward to it."

Zeus sat on his throne again and Hades would have gone to sit in his next to Zeus, but he chose to climb down the stairs and go over to Ever. He held her by her shoulders and inspected her. He spoke some soft words to her that only she could hear.

When she eventually nodded, he rested his hand under her chin, tilted her face up, and pressed his lips against hers for a few moments. Then, he turned her toward Zeus and stood behind her. He watched Zeus carefully and ran his gloved fingers lightly along Ever's shoulders and arms.

Zeus nodded to Ever and held his hand out behind him. A girl was suddenly there with a plate of different fruit, one glowing in the middle of the mixture.

"Ambrosia my darling?"

Ever quickly shook her head. She made sure to look up at Zeus, but her head was slightly tilted down again.

Zeus then looked in question at Ares, still gesturing to the fruit.

Zeus sighed and waved the girl away. Then, he focused on Ever again. He smiled at her.

"Evermore, dear, I am sorry for your sudden entrance and what you just witnessed. I wanted to call you here and ask you about your current progress in discovering the Relic."

Ever took a deep breath and then spoke. Her voice was soft but certain.

"I am assuming the Fates have informed you of some sudden changes lately. A friend and I have solved some riddles and believe we have discovered the location of the Relic and what guards it. Since you have called me here to discuss the Relic, almost certainly because the Fates have informed you about certain changes, then I surmise that my friend and I are on the right track."

She couldn't help but smile slightly, quite proud of herself and her friend. Had she almost completed her life's mission? Already?

Zeus' eyes lit with excitement. They even glowed slightly.

Hades wrapped an arm around Ever's shoulders and placed his hand just above her left breast. He leaned down and kissed her jaw, the spot just below her ear. His tongue even grazed her skin just lightly for a few seconds as he kissed her.

He whispered in her ear, "Very good, Evermore. Well done."

Despite the intimate situation, Ever's smile grew brighter and she flushed at the praise. She didn't think she had ever wanted the praise of the gods, but now that she was receiving it instead of anger, she couldn't help but feel a little happy and prideful.

Zeus clapped his hands together once, a clap of thunder being heard in the distance.

"Wonderful news, Evermore! Yes, wonderful news! We shall have that Relic soon! Evermore, when you actually retrieve the Relic, you are to keep it with you at all times and insist to your headmistress that you bring it to me immediately."

Ever nodded. Zeus and Hades were even smiling at each other triumphantly. While they were doing this, Ever couldn't help but sneak a glance over at Ares to see what his expression was. Could he possibly be proud of her, too?

Zeus called to his girls and told them to bring refreshments. Moments later, girls were coming out from behind one of the roped off wings with trays of snacks and wine. Almost every tray had a glowing serving of Ambrosia in the middle of it.

Hades chuckled and moved forward, unwrapping his arms from Ever. He went to the girls and started gathering wine and snacks, making sure to get a larger piece of Ambrosia.

Zeus looked at Ever and smiled. "I am very impressed with your success, Evermore. At this rate, you may live well beyond your single goal of obtaining the Relic. I thought that you might perish after you found the Relic simply because you are so young and inexperienced. How could you survive long, especially if you remained on Earth where gods gradually become weaker? But I am beginning to have high hopes for you."

Ever did not quite know how to process Zeus' words. On the one hand, they were complimentary and rare for the King of the Gods. On the other hand, it reminded her that her life very well could end after her mission was done. If her sole purpose was to find and obtain the Relic, didn't that mean that the threat surrounding it was great? If the gods had to actually create a being just to get near the Relic, did that mean that creature would have to give their life to obtain the sought-after item?

When she saw that Zeus and Hades were consumed with drink and food and were actually conversing cordially with each other, she moved away slightly and walked toward Ares.

When she was close to him, though not too close to make him uncomfortable, she smiled shyly and spoke softly.

"Hi."

Ever's smile lightened as she saw that Ares kept his arms crossed. It was rather cute, actually... not that she would ever let him know that!

"I hope they did not bring you here because of me. I doubt they did since they didn't address you at all while they were speaking to me."

Ever's eyebrows rose slightly in surprise when she heard the first word Ares used.

"'Dunno'? Did you just say 'dunno', Ares? Have you been hanging around those teenagers at Boulder too much?"

She looked down and tried to hide her smile and stop her laughter from escaping.

She couldn't hold it in this time. A soft giggle came from her lips and she covered her mouth with the back of one of her hands.