Hercules emerged from the trophy room and closed the door firmly behind himself. His father might be omniscient, but maybe he couldn't see clearly through Aphrodite's temple walls. He needed to be careful. Megara's life depended on how he handled his father's rage.
Aphrodite's voice helped him pinpoint Zeus's location to a wide reception chamber. "How dare you intrude on my temple? You established the hierarchy! I deserve to be respected in my own space!"
"My son is here! Hades tells me—"
"Hades?" Hercules roared into the room. "Give me one good reason to listen when that spidery freak is a trustworthy source for anything!"
Zeus whirled on Hercules. "He was right! You're right where he said you would be!"
"And did he tell you how he tried to murder me?" Hercules demanded. He looked to Aphrodite next. "Didn't you tell him?"
"Hades was already there," Aphrodite said. "I'm surprised he didn't come here to make it worse!"
"Hades tells me you've been with the mortal girl and killed two men because they were getting in your way!"
"That's a funny way of saying they were either in the process of trying to kill or violate her! At some point you have to accept he is an evil bastard! What he said is in bad faith. You didn't wait for my side of the story?"
"You didn't even come to me and tell me what you planned or what had happened! I had to hear it from two other people!"
"I had to take care of my wife; she's more important than what you think of me." His voice was more impressive than he'd expected.
"Wife?" Zeus echoed.
Hercules gestured to Aphrodite. "Ask Aph, she married us."
"It's true, I did." Aphrodite folded her arms and glared at Zeus. "You stepped out of your domain to keep them apart. Love is my department. I've decided to sponsor them despite your arbitrary disapproval."
"Arbitrary?" Zeus roared, shaking the temple again.
Eros and a few cherubs appeared to see what was wrong but quickly flew away.
"This is not arbitrary! My son has defied me! Every generation of this family, the king's son rises against him and destroys him to take over!" He turned his blazing blue eyes on Hercules. "You couldn't stay happy with everything you had, could you? You want more! You want to defy me!"
"No! Father, I want to be with the woman I love! I want what I do to mean something! It doesn't matter to the other gods. It matters to mortals! I've never been around them so much, and when I finally helped her, when I saved Megara's people, I realized that was what I was always meant to do. She showed me that. I only matter to myself because of her. I can't wallow in inconsequential perfection for eternity! I need to matter!"
"You've disobeyed me," Zeus rumbled. "You've killed twice in the name of your illicit affair! I told you you weren't to meddle with mortals. I told you a mortal girl is only good for a short time. You need to learn that even if you think you can defy me, you will always lose!"
"None of this is an illicit affair. It's my marriage. Mother will back me up on this. I can't believe you're torturing me because you're afraid I'll try to rise against you. You think I want your throne? No! Hades is the one who's been active against you this whole time, and he tried to kill me when he thought I was mortal! Aren't you concerned that your brother will rise against you? I can help you against him!"
"You're not deflecting from yourself!" Zeus towered over his son. "Denounce that girl and come back to Olympus with me!"
"Um? Excuse me? Hey!" Aphrodite jumped between Hercules and Zeus. "He can't do that! That's not how love works, and if he broke it off with Megara, that would mean breaking his oath that he made in front of me not even an hour ago! He's right, by the way! Hera won't stand for you dissolving a marriage between her favorite son and the woman he loves! Especially not so soon after it was sworn to!"
"Was it consummated?" Zeus rumbled.
Hercules didn't have the chance to lie. He knew his startled embarrassment had given him away before he could respond.
"It's not valid; it's only the promise of a marriage, and it can be dissolved," Zeus said.
"But it won't be!" Aphrodite snapped her fingers for attention. "Part of the agreement was that they'd put off consummating the marriage until Megara was old enough to have a child with less trouble! You don't get to rewrite the terms when I set them! This problem was already addressed, and you sticking your beard into it won't change anything! Just set the thunderbolts down and be happy for your son!"
Static rage flickered through Zeus's face. "Hercules, you're throwing your life away! Do you have any idea what you've done? You've stepped off Olympus and made it seem like you'd rather be with mortals than your own family!"
"I wouldn't have to if you'd let me immortalize my wife!" Hercules shot back. "We'd have no reason to go behind your back to be together, and I wouldn't have to stay on Earth to be with her. If you want to blame anyone for this situation, I'm sure Aphrodite has no shortage of mirrors!"
Aphrodite chuckled at Hercules's last comment, but it was that same comment that set Zeus off.
"You want to live with a mortal? Fine! I'll give you what you want!" Zeus aimed an accusatory finger at Hercules, shooting a golden beam of light directly at his chest.
Life and power seeped out of Hercules so quickly that he didn't have time to react. He wobbled on his feet, feeling so much of who he was draining out of his body that his mind turned to mush, and his eyes went bleary.
"Cut that out!" Aphrodite blocked the beam with a flash of pink.
Hercules staggered backward, dazed, and landed heavily on the ground. His whole frame felt heavy—like a sponge saturated with water. He hadn't lost his shape, but he'd gotten so much heavier… Or maybe it was the opposite. He'd been wrung out and lost so much that was essential to him, and now he was dry.
His mind swirled so intensely that all he could hear was the back and forth between Aphrodite and Zeus.
"This is my! Temple!" Aphrodite shrieked. "You don't get to mistreat your son in front of me! It's an affront to love itself! To me! Now you're going to fix it this instant!"
Zeus looked genuinely chastened. "I'll give him conditions. He'll get his immortality back."
"And!" Aphrodite stuck a dainty pink finger in Zeus's face. "The moment he does, she will too! Say it!"
Zeus went cross-eyed, but he like any other god with a crumb of sense, knew defying Aphrodite never went well.
"Yes…" Zeus growled. "When my son regains his immortality, he will… also… see his wife become immortal with him…"
Hercules wobbled to his feet. "What must I do, Father?" his heart raced so quickly it hurt.
Zeus drew himself up to regain the dignity he'd lost by letting Aphrodite order him about. "You'll have to re-embrace your Telos. Become a True Hero. Earn it this time. I've let you stay spoiled for too long. You must train as all mortals do and re-learn heroism from the ground up."
Breathing hard, Hercules gazed up at his father, the light radiating off of the king of the gods hurting his eyes for the first time. "You know what? Hades is the one who's been acting against you all this time. Not me. You never needed to be my enemy. All you've done is make it possible for Hades to kill me. I hope you're proud of yourself. I'll take this challenge and exceed expectations. But you've got to know this changes everything between us forever. Get out of my sight, Father. I have important business to attend to."
Refusing to show how wobbly he felt, Hercules strode out of the room. His mind raced, and once he was out of sight, he longed to weep. He hadn't really appreciated his immortality. It was such an integral part of him. What he missed most was the sense of being his whole self. He paused outside the door to the Trophy Room. Would Megara be happy to see him like this?
Hercules cringed. He had so much bravado in front of his father, but now…?
The door opened, and Megara looked up at him with concern in those soft violet eyes. "What happened to you?" she whispered, cupping his face in her hands.
"I'll explain later…" He leaned into her touch, his eyes closing with a bone-deep exhaustion he'd never experienced in his life. "First… I think I need a nap…"