Then Kirill caught my gaze and gave me a look that conveyed the faith he had in me. I couldn't betray that faith, or the love I shared with my men. This was not the time for mercy. I had tried to be merciful with Demeter once, and she had killed Odin and nearly killed Trevor. No; I had to protect my family and my friends. I was an Olympian—standing judge in an Olympian trial—and I had to do things their way. Honestly, a quick beheading was far more merciful than being torn apart by the Wild Hunt. The thought left me a little unsatisfied and prompted my next words.
“I vote yes, but I would like to conduct the execution,” I finally said.
The crowd cheered approvingly as Nyx went pale.
“Does anyone dispute this request?” Athena asked when the Gods settled.
“I do,” Hades growled as he stood.
I looked over at him in surprise.
“I'm sorry, Vervain, but I believe that I have the greater grievance with Nyx,” Hades said. “I claim the right to kill her; you can have Aion.”
“Hold on now,” Athena huffed. “I haven't even called for a vote on Aion yet.”
“Who thinks that we should execute Aion?” Hermes asked.
All of us raised our hands. Athena did so last, but I think that was more out of irritation at having her leadership undermined than anything else.
“There. Now, can we agree to let Hades execute Nyx, and Vervain execute Aion?” Hermes asked.
The Olympians nodded.
“There you go.” Hermes spread his arms. “That wasn't so hard, was it?”
“Bring the criminals forward,” Athena said with a stern tone as she cast an annoyed look at Hermes.
The gods who were restraining Nyx and Aion shoved them forward. Erebus held Macaria as she wept, and Nyx lashed out at them with horrible curses that would no doubt haunt them. I wasn't looking forward to rethinking my opinion of Macaria, but I knew it needed to be done. She'd redeemed herself in a way that most people didn't have had the spine for, and I had to respect that. So did Hades; he went to his daughter and hugged her tightly before he firmly turned her away from her mother.
“Erebus,” Hades said as he laid a grateful hand on the god's shoulder, “don't let her watch this. Please, take her out of here.”
Erebus nodded and stumbled from the room with Macaria. As soon as they were gone, Hades accepted an ax from Hephaestus. Nyx was pushed to her knees as Hades went to stand at her side.
“I only wish that I could claim your soul so I could torture you forever,” Hades snarled at her. “But this will have to do. For Persephone!” He shouted as he brought the ax down.
Hades' shout echoed in my mind; laid over the memory of the battle cry of hundreds of other gods. I shivered as the blade sliced through Nyx's neck as well as the tops of her wings. Her head fell in a rain of feathers, and then her body crumpled. Aion was whimpering, but the rest of the gods watched silently as Nyx's body became a dark mist and then dispersed into the air. Hades took a deep breath and then hung his head respectfully.
Then Aion was brought forward.
I went to stand to the left of the bawling god, and as I did, my men came forward to stand behind me. I wished that Arach was there to share this with me; he would have appreciated this the most. No; that's not true. Arach would have pressed for a hunt and would have been unsatisfied with this civilized execution.
I stared down at Aion and felt as if this were an unending cycle; Greek gods coming after me for killing someone they loved. And could I really fault them for wanting to avenge their family members? No; I couldn't. But despite the issues this may cause me, or the understanding I had for Aion's actions, I knew it had to be done.
Hades offered me the ax, but I shook my head.
“No, thank you,” I said. “I prefer to do this my way.”
If I couldn't have a hunt, I could at least have the kill. I lifted a hand as I shifted my fingers into dragon claws. Aion glanced up at me and went calm. He lifted his head, met my gaze steadily, and exhaled as he closed his eyes. But then I hesitated; another memory surfaced.
“Vervain?” Odin asked.
“I can't betray his magic again,” I whispered.
Aion opened his eyes and frowned at me in confusion.
“I understand,” Chronos said kindly as he laid a hand on my shoulder. “I will gladly give Cyclical Time a home if you will do me the honor of transferring it to me, Godhunter.”
I lowered my hand and shifted the claws back to fingers.
“No!” Aion screamed as he lurched away from me. “Kill me, but not like that.”
“Restrain him,” Athena commanded.
The guards came forward and took hold of Aion again.
“Can't you even do this one honorable thing?” I asked him. “Your magic has a chance to live, but you'd prefer to let it die with you? Can't you see how selfish that is? Your magic has been tainted by your fury, but Chronos could heal it and give it a home.”
“But it hurts so much,” Aion cried.
“Only if you resist,” I said softly.
Part of me wanted to make Aion suffer, but I owed it to his magic to make this transfer as painless as possible. It had trusted me, and I had sacrificed it. I had to make things right.
