Chapter 1

My mother tore the laurel crown off my head in front of all the gods.

"Not this daughter," she said. "The other one."

The other one was Eudora.

Her adopted daughter. She stood beside her now, the golden belt my father had given me cinched around her waist.

My name is Ianthe. I am the only biological daughter of Enyo, Goddess of War.

But blood never meant anything to her.

My mother is the Goddess of War. Before mortal kings sent their sons to battle, they poured libations at her altar. Victorious armies carved her name into their city gates.

She always said she hated injustice.

Which was why the best things always went to Eudora.

Jewels from conquered cities. Robes woven with gold thread. The first cup of divine wine poured at the household altar. Every single time.

"She has the bearing of a goddess's daughter," my mother would say. "Look at you. Like you just crawled out of a grave."

I did spend a lot of time near graves.

Whenever my mother returned from war, spirits would linger outside the palace gates. Their weeping was invisible to everyone else. I could hear it.

If I sat with them long enough, they would slowly go quiet.

My mother thought it was a shameful quirk.

And tonight, beneath Olympus's white colonnades, she found another reason to be rid of me.

Lady Cleonice had proposed that I marry her son, Leandros.

He was the heir to one of the wealthiest divine families on the mountain. His family controlled the eastern trade routes. Nearly half the coastal city-states paid them tribute.

I was the daughter of Enyo and Lysandros. One commanded war. The other served as the gods' envoy, brokering their treaties.

Everyone assumed my mother would accept.

Instead, she tore off my crown.

"Ianthe is jealous, ill-mannered, and has not a single useful talent. She doesn't deserve to stand beside Leandros."

I hid in an empty colonnade and wiped my tears before anyone could see.

Then, through the wall, I heard my mother speak to her shield-bearer.

"So she wanted to marry Leandros. If I gave my biological daughter a better match, what would people say? That I only adopted Eudora to keep her forever beneath my real child?"

She paused. Bronze armor scraped against marble.

"I'm sparing Ianthe a marriage she can't handle. And I'm protecting Eudora. That's what's fair."

My mother had defended city-states. She had dragged wounded soldiers from burning walls with her own hands. She had crushed sieges single-handedly.

Mortals wrote hymns to her mercy.

That mercy had never once fallen on me.

I pressed my palm against the cold column until my fingers stopped shaking.

She chose Eudora. Fine. She could keep her precious daughter.

I was done asking.

When I returned to the banquet hall, Lady Cleonice still hadn't given her answer.

"Ianthe can't stand anyone better than her," my mother was saying. "A bride like that would only bring chaos to your house."

"Enyo, enough."

Hecate stood by the doorway, dark cloak falling from her shoulders. Every flame in the hall tilted toward her.

"Ianthe understands kindness better than most gods in this room. You know that."

"She's my daughter." My mother cut her off. "I know exactly what she is."

She pulled Eudora close, her palm resting gently on the back of her neck.

I knew that hand could be gentle.

For nineteen years, I had watched it stroke someone else.

"Eudora understands duty. I formally adopted her at the sacred flame when she was small. Tonight, I declare that she will inherit my temples and tributes."

My mother placed my laurel crown on Eudora's head.

"She will bring honor to your family."

Whispers surged from every direction.

So the War Goddess's heir is her adopted daughter.

"What did the biological one do? Even her own mother doesn't want her."

My mother heard them.

She let them keep talking.

Lady Cleonice studied Eudora for a long moment.

"If she brings your favor and temple tributes, then this marriage can be considered."

Eudora lowered her lashes.

"You honor me, my lady."

The corner of her mouth twitched.

I saw it anyway.

"As for Ianthe," Lady Cleonice added, "my nephew Theon is unmarried. A double alliance between our houses would be a fine thing."

Someone behind the wine jars choked back a laugh.

Theon had run his chariot into a crowd outside a packed temple. When a priestess rejected him, he broke her jaw. His family bought silence with a herd of sacrificial cattle.

Eudora got the inheritance.

I got the disgrace they couldn't pawn off on anyone else.

The torches beside Hecate flared tall.

"Ianthe's husband will be her own choice."

I stepped forward before my mother could speak.

"Thank you for the offer, Lady Cleonice. But I will not marry Theon."

My voice carried across the crowd, all the way to the farthest columns.

This time, it didn't shake.