Percy Jackson: The Firstborn

Chapter 99: Chapter 99: Hera’s Love, Anger, and Jealousy

Olympus — Throne Room

Damon let out a small sigh. ”Alright,” the redhead murmured. ”I guess now comes the part where you either hug me or hit me.”

Hera did not answer.

That made Damon raise an eyebrow. Hera was not a quiet woman when she was upset. Normally, if something displeased her, she said it. If someone offended her, she made sure they knew. Hera was a particularly hateful goddess, if one could say that, when you were on her bad side... But now, simply nothing.

Finally, Hera rose from her throne.

Damon followed her with his eyes as she approached. He did not even have the desire to try to reason with her. If Hera wanted to hit him, the least he could do was let her.

The slap did not take long to arrive. The sound echoed through the empty throne room.

Damon’s face turned slightly from the impact, more out of respect for the gesture than any real pain.

”Hera, I’m so—” the redhead tried to say before being slapped again.

”You think a simple apology is enough... after all the promises, after you abandoned us?” the goddess said through gritted teeth, with the kind of anger you never wanted to feel toward someone you loved, but at the same time had no choice but to feel.

”You’re an idiot, stupid, and a liar,” the goddess finished, her eyes growing wet as she hit Damon’s chest with her fists.

Damon stayed still, not even daring to look her in the eyes.

”Yes, I am,” the redhead whispered.

Hearing the god’s answer, Hera clenched her teeth.

”Damn it, you’re unbearable,” the goddess shouted as she threw herself at Damon, sitting on his lap while hugging him tightly. ”You disappear for years and years and think you can come back like this, as if nothing happened, as if you never left.”

”It’s not that easy, Damon. Y-you have no idea how messed up everything has been since you left, the nights I spent wondering if you would ever come back while our whole family fell apart.”

”And now you come back like nothing happened and cause all of this, as if you’re not also guilty for leaving us. Believe me, I’ve thought about it thousands of times... If you hadn’t left, we wouldn’t be where we are now, where I am now, in a marriage I didn’t even ask for,” the goddess shouted, hugging the redhead tightly while pressing her face against his neck, her tears sticking to him.

Damon closed his eyes.

Hera bit his neck hard, leaving a red mark before speaking again.

”Do you know how long I spent thinking I would never see you again?”

Damon lowered his gaze a little.

”Hera...”

”No,” she interrupted, moving closer. ”Stop saying my name like that. You don’t have the right to make this easy.”

Damon closed his mouth.

Hera took a deep breath, trying to keep her composure. In front of many, Hera could be the perfect, cold, hateful queen everyone knew, but when it came to Damon, the goddess had to admit she had always had a weak spot.

”I hated you,” Hera said in a low voice.

Damon wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to his chest, the goddess’s legs on either side of him.

”I hated you more than you can imagine, but at the same time, I missed you more than I hated you. I missed you so much that every day I looked at that damn flower you gave me, I just wanted to cry all day.”

Those words struck the redhead’s heart heavily. But at the same time, he did not know what to say to the goddess. He had no excuse. He had thought so many times about what he would say the moment he stood before his family, but now that the moment had arrived, he simply did not know what to say.

Hera lifted her head from his shoulder and looked directly at his face. The goddess took his face between her hands, forcing him to look directly at her, their faces and lips only a few centimeters apart.

”Please.” More tears fell from the goddess’s face. ”Please don’t leave me again.”

Damon held her gaze.

”It wasn’t my intention.”

”I don’t care. I don’t care what excuse you have. The only thing I care about is that you don’t leave me for years again. I want you here with me always,” the goddess whispered.

Damon could not even respond to the goddess’s declaration before she kissed him wildly.

It was not a gentle kiss. It was one full of restrained anger, relief, and desperation, as if this kiss was the confirmation that Damon was finally really here with her. Their tongues intertwined in a battle, the goddess devouring him and pressing herself as close to him as possible with irresistible desire.

Damon, for his part, saw no reason to reject the goddess’s advances.

When they separated, the goddess’s lips did not even move far away, still lightly connected, their breaths mixing with each other. Her hands moved from the redhead’s face to behind his neck, holding him.

Damon looked into her eyes. ”I’m truly sorry, Hera.”

Hera tightened her embrace.

”I already told you I don’t want your apologies. Just don’t disappear without telling me anything again.”

Damon observed her for a moment before slowly nodding.

”Alright,” the god said, silence falling over the room again while the two remained embraced.

But while Hera kept holding onto him, Damon moved his fingers slightly.

In the dimension where Zeus was still imprisoned, a small window of light appeared in front of the god of lightning. Zeus, motionless and chained to the ground, opened his eyes with fury when he saw the scene before him.

Hera... sitting on Damon’s lap, embracing him in a way she had never embraced him, and if that was not enough, they were sitting on what had once been his throne. Rage invaded Zeus, but in the end, he could do nothing but watch.

Damon looked directly in his direction with a smile. I hope you’re enjoying the view, Zeus clearly heard Damon’s voice mocking him inside his head. Zeus clenched his teeth, hatred and humiliation clear, along with jealousy.

Hera noticed the smile. ”Why are you smiling?” the goddess asked.

”Haha, I’m just happy to be with you. Can’t I smile because of that?” Damon replied, his smile widening.

As Zeus tried to scream, with nothing leaving his mouth, Damon moved his attention away from the pitiful god and closed the viewing portal, leaving him surrounded by darkness and fury.

Hera watched him for a second, then let out a small laugh against his neck. ”I suppose you’re right. We shouldn’t drown ourselves in sadness and the past.”

”That’s right, my dear Hera. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery; however, today is a gift. That is why it is called the present,” the god said calmly, stroking the goddess’s hair.

Hera blinked at his words.

”I suppose you’re not that stupid,” the goddess murmured, a small laugh on her lips while her fingers remained clinging to him. ”But you’re still an idiot.”

Damon let out a small laugh, but he did not have time to respond before Hera leaned in and kissed him again, this time more softly.

But the kiss did not last long.

Damon pulled away first, which made Hera frown immediately.

”Hera,” the redhead said, looking at her seriously. ”Before this continues, there’s something I need to tell you.”

The goddess watched him for a few seconds, noticing the change in his tone. Her hands were still behind Damon’s neck, but her fingers stopped moving.

”What is it?”

Damon let out a small sigh.

”During the time I was away... I met someone.”

”Someone,” Hera repeated slowly, the queen’s expression hardening slightly.

”That’s right. I’m sure you’ve heard of her; her name is Amaterasu,” the redhead continued, noticing the small anger in the goddess of marriage’s gaze.

Hera registered the name instantly. The queen of the sun of the Shinto pantheon was not just any goddess. Hera had heard her name before, even if she had not dealt with her much.

”I see,” Hera said, her voice sounding too calm for Damon’s liking.

The goddess stared at him for a few seconds, her fingers still behind his neck. Hera did not want to cause drama. She was not an insecure woman, and she respected that Damon had told her this right now instead of continuing. It clearly showed that he cared about her feelings, and the goddess of marriage liked that.

”What is she to you?” she finally asked.

Damon did not answer immediately. Hera did not pressure him either, but the way her eyes looked at him made it clear she would not accept a lie or a half-answer.

”Someone important,” Damon finally answered.

Hera smiled, but the smile did not reach her eyes. ”What a safe answer.”

Damon sighed. ”Hera.”

”No,” she cut him off. ”I’m not going to pretend I like hearing it, and I’m not going to act like I don’t want to rip that woman’s hair out just for existing in a part of your life where I wasn’t. But I’m not a child either.”

Hera lowered her gaze for a moment, sadness clear on her face. ”If she was with you when I wasn’t, if she took care of you, if she gave you a place to stay... then I can’t hate her for that.”

Damon looked at her more softly. ”That was quite mature of you.”

Hera looked to the side with anger. ”I want to make it clear that I can still change my mind.”

Damon let out a small laugh. ”I know.”

The truth was that Hera understood she could not have Damon all to herself. It was something she had accepted a long time ago. After all, you do not live talking about the same man with your sisters without noticing something, and since then she knew that one day this might happen. She just never expected not to be the first.

Hera moved a little closer, her lips barely brushing his while her gaze remained firm. ”But I also want to make something clear, Damon. I’m not going to step aside just because of her.”

Damon held her gaze without looking away. ”I never asked you to.”

”Good,” Hera murmured.

The goddess kissed him again, clearly trying to assert her dominance. When she separated, she rested her forehead against his, breathing more calmly than before.

”Then one day I’ll have to meet this Amaterasu.”

Damon smiled slightly. ”Yes. If you want, I’ll take you to meet her soon, although that could be dangerous.”

Hera smiled as well. ”Rather, it will be dangerous for you, darling.”

Damon gave a nervous smile. ”We’ll see.”

>>>>

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