Fallen (Dark God Saga) by Violette Dubrinsky, Renee Flowers Page A

woman your handmaiden?”
    ***
    It was obvious to Simone Zeus had long since lost patience with both his wife and Thanatos. He was glaring, and fuming. It seemed at any moment he might combust, or blow them all to smithereens. At that moment, Hypnos appeared, and he wasn’t alone. A woman with long, ebony jets of hair and grey eyes, wearing a sleek, black dress that came to just above her knees, and a man with hair so blond it almost seemed white and mesmerizing blue eyes, dressed in black as well, appeared behind him. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that they were related to Thanatos and Hypnos. Parents, possibly? Even though they looked like siblings. Simone shook her head. Probably other gods. Hell, she wouldn’t be surprised if archangels showed up too. Maybe Gabriel and Lucifer...?
              “I am sorry for your confusion, child,” Hera spoke softly, and Simone was at first confused, and unaware the goddess addressed her until Hera leaned down and cupped her cheek. There was a commotion behind them, and Simone noticed Thanatos struggling against Hypnos and the man who looked like Hypnos, while Zeus crossed his over his chest and glared. The lightening was flashing in the god’s eyes once more. Hera spoke and Simone focused on her. “Your mother was the best handmaiden I could ask for. She cared for me in a way I haven’t experienced since...”
              “Handmaiden,” Simone snorted and Hera removed her hand and straightened her back. “My mother wasn’t a handmaiden, whatever that is. She was a nurse.”
              Hera nodded. “Yes, in the human world, she was a nurse. Hyacinth was a handmaiden for hundreds of years, and she served me well, but in the end, she betrayed me. She shifted her allegiance to another, a mortal , and tried to flee with him...”
               Though the story seemed less than plausible, Simone listened. A memory long buried reared its head. Her mother had told her bedtime stories when she was younger, of a perfect and powerful race of people. There had always been some sadness in her eyes as she spoke of them but as a young child, Simone had only been interested in the Disney-like feel of the story. A god with a lightning bolt as a scepter, a beautiful goddess with a long mane of golden hair. There had been so many stories.
              “...I am not one to tolerate betrayal, Simone, so I made her pay for it.”
              Simone felt a chill at Hera’s words. Maybe she didn’t believe the woman— goddess —completely, maybe this was a nightmare, but she still wanted to know. “What did you do?”
              The hand at her cheek fell and Hera straightened. Regret flashed visibly across her face.
              “I killed the mortal, and cursed your mother to live a human life, afflicted with diseases until her dying breath.”
              Her mother had always been ill. Simone could not remember a time when Hyacinth had been completely healthy. Even in remission from one form of cancer, another loomed.
              “The cancer,” Simone murmured softly, shaking her head. This was a dream, a bad, freaking’ dream, but a dream none-the-less. Her mother’s getting cancer had been bad luck, not a curse. She was dreaming...she was ready to wake up. 
              She didn’t know she was crying until the slight wind in the room caressed her wet cheeks. 
              “I wish you to know that I deeply regret what I did to Hyacinth. Once done, I could not take it back. Your mother was an exceptional creature—.”
              “You’re lying,” Simone murmured softly, looking behind Hera to where Thanatos stood. His stance was angry, but those eyes—those cobalt grey windows—were sympathetic as they gazed on her. Why did he look like that? Why did she care? It was a dream, right?
              “No, Simone, but for your sake, I wish it