Which of course, I wasn’t guilty of at all, so that part of things I wasn’t worried about at all. It was only relevant because it meant he wouldn’t accept any dodges, and I was disinclined toward lying about it anyway. Despite seeing how bad an idea it was, I truly didn’t see a way out of it, save lying about it outrageously and spending two years in Tartarus for a crime I didn’t commit.

  Which wasn’t an option. I wasn’t willing to martyr myself for one, and to give up seeing my first three children born and the first year and more of their lives. It would also be wrong, and it was bound to come up again in the future. I couldn’t spend two years in jail every time I was forced to use my knowledge power to save lives. I wasn’t going to make that sacrifice for any reason, I shouldn’t have to, much less for their mental comfort. I was a better version of my past lives, but no one was that good or that stupid, a modicum of selfishness was healthy.

  I’d just have to deal with the fallout it as it came.

  The conference was filling up fast, but I kept my posture relaxed as I leaned back in the chair with my arms open.

  Nadia arrived first, looking damned good. She always had of course, in all her lives, which was part of the problem and why Zeus had married her in the first place. She sat directly on my right. She was holding herself aloof and neutral by body language, obviously not counting me out yet.

  Freda and Teresa showed up next, and they chose to distance themselves from me by sitting on Nadia’s other side. Not out of dislike, they just didn’t trust anyone, not really.

  Mandy showed up with the love and darkness trio, and they all took the left-hand side of the table, Mandy closest to me, with a single seat between her Kaya, Gary, and Natasha respectively.

  Gary looked confident that he’d finally win and be redeemed, while Kaya had on her government worker face that revealed nothing, and Natasha looked worried. Mandy looked a bit distracted and worried.

  “We’re all here. Before we get to the knowledge source behind my flawless handling of the enemy a few days ago, is there anything else to be discussed?”

  Gary snorted, “Delaying the inevitable?”

  I nodded slowly, “Yes, but it’s not even close to what you think and hope it is. Humor me and do a round table first.”

  Nadia sighed, “My people are taking down the human first leadership and destroying their weapon stashes. They were about to simultaneously attack packs and covens across the country and all over Europe, as well as burn several vampire mansions to the ground. Mark contacted me this morning on it.”

  “The humans?”

  Nadia said, “They’re aware, and Mark told us where all the evidence was of their plans, it’s enough to put their leadership away for the rest of their lives.”

  “Good, one less thing to worry about.”

  Freda waved, “I have nothing really, things haven’t changed on a government level. The governments that want us gone are still holding off and doing testing, while the governments warily living and let live are cooling off with time. I don’t think the latter will be a serious problem, if anything us shutting down the aggressiveness of the Norse pantheon has let cooler heads prevail. Mandy’s reveal also helped there, a lot of government people are scrambling at the idea of conquering the stars and forming colonies out there.”

  I turned to the trio, and Gary said, “The only issue we have is one of judgement, so get on with it.”

  I smiled, that was certainly clear enough.

  “Mandy?”

  Mandy shook her head, “Nothing new for my branch, everything is running smoothly with the new training programs and rank setup.”

  I nodded, “I don’t suppose you would all allow me to say under truth spell that I have not overreached in any way since taking the throne, and that I do not have a spy network under my command? I’d prefer not to tell you my source.”

  Gary snorted, “That would be convenient, wouldn’t it.”

  I shrugged, “If I’m not breaking the law, what difference does it make?”

  Gary said, “We’ll be the judge of that, when we hear the truth.”

  Yeah, I didn’t think that would work, but it’d been the best approach I could come up with. I was pretty screwed, unless I got a miracle.

  Which surprisingly enough, was provided.

  An incoming teleport and the power of two new goddesses outside the room had us all turning toward the door.

  Sara pushed the door open and waltzed in, dragging a confused looking Amelia behind her. Sara was five foot five, with midnight black hair and warm brown eyes. She was athletic in body save her generous C cup bust, and she had a classical beauty of face.

  Sara dropped off Amelia behind Gary, then gave Gary an annoyed look, before turning to me with a smile.

  “You know what to do,” she said teasingly, then teleported out, without any instruction at all. Damned fates.

  Of course, the first part was obvious. Sara had just offered herself as my cover. It just backed up the idea in my head that revealing my secret power would be a terrible mistake and have long standing and hard consequences. I had no illusion she was doing me a favor, she was just avoiding a future she didn’t like. That I wouldn’t like it either was just a coincidence.

  I sighed regretfully, “I suppose none of you need to know where I got my information from, any longer?”

  It wasn’t even a lie, not really anyway.

  Gary looked like he was chewing on broken glass.

  “You should’ve passed on the information.”

  I shook my head, “The fates have their own agenda, or do you really believe Sara works for me? Regardless, the information was about our enemy, and dealing with outside enemies is my only active responsibility. My source is obviously highly controversial,” also true, both my power and the fates were controversial, “I was trying to avoid speculation and people jumping to conclusions out of fear or hope. Even I’m not arrogant enough to read into the motivations of that trio.”

  Gary scowled, “Why didn’t she tell us.”

  I snorted, “You read into their intentions, and assumed I was no longer backed by the fates. Worse, I have no idea if I am or not either, to make assumptions is foolhardy. They’re probably just using me, but as it saved the lives of our people I certainly won’t complain.

  “They certainly weren’t going to give you a heads up to save your pride, and if they were supporting me, they didn’t have to stop your planning, because I’m still sitting here. Are you sure you want to continue down this road?”

  Gary stood up.

  I thundered, “Sit the fuck down! This meeting is not finished.”

  He glared at me but sat. Sara’s apparent backing of me, continued backing of me, had shaken him badly.

  During all that, I’d also been trying to figure out why Sara had brought Amelia along. The only thing it really brought to mind was my plan to use her to replace Gary and get his dumb and useless jealous ass off my council. But that was the easy answer, and it didn’t really solve the underlying problem. Gary was the worst, but he wasn’t the only one on the love and darkness trio that had grown corrupt. He’d just been the most bullheaded and stupidly aggressive because of it, out of jealousy.

  Another idea occurred to me, and several things fell into place in my mind. The problem was systemic and a result of our immortal bodies and power, with human hearts and frailties. Power and time corrupted, without exception. Our mantels helped, but in Gary’s case as well as others they also caused problems, especially if we twisted our mantels. It had been a thought on my mind for a while, not something new, the last sixty years since our return we’d been dealing with that corruption by recycling gods and starting over, only to repeat the process.

  We needed a better solution than that. An added stabilizer to the equation, and the answer was obvious if not perfect, when I really thought it through.

  “As I promised when I took this responsibility on, my orders have been few and far between. After the few tweaks I made to improve things in the beginning, you all have enjoyed an order free existence until four days ago when we had our little war. I have no wish to micromanage anyone, you’re all capable of carrying out the duties of your delegated authority with minimal oversight.

  “However, I’m about to make another change in the hopes it may help stop, or at least slow down and delay, a long-standing systemic problem that plagues all of us. Consider it an experiment, and an order. I’m establishing a deputy councilor position. You will all find someone that you can trust with your authority for short periods of time, and who is willing to do the work. You will mentor and train them.

  “Then, you will go on vacation.”

  They all blinked in shock at that idea.

  “We are immortal, need not sleep, and we have great power. But we are still human in emotion and ambition. Working nonstop on this council, which if you’ll all be honest is full of maneuvering, toxic mistrust, and roadblocks, is draining and deleterious to us over time. Like humans, we need vacations to recharge. A time to stop, smell the roses, put it all behind us and focus on living life, family, and to remind us what our responsibilities mean and why we’re here. What we work and fight so hard for, for the betterment of our pantheon and the safety of our gods in a crazy world full of people who want us dead and gone. Of course, only a small portion of them, but it can seem like all of them after years of this.

  “I’m appointing Amelia as Gary’s deputy. She doesn’t need training, and if she accepts Gary is hereby ordered to go on vacation immediately. One month, you will not speak of this council or its duties, or even seek information on it from your mates. Focus on family and regaining your wind. Dude, seriously, your mates know how close to losing it you are. Get your life together, then come back, and maybe then you’ll be able to see with clear eyes again.

  “I think if such a system had been in place, that perhaps Bruce wouldn’t have gone around the bend and be in Tartarus right now.”

  Gary scowled, but four of his five mates were in the room, and all of them looked hopeful.

  I couldn’t blame him from scowling either, I’d just implied with my Bruce comment that Gary might be put away just like him if he couldn’t regain his control and renew his spirit. For once, he wasn’t jumping to conclusions at shadows because of jealousy, because if he didn’t gain control of himself, I’d stick him in a cell myself.

  Amelia said, “I accept, Liam.”

  I nodded, “Thank you and welcome to the table. This new policy goes for all of us. One month a year, either all at once or split up into four weeks once a quarter, I don’t care. Except for this first one, Gary is off a month, period. I don’t know that corruption can be completely stopped, I doubt it, but renewing ourselves while freed from responsibility for a short time will also renew our principles, patience, and morality, and perhaps our critical thinking as well. At least, that’s my theory.

  “The way things are now, well we keep putting each other down when we grow corrupt, which is a horrible way to do it. Unavoidable in some cases, giving Steven a month off would’ve just gotten more humans hurt, for instance. So get it done, I want everyone here save Nadia and I on vacation within a month, for at least a week. The only way you’ll be interrupted on vacation is if you’re recalled for a war, nothing else will interrupt your recharge time.

  “Any questions?”

  Natasha asked, “Why not Nadia, and who will be your deputy?”

  “I’m not a councilor, I’m king, so I don’t get a deputy. But I am required to take a vacation like the rest of you. I don’t need a deputy, because I don’t do anything but delegate, and as I reiterated once already in this meeting, I don’t micromanage and give out a lot of orders. This council is perfectly capable of running things for one month a year without me sitting in this seat, and of course in the case of war I’d be called back.”

  I shrugged, “Not Nadia and I in the first month, because we’ve only been on the council for just over three months. Our vacations can wait for the rest of you to get back, who have been here over twenty years without a break. I don’t think it’d be a good idea for all of us to vacation at the same time, no matter how trustworthy and sharp your deputies are, they won’t be you.”

  Natasha smiled, “That makes sense, and I don’t know why I didn’t think of it a long time ago. I guess because council only happens maybe once a week or less, so it didn’t feel like a full-time job. But being able to let go of those pressures, expectations, and annoyances for a month would be renewing. Trusting our deputies to deal with it all, will also help us truly let go of it for that time, and not just brood.”

  It was a psychologically sound approach, and I was fairly sure it would let Natasha help Gary stabilize over the next month and regain control of himself. Hell, I’d be surprised if she didn’t have a stand in deputy by the end of the day. The… hopeful look in her eyes told me she was about to take him in hand and nurse him back to mental health, whether he liked it or not.

  I also wasn’t naïve or stupid, it wouldn’t work for those that had ambition that would corrupt them over time anyway, like Nadia.

  But for those like Gary and Natasha, who were just tired of the toxic council games and grabs for power, who never wanted to rule in the first place, it should work. Well, it would bring them back to their principles and refresh them, so they could face down the bullshit without overreacting or making false assumptions at shadows when they came back.

  As for me, well ambition wasn’t a worry. I was already on the top, had a successful business, and a growing family. My only ambition was to keep all of that safe. I truly didn’t believe I’d grow corrupt, not from ambition anyway. I could see myself losing it at the constant plotting and backstabbing though, which a vacation would help me stabilize from. It was what it was.

  I suppose my point was I hoped it would solve the problem for most of us, but the next Steven, Bruce, and Nadia would no doubt continue being a pain in my backside. Time would tell. It was vacation after all, not magic.

  “If there are no more questions about this new policy, or another subject to be discussed, I think we’re done?”

  No one had anything, so we all got up and left one at a time.

  All in all, it was a fantastic meeting. Thanks to Sara I’d not only dodged the bullet of revealing my power, she’d also managed to inspire me, if with teasingly little information, on how to fix the root of the issue. It was all my idea though, just Amelia being present and a little thinking had made it crystalize, like I said, from various thoughts and worries I’d already been thinking about a lot in the past.

  As usual, the fates pushed things as lightly as possible, to get the outcome they wanted.

  Except, Nadia stayed behind.

  “Nadia, can I do something for you?”

  She wasn’t plotting anything, or planning to stick a dagger in my back, so I figured I could wait to hear it from her own lips.

  “You seem content to rule through us, how are you managing that? I mean, you’re not faking it, you’re truly confident and relaxed, calm, where Nate was… not. I know my ruling mantel is telling me to grab on and control everything, so how are you dealing with that?”

  I nodded slowly, “By doing what Nate and Zeus never did. You’ve heard the term ambition tempered by empathy?”

  She frowned, “Yes, for people too weak to do what’s necessary.”

  I chuckled, “Yes, so I expect you’ll find my advice naïve. My mantels, two of them anyway, are ruling and justice, and I am the king of the gods. If I just focused on my ruling mantle, I’d want to grab it all and be a dictator, but running things through both my mantels tempers it. Leads me to rule justly. Call it ambition tempered by justice, if you’d like.

  “It not only makes me okay with mostly ruling through delegation, since I’m still in charge, it also allowed me to pursue a life balance that my predecessors never had. Family, business, rule, and a lot of my contentedness in this comes from those two former things and a much richer life. I don’t think I’d be as sanguine if I had a lot of time on my hands twiddling my thumbs.

  “By extension, if you wish to feel the same peaceful heart, you must temper your ambition with family.”

  She scowled, “What exactly, do you mean by that?”

  I said, “You were never meant to rule with an iron fist and control. Your ruling mantle should be tempered by your family mantel, because you are a queen. Think of it like the first lady of the United States, you have authority over our people, not to rule them with an iron fist, but to succor and guide them. I truly believe if you embraced both your mantels in all things, that you would find both true joy and the challenges you seek in this life that will energize you.

  “You weren’t meant to sit at the top of the pantheon, and that was what embittered both Hera and Tatiana. Who made the same mistake as Zeus and Nate. We at the top have a wide variety of mantes for a reason, and to find our true purpose, the purpose that will give us surety and joy in our life, requires embracing them all.

  “The pantheon is that family, I wasn’t saying you needed a husband and children, that’s personal and all about you as a woman, not a goddess. Where you take it, I have no idea, and I won’t hazard to guess, but I believe if you embrace both in everything, then the position of ultimate authority will no longer call to you. Your ruling mantel was meant for something else, and that’s for you to discover and claim for your own.”

  She sighed, “That does sound naïve, but it doesn’t make sense how it’s working now. The idea that someone or something worked dysfunction into our creation, just doesn’t make sense to me. I’ll consider it.”

  I nodded, “I believe our mantels were meant to complement each other, not compete in dysfunctional ways as you just implied, I agree. It’s the human sides of us that make things… messy. Which is life,” I shrugged.

  I wasn’t holding my breath, but then I was a little shocked we were even having the conversation. I wouldn’t underestimate her or pigeonhole her, especially since my council had been doing that to me all along, thinking that underneath it all I had to be just like Nate.