“Then there will be no deal!” Hades yelled behind me. He rushed to the throne. “Brother, she doesn’t want to give up Medusa’s soul, which means we do not have to go along with whatever she wants. Put an end to this now.”

“Wait!” I held my hand up. “I’m not finished. Please, hear me out.” Again, I waited for Zeus, ignoring Hades completely.

“Go on,” Zeus said, dismissing Hades with a wave.

“Hades has trouble ruling the underworld alone. That’s why he took Persephone. Only, she doesn’t stay here all year long.” I hoped reminding Zeus that Hades had kidnapped his daughter would work in my favor. “What I’m proposing is that Medusa’s soul will fill the gap Persephone creates when she leaves. She’ll help Hades rule—not as his wife, though, but as his partner. Who better to help souls move on than Medusa?”

Zeus wrinkled his forehead, thinking about my offer. Hades turned and glared at me.

Jodi, may I?

Go right ahead.

“Hades,” Medusa said, her voice coming from my lips once again. “You’ve seen what Jodi and I are capable of together. You don’t want an enemy, and neither do we. Jodi’s powers are now under control. As long as you promise not to interfere with the Ophi, and allow her to teach them the right way to be necromancers in their own world, then I will assist you for all eternity in Persephone’s absence. I will be nothing but helpful to you. Not as a servant, but as a partner.”

“I wouldn’t get your powers,” Hades said. “How does this benefit me?”

“You would not need my powers. I’d use them myself to help you rule here.”

Hades could pretend he wasn’t happy with the deal, but he knew as well as I did that having Medusa’s help was definitely going to benefit him.

Zeus nodded. “The deal sounds more than reasonable to me.”

“Hang on!” I said, regaining control of my voice again. “There’s one more thing. No, two more things. First, Medusa shouldn’t have to be locked inside some statue at the school when she’s on the mortal plane. Can you return her body to her? And second, if Hades should break his end of the deal, I want you to promise you’ll stop him.”

Zeus drummed his fingers on his knee. “As for Medusa’s body, I cannot produce it. As you know, she was beheaded. Her head was a prize of sorts, and I will not take that away from its victor. However, she can exist as a soul, much like she’d look here, fully in form.”

“Without the snakes?” I asked. “She was beautiful before Athena cursed her. Will you allow her to take that form again?”

“You’re asking me to go against my daughter now? Isn’t it enough that I am making my brother adhere to a deal with you?”

“Honestly…no. Hades brought this on himself. He came after me and tried to make me break our deal. If he hadn’t done that, I would’ve upheld my end of it.”

Zeus glared at Hades. “By your lack of comment, I’ll assume that’s true. However, Medusa betrayed Athena, and I cannot deny my daughter the curse she placed on Medusa as a result. She will remain as she is.”

I felt a tugging sensation. Medusa, what’s happening?

Zeus is trying to take me out of your body. It would be wise to assist him.

Even though I wasn’t happy with Zeus’ decision, I mixed my blood and released Medusa’s soul from my body. She appeared next to me, beautiful—except for her snakes—and wearing her locket, which once again contained her blood.

“How?” I looked at Zeus, who shook his head at me like I was an ignorant mortal. He was king of the gods. Restoring the locket and returning it to Medusa was nothing compared to what he was capable of.

Medusa removed her locket and held it out to me. “This is yours now. Lead them well.”

I took it, surprised that it was exactly as it had been the first time I’d seen it. Alex helped me put it on. My fingers rose to touch the precious bloodstone. I was never taking it off again.

I faced Zeus. “Thank you.”

He nodded. “Now, as for your second condition. If either you or Hades breaks your end of this deal, I will intervene. As I said earlier, I won’t have this sort of thing happen again. Balance will be restored, and it will remain. You know the rules, Jodi Marshall. And, Hades, you know them as well. Consider yourselves warned.”

I smiled, happy to agree. Hades, on the other hand, scowled. His hands had been tied.

“Now,” Zeus said, “seeing as Persephone is with Demeter, I believe this throne belongs to you, Medusa.”

She gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “I couldn’t be more proud of you, Jodi.”

My eyes teared as she let go of me and took her place on the throne.

“Hades, are we in agreement?” Zeus stood and moved away, motioning for Hades to take his place.

“What can I say? You’ve won, brother.” Scowling, he stepped up to the throne and sat next to Medusa. They were the strangest pair, but I knew they’d work together. Zeus would make sure of it.

“There’s only one thing left before I go,” Zeus said.

“Wait!” This wasn’t over yet. “Zeus, Hades took a friend of mine. Two, actually. Melodie is human. He killed her to hurt me. I’d like her back.”

Zeus nodded. “I have already returned her to her mortal life. She will have no memory of being here.” Maybe I hadn’t given Zeus enough credit. He was a decent god after all.

“And Jared. Hades killed him.”

“Jared was an Ophi casualty. I cannot reverse that.” He said it matter-of-factly and with no feeling whatsoever. That brought him down a notch in my book.

McKenzie sniffled behind me. We’d be having another memorial when we got back to the school.

“Jared will be with Matt and Amber in the afterlife,” Zeus said. “But Amber is in Tartarus and Matt’s—”

“They’ve been moved to the Elysian Fields. I have restored all the souls to the places the judges have deemed suitable.” Zeus smirked at Hades, exerting his power over him and the underworld. I could’ve hugged him if he didn’t scare the living dead out of me.

At least Matt would be happy now, and he wouldn’t be alone. I’d rest easier knowing that. But I’d still lost my dad. I knew better than to ask for him back. Zeus would never allow it. But maybe there was something I could still do for him. “Zeus.”

He cocked his head. “You are about to ask me for yet another favor?” His tone implied he thought that would be unwise but, well, I didn’t give a damn what was wise. I wanted to do what was right.

“My father, Derek Colgan. I can’t believe he was meant to be in Tartarus.”

“He was not,” the middle judge said. “We reviewed his life and determined he should be placed in the Fields of Asphodel.”

The Fields were better than Tartarus, but my dad would lose all sense of himself there. “Then I want to appeal to you all. My father was manipulated by Victoria and Troy. He wasn’t a bad person. He left my mother and me to keep us safe.”

Zeus raised his hand. “I can tell that you will not allow your father’s soul to remain in the underworld. You’ll raise him every chance you get.”

I started to lower my head but stopped myself. “He’s my father, Zeus. Wouldn’t you want Persephone to do the same for you if she were in my position?”

Zeus sighed. “Your father will serve my brother here in the underworld during the time that Medusa is at the school with you.” He turned to Hades. “Serve, not be tortured in Tartarus.” I was about to thank Zeus when he added, “And when Medusa is here, your father’s soul will return to the school to help you train the others. I suspect he’ll be a willing soul to work with.”

Tears streamed down my cheeks. I knew that was the best offer I could’ve hoped for. And while I also knew Zeus was only doing this to ensure Hades and the Ophi didn’t go to war again, I was more than grateful. “I can’t thank you enough.”

“You will thank me by ensuring this never happens again.” His eyes bored into mine so intensely that I knew pissing him off would be ten times worse than feuding with Hades. “Now, I need to get going, but first, Hades, you need to return them to the mortal plane.”