“So why didn’t one of the gods just pop down here and retrieve them?”

“Because Drakos cast a spell on them so that they are invisible. He thought in the absence of those objects, some of the dissenters he’d aligned with would be able to overthrow Zeus.”

“But that didn’t happen.”

“Not yet.”

“Well, if these magic things are invisible, then I don’t know how you think I can help. Seeing invisible objects isn’t my superpower.”

“You have a superpower?”

“Bad decision-making.”

Alexios frowned. “The objects are only invisible to gods. We believe humans can see them.”

“You believe…but you don’t know.”

“No, but Hephaestus put a spin on the objects of his own. He’d worked Aphrodite’s blood into the creation of the objects, creating a link between the objects and some who share Aphrodite’s bloodline. That’s where you come in.”

Marina blinked. “You’re saying I’m a descendent of Aphrodite?”

She let out a single laugh, then the longer she thought about it, the more ridiculous it sounded. So she laughed more and more until she was headfirst in her knees, practically sobbing. Alexios waited silently and clearly annoyed until she regained self-control. Finally, she sat back upright and wiped the tears from her face.

“And because Aphrodite was a great beauty and I have a chin hair, that’s why you were confused?” she asked, and started to laugh again. “I’m sorry. I’ll stop. But jeez, you have to see the hilarity in all of this, right?”

“I assure you this is very serious business. End-of-the-world serious. And yes, your appearance did give me pause. The others have been considered great beauties of their era and have derived power from their appearance alone.”

“Like who?”

“Cleopatra and Lady Godiva to name two. And in more recent times, Marilyn Monroe.”

“Cleopatra, Lady Godiva, Marilyn Monroe, and me? Did you ever watch Sesame Street? You remember that song ‘One of These Things Is Not Like the Others’?”

“Which is why I observed before approaching, so the recordkeepers had time to double-check everything. But all the signals are correct. You are the next chosen.”

“So you’re saying I’m related to those people—Cleopatra and company?”

“Yes, but perhaps hundreds or even thousands of times removed. Aphrodite had children with multiple partners and those children had affairs and children and so on. The recordkeepers finally came up with a potential explanation for the uh, variance, between you and those before you, which also explains why not every woman who shares Aphrodite’s DNA comes into power.”

“I can’t wait to hear it.”

“The beauty is part of the power that comes with the DNA, but in the case of the others, there was a childhood trauma that seemed to have triggered the gene. Apparently, you were bereft of this trauma, as were many before you who never came into power.”

She stared. “No childhood trauma? Have you met my mother?”

He wrinkled his nose. “Unfortunately, yes. Observing her was part of my investigation when it appeared as if we’d made a mistake. She’s a most disagreeable woman. And a visit with her did further confuse me, but we finally decided that you must have been stronger as a child than the others. So your power wasn’t triggered during your formative years, which is usually the case. For you, it appears that a lifetime accumulation of stress, culminating with finding your husband in bed with another woman, was the catalyst. It’s the first time anyone has come into power at this advanced age.”