Chapter 219: Lessons in Humility

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The scent of freshly poured nectar drifted through the private dining room as Grayfia pushed open the door, balancing a tray in one hand.

Damon was already seated at the table, his red hair loose over his shoulders and a light robe covering his body as he looked over a report in front of him. The silver-haired woman approached the table, her pleated skirt swaying at its usual precise height. No one watching her walk would have guessed that she had been screaming herself hoarse only a few hours earlier.

"Good afternoon, Lord Damon. Would you care for some nectar?" She placed the tray on the table, revealing a goblet filled halfway with the golden liquid, exactly to the level the silver-haired woman considered appropriate. "You have a meeting with Lady Athena today, so I recommend that you don't delay too long."

"Hmmm..." Damon murmured as he picked up the goblet. "Let's see what she has to say." His attention remained focused on the document in his hands.

Grayfia glanced at the report and offered her opinion with the same diligence as always. "According to the document, it appears the Egyptians want to expand the trade agreement concerning the Mediterranean routes with Greece." The silver-haired woman moved to one side of the table, clasping her hands behind her back.

"As long as it's only trade, I don't have a problem with it," Damon replied before setting the paper down. It wasn't a particularly important matter.

The redhead looked toward Grayfia over the rim of his goblet as he took a sip of nectar. He noticed the way she shifted her weight between both legs whenever she stood still and the barely noticeable brush of her thighs against each other when she moved, practically the only thing betraying just how much fun they had enjoyed a few hours earlier.

"Any problems this morning, Grayfia?" Damon asked with a playful smile.

"None, Lord Damon," the silver-haired woman replied with complete seriousness, keeping her gaze fixed just over Damon's shoulder and maintaining her professionalism down to the smallest detail. "Would you like anything else to eat?"

"This is fine. I don't feel like eating anything." Damon returned to the report and Grayfia nodded.

Off to one side of the dining room was Orion. Every now and then, the wolf came to visit Damon and, at the moment, he was thoroughly occupied with an enormous piece of meat.

"How's the pack, Orion?"

The wolf seemed to snap out of the trance brought on by his food and raised his sharp green eyes toward Damon. "What else can I tell you? Within our territory, everything's fine. You should come visit sometime. It's been a while since you spent any real time with us, and some training with Sage Energy and runes wouldn't hurt you either."

Damon took a drink from his goblet as he considered his words. "You're certainly right. I've neglected you all a little."

Orion let out a low laugh, his deep voice resonating throughout the dining room. "The pack understands the Alpha's new responsibilities. You don't have to feel bad about it. We understand you're no longer in the days when you could wander around trying to find peace or whatever it was you were doing. Now you have real responsibilities to take care of as King of Olympus."

The wolf lowered his head slightly toward his food before continuing. "Besides, the demigods are good entertainment. We don't even have to travel as far as we used to or stay in constant motion anymore. Even my presence is needed less these days as long as the pack remains safe around Camp Half-Blood."

Damon said nothing, although internally he greatly appreciated the Norse wolf's honesty. Orion, noticing his companion's silence, continued.

"That said, as beings connected to nature, we can feel bad times approaching. Every day, the Earth smells more rotten, and I know very well where that smell comes from. In fact..."

Orion didn't even need to say the name. Damon understood perfectly well what he meant.

The redhead let out a sigh. "I'll see what I can do," he murmured, although his voice carried perfectly through the nearly empty dining room.

Orion's ears twitched instinctively. "I doubt there's much you can do, even with Sage Energy and your blessing. We've already tried ourselves, but the same smell always comes back a few days later."

"I suppose things are worse than they look. How annoying." Damon frowned slightly.

"Hahaha. I'm surprised Lady Gaia hasn't gotten ahead of you and told you anything. You tend to be her favorite person when it comes to dealing with these kinds of problems..." Orion tilted his head slightly. "Although, considering what the problem is, I can't say I'm surprised either."

From his tone, it was obvious the wolf knew far more than he was saying.

"I'm sure she has her reasons, but honestly, it doesn't bother me." Damon took another sip from his goblet. "Gaia has always been like that."

Orion nodded his massive head. "I'm glad you see it that way. Lady Gaia's history is long and dark. She probably isn't proud of everything she's done either. If she weren't Mother Nature herself, believe me, long before you were even born there would already have been plenty of people calling her an evil deity."

The wolf closed his eyes as he carefully considered his next words. "But that isn't something we need to worry about. What matters is that she has been good to you, and she has been good to us as well. Because of that, I would rather never betray her trust."

Damon immediately understood Orion's concern. "Ohhh, definitely. You don't have to worry about that," the redhead replied, giving his friend a warm smile.

Orion gave a low grunt. "I'm just saying... I come from a pantheon where gods and beings on the level of Primordials have nearly torn each other apart before. If you don't handle this situation properly, you might as well start saying goodbye to the entire North American continent."

That was why Damon appreciated Orion so much. The wolf knew more about him than most people did and was also genuinely honest with him in a way only Hestia and Hades could really match. Even then, neither of those two knew nearly as much about the redhead's life as Orion did.

Meanwhile, Grayfia had remained off to the side in complete silence, almost like a statue, mentally storing away one detail or another about her master whenever something caught her interest. Not because she intended to use any of it against him. She simply wanted to know a little more about her lover. That wasn't asking for much, was it?

Just then, the doors to the dining room opened, revealing Athena in all her glory as Medusa guided her inside. "By the way, I finished the book you lent me," Medusa commented as she walked beside her, causing Athena to shift some of her attention toward her.

"And did you like it?" asked the Goddess of Wisdom.

"I don't know. The killer was pretty obvious, but I definitely think it was interesting, at least for the first two chapters," Medusa replied as she covered her mouth with one hand and let out a few quiet giggles.

Athena raised an eyebrow. "Well. I didn't expect you to figure it out that quickly."

Medusa shook her head from side to side, making her purple hair sway softly. "What can I say? I'm amazing, Lady Athena."

Athena let out a small scoff. "Show-off."

The response brought a faint smile to Medusa's face. "I learned from the best."

Athena shook her head, but the slight curve of her lips made it perfectly clear that the comment hadn't bothered her in the slightest. Medusa finished guiding her to the table before inclining her head slightly toward both gods and preparing to leave. Grayfia did the same shortly afterward, picking up the empty tray before walking toward the exit beside her.

That was when Medusa noticed something strange about the way the silver-haired woman was moving; she still walked with the same elegance and composure as always, but there was a slight stiffness in her steps and, every so often, an almost imperceptible limp appeared whenever she put weight on one leg. Medusa lowered her gaze for only a moment before looking back toward Grayfia. It didn't take her long to reach a conclusion.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, something Grayfia seemed to notice almost at once. She turned her head just enough to look toward Medusa and, without saying a single word, gave her a small smile filled with a sense of superiority that needed no explanation before continuing calmly down the hallway.

Medusa stared at her for another couple of steps, feeling a small pang of jealousy begin to grow. Then she quickened her pace to follow her; she definitely had questions.

Inside the dining room, Damon waited until both women disappeared behind the doors before turning his attention back toward Athena. "It looks like you and Medusa are getting along pretty well. I'm glad, honestly."

Athena's expression softened slightly. "Yes... I've ended up talking about a lot of things with her. Artemis being away made it pretty easy for us to start spending more time together and, somehow, we ended up becoming friends." The Goddess of Wisdom fell silent for a moment before lowering her gaze slightly toward the table. "But it's also made me think about a lot of things."

Damon raised an eyebrow.

"You know... Medusa isn't the only person I've punished that way." Athena began rubbing her fingers together beneath the table, a nervous gesture that was rather unusual for her. "Lately, Arachne has been on my mind quite a lot. What I did to her..." She paused briefly. "I truly regret it."

The dining room fell silent.

Athena kept her gaze lowered as shame began tightening around her chest. Her cheeks took on a faint reddish hue and her eyes began to grow moist, something that only made her feel even more uncomfortable. She wasn't accustomed to speaking this way in front of Damon, much less openly admitting that she had been wrong.

Damon watched her for a moment before smiling.

"I'm glad you've reached that point," he replied calmly. "It shows me that you've genuinely changed and that you're capable of looking at your past actions for what they were, not just because I ordered you to or because I'm constantly watching over you to make sure you do the right thing."

Athena slowly raised her gaze toward him.

"That means more than you realize," Damon added.

The Goddess of Wisdom released the breath she had been holding for some time, feeling some of the tension leave her shoulders.

Damon rose from his seat and approached her. Athena went completely still when the redhead brought a hand to her hair and began gently stroking it. A deep blush spread across her cheeks when Damon lightly lifted her face by the chin, bringing her gray eyes directly into contact with his.

"I'm truly glad to see you growing. Being proud and stubborn isn't entirely a bad thing, but I can assure you that a little empathy every now and then wouldn't hurt."

Athena had no idea what to say. She was so embarrassed by the way Damon was treating her that she didn't even know what to do with her hands. She had never been in a position like this before and, if they hadn't been practically alone aside from Orion, who didn't even seem to be paying attention, she probably would have wished for the ground to swallow her whole.

"T-thank you, Lord Damon."

Damon gave her a gentle smile before brushing his thumb across her cheek. Athena surprised herself by realizing just how much she enjoyed the touch, only to feel a small amount of frustration when it disappeared almost as quickly as it had begun. Damon withdrew his hand and calmly returned to his seat under the Goddess of Wisdom's gaze.

"Although what you do from here is up to you," Damon continued as he picked up his goblet again. "I already helped you with Medusa. If you want to correct other things you did in the past, you'll have to start taking those steps on your own."

Athena slowly nodded, trying to regain some of her composure. "I'll keep that in mind, Lord Damon."

Damon studied her for a moment before letting out a small laugh when he noticed that the Goddess still seemed unable to fully relax. "You don't have to be so nervous, Athena. It's just us here."

"I'm sorry..." Athena let out a slightly nervous laugh as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Sometimes I can't help it."

"It's fine." Damon drummed his fingers against the table. "In fact, if you keep doing a good job as my Hand and manage to impress me enough, maybe I'll end up giving you a little reward."

Athena blinked. "A reward?"

Her imagination betrayed her almost immediately. For a fraction of a second, she found herself remembering Damon's hand against her cheek and wondering exactly what kind of reward he had in mind. Her thoughts began wandering toward places that definitely had nothing to do with her responsibilities as the King's Hand.

Athena quickly shook her head and cleared her throat, forcing herself to regain her focus. "What kind of reward?"

Damon had to suppress a smile before extending one hand with his palm facing upward. "Well... now I have this."

A small concentration of energy began gathering over his palm. It wasn't particularly violent or heavy, but Athena immediately recognized the nature of the power she was sensing.

"Atlas's Astronomy Domain," Damon explained. "It wasn't something he used very often, and not many people even knew he possessed it; I figured you'd be interested, considering how much you like reading about that sort of thing..."

Athena's gray eyes lit up almost instantly. Damon didn't need to say anything else. For the Goddess of Wisdom, that was a reward truly worthy of her attention.

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