Special thanks to Dropout bear9 for the story fave and follow. This chapter is from Athena's POV

Zeus paced back and forth, his steps thundering in the empty throne room. When he saw me approach he turned sharply on his heel, scowling at me. I stared back, unfazed. Striding across the room, Zeus closed the distance in between us until our noses were inches apart. Lighting flashed in his eyes.

"I cannot believe you disobeyed me, Athena!" he bellowed. "I expected more from you. I expect this kind of behavior from Ares or Hera-but not from you."

I folded my arms, shifting my weight to my other leg. I gazed at him coolly. "It had to be done."

"You begged a mortal for help!" His booming voice made thunder sound like a whisper. I tried not to wince at the volume of his voice he usually only reserved for Hera-or Ares.

I straightened my spine indignantly, but I bit back my retort. "I didn't beg. I may have asked a mortal for help, but what other choice did you leave me? Not even you can subdue Cronus."

He sniffed. "I did it once," he replied haughtily.

"Not alone," I pointed out. "What makes you think you can do it by yourself, especially now that Cronus is getting stronger every second he spends in the Underworld? Be reasonable, Zeus. This is more important than your pride."

"You sound like Hera," he grumbled.

My lips curled into a smug smile, knowing that I had hit a nerve. "Cronus will have allies. Once he escapes, he will gain allies by promising to release other monsters from Tartarus. They hate you and so does Cronus-

"Thanks, Athena," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"They will stop at nothing to destroy you. That is why we must also have allies, even if they are mortals. I never thought I'd see the day when mortals and gods would fight side by side, but it's our only hope."

Desperate times call for desperate measures."

He stared at me stonily, unconvinced. "How do you plan on hosting a mortal's body? We can't even reveal our true form or they disintegrate like dust. They are weak, so why do you even bother?"

I huffed. My plan had flaws, like the one Zeus pointed out, and that was the biggest flaw. But I would figure out a way around it. The Greeks called me the goddess of war and wisdom for a reason.

"Do you have a better plan?" I snapped. "I'm working on it, but you have to trust me."

He sighed wearily. "I suppose it is the best plan, so far, anyway."

"Have I ever failed you, Father?"

"…No," he grudgingly admitted. I grinned.

"Well, I'm not about to start. Call the Olympians for a council meeting. They need to hear this."

He opened his mouth to protest and closed it. "Fine. Very well. Meet me here in an hour."

I smiled triumphantly. It wasn't too hard convincing Zeus when I was his favorite child. Giving him a curt nod, I exited. As I was leaving I could have sworn on the Styx River that I heard him say, "Women, if they only listened."

But I was thinking the same thing about men. If only they listened to us, then a lot more time and trouble would be saved. The reason I was so wise was because I knew to leave the work to the women. Men couldn't be trusted.