Chapter 19The heat radiating from the cavern would have blackened and crisped mortal flesh. The glow of the forges cast shadows on the rocky walls. Hera materialised at the edge of Hephaestos’s underground workshop. She hid behind one of the great stalagmites that spiked from the floor. The god of the forge had long since pledged loyalty to Zeus and Aphrodite. His servants would not hesitate to attack her and she was in no mood to deal with them.
The hulking figures pumped the bellows, their naked skin glistening. Her lip twisted at the Cyclopes. The creatures’ stink mingled with the burning coals. Their great heads reared in the light of the furnace. The clamour of hammers upon anvils did little to drown out their grunting. None had turned its eye toward her and for that she was glad. A
