Chapter 2

The quench tank

A trough of liquid used to harden steel, as

long as the staff in his hands, the quench tank sits low on the

floor behind him, a few steps from the anvil for easy access.

Hephaestus doesn’t remember nudging it—nothing less than a volcanic

eruption could have jostled the tank, and the mountain has been

silent of late. Then what…?

From the corner of his vision Hephaestus sees

something move near the tank. He turns in time to catch the tip of

an eel-like tail slipping beneath the water’s surface. As it

disappears, it makes a faint gurgle. “Aean?” he calls.

He’s imagining things, he must be. His lover

rarely enters his chambers beneath the mountain, preferring to stay

near the pond. Though Hephaestus can call Aean to him—he fashioned

a cock ring of unbreakable metal that bonds the two gods together;

whenever he wants his lover at his side, he just has to draw the

metal to him and Aean appears at his side.

But he has little use for the ring while