would mean now. ?If the Trojan War was so destructive with
only swords and arrows, what would happen if it was fought with
today?s weapons??
?Yeah. That crossed our minds,? Ariadne broke eye contact and
looked at her lap. ?That?s why my family?my father, uncle Castor,
and aunt Pandora?separated themselves from the rest of the
House of Thebes. Even if Tantalus is right, even if unification is the
key to immortality, we didn?t think it was worth the total destruction
of the earth.?
?That?s a lot to give up. I mean, it?s the right thing to do, obviously,
but immortality . . .? Helen shook her head at the thought.
?And Tantalus and the Hundred Cousins just let you go?? she
asked incredulously.
?What choice did they have? They can?t kill us because we?re all
family, but lately they were starting to threaten us, trying to bully
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us back to the fold, and some of us?okay, Hector?were starting to
fight back. He was looking for fights, taking the bait when they
called him a coward for not wanting to fight the gods. In our tradition,
to kill your own kin is the worst sin imaginable, and he came
so close, Helen. My family left Spain be
cause Hector got into a terrible
fight and nearly got killed, but worse, he nearly killed
someone of his own blood. There is no forgiveness for a kin-killer,?
Ariadne said in a hushed voice.
?But yours isn?t the last House. Mine is,? Helen said, the whole
truth beginning to dawn on her.
?No one knew about you. About two decades ago there was this
?Final Confrontation? between the Houses. All Four Houses attacked
one another, each of them trying to eliminate the others.