Goddess Trials

by A Lonergan

  “I guess I’ll never understand the heart then.” I laughed, hoping that he had and hadn’t caught on to what I had hinted at.

  “My father is very eager to see you.” He swept his arm forward, and a door appeared in front of me. When I walked through it, I was in an open field, with flowers all around me. The sun was shining, and there was a breeze in my hair.

  Zeus was reclining on a blanket and watching the clouds. “This is where I come for peace and quiet.”

  “It’s beautiful.” I stood awkwardly, not sure if I was ready to join him.

  “I need you to tell me the truth.” Zeus turned to look at me.

  “I’m not sure I know what you mean.” I brushed invisible lint from my dress.

  “Where is Crawley?” His voice boomed with authority.

  I couldn’t keep the tears back any longer. They spilled down my cheeks at a rapid rate. Apollo was going to die for this. It was all my fault. I swiped at my face hastily, hoping he hadn’t noticed. But no such luck, when I opened my eyes, he was standing in front of me.

  “He has him doesn’t he?” Zeus searched my eyes.

  I couldn’t say anything. I was bound by Crawley’s life. I couldn’t forfeit it. I shook my head, unsure of how I was to proceed. Zeus swept his arms in a broad arc, and I watched as a veil fell around us.

  “No one will be able to see in here or hear a word we say. When I lift the spell, we will have a plan just for Apollo, we will make it so he can hear it.” Zeus tilted my chin up with his finger. “Now tell me.”

  “Hecate is gone.” A sob tore from my throat. When would the death stop? When would I be free from the misery?

  “What do you mean she’s gone?” Zeus pushed away from me and began to pace. “That isn’t possible. She is one of the most powerful gods.”

  “He sliced off her head with an immortal blade…” My chest was tight with more emotions.

  “Made from Adamant?” Zeus raked his fingers through his hair. “This isn’t good. If she is dead then so are all of her spells. Thousands of years of protection and defenses, gone.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. I wasn’t sure how any of this worked. I wasn’t prepared for this fight. “What do we do?”

  “We are going to have to be very careful.” Zeus shook his head. “What is going on with Crawley?”

  I bit my lip to keep me from crying again. I had been so strong until all of this had happened again. I had held myself together until Apollo continued to take more from me. I should have known that it wasn’t over. That there was more blood to spill.

  “He’s torturing him with a whip that has adamant tips.” I squeezed my eyes closed. I had tried my hardest to be strong enough, to have enough courage to get through everything but I wasn’t sure there was anymore inside of me.

  “You’re going to have to marry him.” He said.

  I nodded my head, even though terror was coursing through my body. The only thing I couldn’t stop thinking about was the consumption part.

  Zeus must have read my mind because when he spoke, all my fears eased. “I won’t let him take you to bed. I just need enough time to find Hecate’s body and Crawley. That’s all I need to take care of him.”

  I nodded my head. “What’s the plan?”

  Zeus snapped his fingers and the veil around us fell. “I’m very honored to be officiating the ceremony. This is an honor.”

  “Thank you! I don’t know what I would do without you.” My words rang true. I was feeling ready to conquer anything now. Zeus had given me the boost I had needed to carry on.

  “Apollo has wanted this his entire life, to be happily married. I’m very thankful that it is you.” Zeus pulled me close and whispered in my ear. “Be brave, little one.” He touched the pendant around my neck and winked. I had almost forgotten the power that the necklace held. When he spoke again, it was loud enough for anyone to hear. “A royal wedding! A wedding for the gods! I’ll send a dressmaker to your room at once!”

  He put his hand on the small of my back and urged me forward. A door appeared out of nowhere, I fell through it and landed on my face in my bedroom. Apollo was nowhere to be seen. I breathed a sigh of relief and pushed my hair away from my face. I paced the floor before the door burst in and Artemis pulled me into her arms.

  “Thank Zeus! I’ve been worried sick. Where is Crawley?” She searched my body for any wounds, and when she only saw the chaffing on my wrists, she lifted an eyebrow. “What is all this about a wedding with my brother?”

  “He offered me a deal that I just couldn’t refuse. Crawley is… fine.” I couldn’t think of a good lie.

  Artemis’ face dropped. She knew something was off, but I couldn’t tell her anything. I couldn’t risk Crawley’s life. “That’s good, I have been worried since I came here this morning and you weren’t here. I couldn’t find you anywhere!”

  “Apollo swept me off of my feet last night when Crawley had to go home. There was an emergency with Shaskia.” I gave her a look to show her how dire it was. “I would love it if you could go see to them and bring her back for the ceremony. I know humans aren’t really allowed here, but I would love to know she’s safe.”

  Artemis’ eyes got big as my words started to sink in. I hoped that she was at least catching on to some of it. “Of course! She wouldn’t miss this for the world.” She hugged me tightly before she departed. I just needed them all safe.

  The dressmaker didn’t knock on the door, and I didn’t mind, as long as it wasn’t Apollo. She came with a dress in her hands already. The gold silk overflowing from her arms. On anything else, it would have been too much gold. But here? In Olympus? It fit right in. I stripped my clothes off and let her pull the material over my head.

  It almost fit like a glove. After a few pins and needles, it was snug against my skin. It was a mermaid style gown. The material that hit my knees and flared out was a soft white tulle with gold threaded into it. The bodice was a pale gold that shimmered when I moved. The entire back was missing and showed off my many scars. I didn’t mind them so much anymore, they were now apart of me. The neckline was high though and encircled my neck.

  “When is the big day?” The seamstress smiled at me in the mirror.

  “Whenever Zeus says it is,” I giggled, trying to keep up the charade. “Hopefully, the sooner, the better!”

  The seamstress smiled at me as she continued to work her magic on the gown. It was truly spectacular, and it made me sad. This was the wedding dress that I had dreamed of. That may be one day… Crawley would ask. I looked at my reflection in the mirror with shock. I wasn’t sure when I had come to the realization, but it had been there for a while.

  I wrinkled my brow. How was I sure that I loved him?

  The seamstress must have taken my frown the wrong way. She gave me a worried look. “Do you not like it?”

  “Oh no!” I shook my head at our reflections. “I’m just thinking, wondering really.”

  “Maybe, I can offer you some advice?” She continued to work on the back of the dress as she talked to me.

  What could go wrong? “How do you know you love someone?” I hadn’t had the best examples of love growing up. I was lost and confused. Wasn’t it supposed to be life-altering when you fell in love?

  She thought about it for a minute before she removed the pins from her mouth. “What an odd question for a bride to be.” She smirked at me before she continued. “You would die for that person. They make you better, they make you want to be better, but you also want the best for them. Love is very confusing, unfortunately.”

  I nodded my head, trying to check off things in my head for Crawley. He had been a constant since Keenan. He had shown me many emotions over the last few months but was love one of them? Were we there yet? With all this going on with Apollo, would we ever be there?

  Chapter 21

  Crawley

  I couldn’t breathe. The pain I was in was worse than anything else I had ever gone through, but all I could think about was Jes
sa. I hadn’t heard her voice in hours, and my thoughts were headed to a dark place. I couldn’t open my eyes, they were so swollen, but I could smell the Demi god beside me, possibly standing guard.

  I licked my dry, cracked lips, tasting nothing but blood. “Hey, please tell me that Jessa is all right.” The only response I got was a kick to the ribs. I heard something crack but didn’t give him the satisfaction of hearing me in pain. I grunted and settled in to being quiet. When I heard the door open, I perked up and was soon disappointed when I smelled Apollo. He was nervous and fidgety as he approached.

  “Any news on where she is?” one of the guards asked.

  “Yes, finally. She is with the dressmaker. We will have to keep our distance to make this look real. I will have you and Brace stand guard outside of her door. Just a little bit of security for my bride to be.” He laughed, and my stomach threatened to spill the little bit of contents in it.

  Then the other guard spoke up, I was guessing it was the one he called Brace, “What are we to do with him?” He nudged me with his foot.

  “Nothing yet, he needs to heal up. He has to make an appearance at the wedding, I have a feeling Artemis will be getting involved.” Apollo paced.

  I could have screamed, she didn’t need to be put in harms way too, but then again, Jessa needed all the help she could get. Hearing his plans for their wedding night made me bloodthirsty, and he knew it. He had laughed and joked about all the many things he was going to enjoy about her. My body shook with rage, but his magic was too strong. I had thought it had been Hecate's magic but her death would have released it.

  “Bring her in,” Apollo commanded from across the room. His voice was getting harder and harder to hear.

  I heard a squeal as something hit the floor in front of me. A feminine scent washed over me, but I didn’t recognize it.

  “Make the wards stronger, I don’t have countless men to do my bidding.” Apollo snapped.

  “I can’t make them stronger, maybe if you hadn’t killed my mother, we would have been able to have done it together. You threw that away when her head rolled across this floor,” the woman yelled.

  “Now, now, Hestia, your mother had to die. Certain spells needed to be broken. Unfortunately, some of her spells were stronger than others. But that is just a mere hiccup in the plans to come.” Apollo then left the room slamming the door in the process.

  “We are alone, are you still alive?” I felt the woman’s hands flutter over my body, carefully.

  “I’m alive, but just barely.” I croaked out.

  “We don’t have much time. We have to prolong their engagement for as long as possible.” I felt her fingers on my face.

  “How are we going to do that?” I didn’t know how much longer I was going to be able to keep up a conversation. It hurt too badly.

  “You’re not going to like this,” Hestia said.

  “Whatever it takes for her. I’ll do anything.” I took a deep breath.

  “You must really love her…” Sadness coated the air and was making it harder for me to breathe. “We are going to have to keep the bruising up. When he comes back, he is going to have a healer, I'm going to have to inflict pain on you when he leaves… every time.”

  “So be it. I’m a big part of the plan, I guess.” I licked my lips. “Go slow though, he will kill you if he knows.”

  “He wouldn’t dare kill me. Hecate only had two daughters, me and Chloe. If he kills me, he loses Hecate’s power.” Hestia moved away from me.

  “What do you mean Hecate’s power?” I asked.

  “I’m guessing my mother gave me all her power before she was killed. I’m stronger, and that's why many of her spells are still in place. Unfortunately with that, if I die, I don’t have an heir for my power.” I heard the springs squeak as she sat on the bed.

  It all made sense. Chloe had probably given my brother her magic when she had been killed or before. It fit together and answered many questions.

  “Now we just have to wait,” Hestia said.

  Chapter 22

  Jessa

  Restless was an understatement. It had been days without any news. Zeus kept his distance but winked a lot and Apollo made an appearance a few times to make sure I was still in Olympus. His two goons had started to follow me around too. They didn’t bother me much and gave me privacy. The most annoying part was that they didn’t talk.

  I mostly did everything alone. Most of the gods and their consorts had left, seeing as the wedding had been pushed back and kept being pushed back.

  Artemis hadn’t returned, and I was growing worried with every passing hour. Tweedle dumb sat beside me and gulped his breakfast. It was disgusting to watch, but I couldn’t look away. He lifted his eyes to watch me as I watched him and even though it was really awkward, I couldn’t look elsewhere.

  “What do you want?” He grumbled.

  “He can speak!” I covered my heart in mock shock.

  He rolled his eyes. “What’s it to ya?”

  “Maybe I would like to get to know the men I spend so much time with!” I tried to be cheerful, but I really didn’t want to get to know them. I just needed to pass the time and fill the silence.

  “I’m Brace, I’m one of Apollo’s sons.” With his words, I noticed the similarities between them. They both had the same blonde hair and light, crystal blue eyes. His skin was a lot darker than Apollo’s but just as beautiful.

  I looked to the other bodyguard and noticed the same features, but he was much lighter than Brace and Apollo. “How many of you are there?”

  Brace shrugged, and when I looked to the other man, he didn’t look up. He didn’t acknowledge the question or even me.

  “Is it weird that I’m going to be your stepmom?” I giggled, nervously.

  Brace frowned. “You’re nothing to us. The only reason we watch over you is that Apollo will kill us if we don’t. In fact, I don’t want to be here at all. I don’t want anything to do with Apollo or his crazed acts.”

  I nodded my head, slowly. “What if I could get you out of here? What if I could protect you?”

  Brace laughed, and the other man looked up slowly, interest sparking in his dull blue eyes. “What would we have to do for you?”

  I shook my head, my hair swishing around my shoulders. “Nothing. Just promise that you’ll be good to the people that you will be joining. My grandmother won’t be merciful if you go there with ill intentions.”

  “We will be able to start over?” The second man sounded hopeful.

  “Yes,” I nodded my head and finished off the bacon on my plate.

  “What can we do for you?” Brace asked, gently.

  “I need to know where the immortal blade is.” Both men nodded their heads enthusiastically.

  Chapter 23

  Crawley

  Food was scarce. Water was scarce. We were under heavy protection, and something was going on in the inside workings of Apollo’s henchmen. They were acting better than usual, and even Hestia had taken notice of it.

  “Don’t trust them,” Hestia banged her head against the wall, slowly. We were going stir crazy. They had eventually let me down from the chains, but Apollo made sure that the collar on me was drawn tight. I could feel the tips of the needles just barely at my skin.

  “I don’t plan on it.” I sat up straight, too afraid of being relaxed.

  My stomach grumbled, and I tried to calm myself. My beast was going to get restless if he didn’t get some type of real food soon.

  The door opened, and I didn’t pay it any attention until I smelled the difference in power. When I looked up, I thought I was delusional. Shaskia stood in the doorway with a nervous Artemis on her heels.

  “It’s time to go, no need to explain. We need to get that thing off of you, and it’s not going to happen here.” Shaskia sliced her palm open and splattered her blood across the wall. A portal opened up, and she shoved Hestia through first then me before they followed us through.

  By the time my h
ead stopped spinning, I had realized that we were in the Valley and my mother was running toward me. When she got close, she cried out at the collar around my neck. I didn’t blame her fear, it was a terrifying contraption. I couldn’t hear anything that my mother was saying as Shaskia held her hands above my neck. She closed her eyes as she concentrated on me. Hestia looked nervous as she backed up and stood beside Artemis.

  Artemis closed her eyes and turned away. I understood why all it took was one wrong thing and my head would slice off very quickly. No one needed or wanted to see that.

  Hestia finally came back after what seemed like an hour and sliced her palm over the device. The needles retracted, and the collar fell from my neck.

  Shaskia whipped around angrier than I had ever seen her. It made sense, the new girl had just stolen her fire with only a little blood. “Who are you?”

  Hestia took a step back and held her hands up in surrender. “I’m the daughter of Hecate. Her magic was coating the collar.”

  “And?” Shaskia made a face and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Shouldn't you be thanking me?” Hestia replied.

  “Why would I do such a thing? I have been pouring my energy into this thing for hours and one thing, you do one thing, and the collar comes free.” Shaskia shook her head. “I don’t trust you, and I want you out of the valley.”

  It was my turn to stand up. I tossed the collar to the grass and Hestia waved her fingers over it, and it burst into flames. I watched as the soft metal sunk into the grass then out of sight.

  “Have you even thought to ask her why she waited so long, instead of getting angry?” I put my hand on Shaskia’s shoulder.

  She turned back to Hestia and raised her eyebrows waiting for an explanation.