The Struggle

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  “Oh, trust me. I know exactly where I’ve been and why I’ve been there. And I also know exactly the huge-ass fucking mistake I made when I left Josie. I did it because I thought she would be safer away from me. That’s no excuse. I’ll never regret anything more in my life. But you . . . How could you not know what was happening to her? How could you not feel it?”

  A muscle flexed along his jaw. “Nothing I say will change it, will it?”

  “Fuck no!” I shouted. Outside, thunder rattled the temple. My abilities might have been temporarily blocked in here, but a storm was coming outside. “We summoned you and you ignored our calls. Your daughter was missing and you had to know what that meant—who had her. And you ignored us—ignored her.”

  Apollo turned his head, looking away.

  There was so much more I could rage at him about. The fact that he’d lied about her mother. How he’d never treated Josie like a damn daughter whenever he was around her. How he’d unbound her powers without explaining what that entailed. I could keep going for a fucking eternity, but I had to focus. “Josie is not doing well.”

  His head sharply swung in my direction. Now I had his attention.

  “But you might even know that already. That wouldn’t surprise me.”

  “Proceed with caution,” he warned.

  I smirked. “Aw, thought we can’t hurt each other?”

  “Doesn’t mean we can’t try.”

  “Like to see you do it,” I replied coldly. “Because I’m learning that what I can throw down will make what you can do seem like a kid playing with a water gun.”

  Apollo’s nostrils flared. “What’s wrong with my daughter?”

  Hearing him say the word “daughter” had me seeing the world in amber. But pissing Apollo off and having him run away without getting what I needed wasn’t going to help Josie. So I really needed to slow my roll.

  I drew in a deep breath. “She isn’t recovering as quickly as she should. She’s been physically sick, and I can barely feel any aether in her.”

  Apollo glanced at the door and for a moment I thought he was going to leave the temple, but he briefly closed his eyes. When they reopened, there were irises—eyes as blue as the sea. They were identical to Josie’s with the exception of the pupils. His weren’t black. There were white, and that was some weird-looking shit right there.

  “When she was being held by the Titans, they placed these bands on her wrists to block her powers,” I explained.

  “Shit,” Apollo said.

  That didn’t sound good. “So you know of these bracelets?”

  He nodded curtly. “Those bracelets are fashioned in Tartarus to entomb the Titans. They mute the effects of aether. They may slow down healing if her injuries were . . . were significant enough.” He frowned slightly. “They shouldn’t make her sicker.”

  “Well, they are. We need to get them off of her now.”

  “Only Hades would have the ability to unlock them.”

  “Then can we get Hades’s ass up here and do it?”

  “None of the other gods will come near you or Josie. They will not risk it.”

  Anger hummed under my skin. Fucking cowards. “Bring him to this temple and I can bring Josie here.”

  “They will not risk it even inside this temple or any temple,” Apollo replied. “They do not trust you. They do not trust what you are and aren’t capable of.”

  “And you do?” I retorted.

  Apollo’s gaze leveled on me. “I simply know you’re capable of anything. I could take Josie to Hades—”

  My jaw locked down. “Not going to happen.”

  “You’d refuse aid for her?”

  “I will refuse the idea of her going anywhere with you by herself,” I shot back. “Do not think I’ve forgotten how Hades wanted to take out Alex.”

  “This has nothing to do with Alex.”

  “But it shows a long history of you guys making shit choices.” I unclenched my hands. “I will not leave Josie unprotected, even with you. Figure something else out. Those bands have to come off.”

  A strange look flickered over Apollo’s expression. It was strange because it almost looked like pride, but that made no sense. He was probably constipated. “I will go to Hades and see what can be done.”

  Disbelief thundered through me. “How could you be unaware of what has happened to her? What she’s going through? Or do you just not give a fuck?”

  “Do not question how I feel about my daughter or what I would do for her,” he cautioned, his voice eerily low and calm. “You do not understand. You couldn’t understand.”

  Yeah, that sounded like a whole load of bullshit. “At least I can admit that I made a mistake by leaving her. You can’t even acknowledge that you weren’t there for her.”

  Apollo closed his eyes and looked like he was counting under his breath. When they reopened, he still appeared to want to hit me. Too bad. “You made the right decision.”

  My brows flew up. “What?”

  Those creepy-ass eyes met mine. “Leaving her was the right choice at the time. You showed a level of . . . restraint I never believed you were capable of.”

  Was Apollo complimenting me?

  “You left to protect her. There is no fault in that.”

  I had no words.

  None.

  Apollo stepped back, his gaze traveling to the altar on the raised dais. “I will go to Hades. I will make sure he assists us one way or another.” His gaze settled on me again.

  If he was waiting for me to thank him, he was going to be waiting for an eternity to hear that. But there was something I wanted to ask him. “Did you know? Did you always know what I would become?”

  He sighed heavily. “I am the God of Prophecy.”

  “That’s not really an answer.”

  Apollo was quiet for a moment and then said, “A prophecy is never guaranteed to play out like it has been seen. Not every aspect of fate is written in stone. I had foreseen the rise of the Appointed One. I have foreseen what is to come, but it still can change.”

  “You know, a heads-up about this whole god thing would’ve been great.”

  He smirked. “What would it have changed?”

  “If I had known what I was to become and what I could control, I wouldn’t have left Josie.”

  “And do you plan to keep feeding off your priestesses without her knowing?” He volleyed back, proving that he’d been keeping an eye on this. “Or will you feed off her?”

  Fury punched me straight in the chest, and I stepped up to Apollo, going eye to eye. “Or maybe I will take up residence in Olympus and not have to worry about feeding. I’m thinking the place could use a little redecorating.”

  Apollo’s eyes flipped all white. “Is that a threat?”

  I smiled tightly. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out, won’t we?”

  His expression locked down, his features impassive as he started to fade out. “We just might.”

  ~

  Josie

  I was dreaming again.

  Part of me could recognize that—a very distant part of me knew that I wasn’t really standing at the University. I was at Seth’s home. I knew that, but I could feel the warm breeze on my arms and stirring my loose hair. I could see the tall, marble statues that lined the courtyard as the stranger with blond hair and bright blue eyes stepped forward, taking my hands in his.

  “Hi there,” he said.

  I could hear someone crying behind me as he turned my hands over so they were palms up. “It’s time, don’t you think?”

  “Time for what?” I asked, confused.

  The stranger smiled boyishly.

  Jolting awake, I sat straight up. The soft blanket slipped down and pooled at my waist as I glanced around the room. My head pounded like someone had taken up residence inside my skull and started banging on a set of drums.

  “Hey, you’re awake.”

  I jerked around, spying Alex at the entryway to the living room. She wa
s holding a mug in her hand. “Yeah, I . . . I am.”

  She came into the room, her long ponytail bouncing with each step. “How are you feeling?”

  “Okay.” Pushing the blanket aside, I dropped my bare feet to the floor. “Actually, I have one hell of a headache.”

  “Can I get you something for it, Kyría?” Basil announced without warning. He’d suddenly appeared in the doorway.

  My eyes widened, as did Alex’s. I hadn’t even heard him come into the room. “Um, thanks. That would be great.”

  Basil bowed and quickly disappeared. I looked at Alex. “Is he like a ninja ghost or something?”

  She giggled. “I think so.”

  “Where is everyone?”

  “Aiden is making a few phone calls.” She dropped into a nearby chair. “We might have a lead on where you were held.”

  “Really?”

  She nodded as she sipped what smelled like coffee. “There is a community of pures that have reported what seems like shade attacks. They’re outside Baton Rouge. Aiden will . . . he will be heading there tomorrow morning. Seth’s going to poof him there. He’ll try to catch one of them and get it to talk.”

  “He’s going by himself?”

  “Yep. I am not too happy about it.” Alex leaned to the side, placing the mug on the table beside her. “Not that I don’t think he can’t take care of himself, but it’s . . .”

  “I get it,” I told her. “It’s dangerous. Why aren’t you going with him?”

  She raised a brow. “For me to go, well, Seth would have to poof me there, too, and that would mean you’d be by yourself.”

  My brows lifted. “I can be by myself.”

  “I know, but—”

  “Seriously. Aiden shouldn’t be doing this by himself and leave you here to worry about him because I can’t be alone for two seconds.” Trying to assuage my headache, I rubbed at my temples. It really didn’t help. “Where is Seth?”

  Alex’s gaze flickered away as she shook her head. “I’m . . . not sure.”

  My eyes narrowed. “Why do I have a feeling you do know where he is?”

  Before she could answer, Basil returned. I dropped my hands when I saw that he held a jar of something that smelled minty. There was no aspirin. No water.

  Basil smiled down at me. “This is peppermint oil. When applied to the temples, it works to reduce the pain from headaches. You will find that it is far better than a chemical. May I?”

  “Okay,” I whispered, glancing at Alex. She’d picked up her mug and all I could see were her brows raised over the rim.

  Basil tapped some of the oil onto the tips of his fingers before gently rubbing them against my temples. The oil was cool but heated quickly. The brief massage did feel good. If it didn’t work, I’d at least smell good. Like Christmas. That’s what it reminded me of.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “Is there anything else you need, Kyría?”

  I shook my head, a little uncomfortable with the idea of someone just waiting to go do things for me. Actually, I was a lot uncomfortable with it. Basil bowed neatly and then left the room. I had a feeling he was lingering out in the hallway.

  “Back to Seth,” I said. “Where is he?”

  “I’m right here,” Seth answered.

  I jumped at the sound of his voice. He’d literally popped out of nowhere and was now standing in the center of the living room.

  “Holy daimon nuts!” Alex shrieked as coffee sloshed out of her cup and onto the front of her shirt. “Jesus. That was not necessary.”

  Seth’s grin grew to epic proportions.

  “It really wasn’t,” I told him, placing my hand over my thumping heart. “Just because you can poof in and out of rooms does not mean you should.”

  “But it’s so much fun.”

  Alex was patting at the front of her shirt. “Gods, you’re going to be just as bad as freaking Apollo.”

  “That’s actually kind of insulting.” Seth joined me on the couch. He tipped his head to the side. “Why do you smell like . . . Christmas?”

  My lips twitched. Sometimes it felt like Seth and I were playing in two very different ballparks. Other times it was like we shared the same mind. “I had a headache and Basil gave me some peppermint oil.”

  “I’m kind of surprised you know what Christmas smells like,” Alex muttered. She sighed as she looked down at herself. “I smell like a coffee shop now.”

  Seth touched my arm. It was a gentle brush of his fingers, but it sent a tight shiver dancing over my skin. “How are you feeling?”

  “Fine.” Since he’d almost given me a heart attack, I wasn’t really paying attention to my head any longer. “I’m glad you decided to pop yourself into the room. We need to talk.”

  Seth glanced at Alex. She smiled broadly back. His eyes narrowed.

  “You’re not letting Aiden go by himself to check out the shades,” I told him, and when he opened his mouth, I kept going. “It takes you how long to pop people back and forth? Seconds? I’ll be fine for a few seconds.” Even though I believed that, a icy trickle of fear climbed down my spine. I hated the feeling. “You’re going to take Alex.”

  He stared at me a moment and then looked over at Alex again. “Did you talk her into this?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Yes. Because she doesn’t have a mind of her own.”

  I glared at him. “It was my call. And it’s the right call.”

  Seth leaned back, popping a booted foot on the edge of the coffee table. “I’ll think about it, but I need to tell you—”

  “Don’t try to distract me.” I twisted toward him. “Alex needs—”

  “I just saw Apollo,” Seth cut in.

  “What?” He’d officially distracted me.

  Alex lurched forward in her chair. “Where?”

  Seth’s eyes roamed over my face and then met and held my gaze. “I summoned him in the temple. Apparently, if you shed your blood over flame, you can’t hurt another god in a temple. So he showed up this time.”

  I didn’t say anything, because I didn’t know what to say. My father had been here, on this island, and he hadn’t come to see me?

  “I asked him about those bands,” Seth said, reaching over and picking up my hand. “He said only Hades can remove them.”

  “That’s good news.” Alex clasped her knees. “We just need to get Hades here.”

  “He’s not going to come here, not even if the temple is safe. Obviously the Olympians are lacking in the courage department.”

  I was still snagged on the fact that my father had been here and I hadn’t seen him.

  “Because of you?” Alex asked.

  Seth didn’t even try to hide his little smirk. “Apollo is going down there to talk with Hades. He has to come through.”

  Alex said something, and I could feel myself nodding, but my entire being felt like it had been stung. All I could think was that he was here and—Wait. Maybe Seth hadn’t let him see me. “Did he . . . did he try to see me?”

  He didn’t immediately respond, and I knew the answer right then. I started to pull my hand away, but Seth’s grip tightened. He pulled me toward him, and I wanted to resist, but the moment his arm circled my waist, I gave in. I planted my cheek on Seth’s shoulder and squeezed my eyes shut against the stupid, pointless burn in them.

  Why was I surprised?