“It’s starting. Shit. The first wave of the battle is here. FUCK!” He growled and started to pace with his hands in his hair. I looked down at my belly just in time to see it squeeze from another contraction. This was happening. The babies were going to come, and there was probably an army at our door. As much as I needed Tristan by my side to hold my hand, he needed to protect us, and make sure we all survived.
“Go! Get our army, and fight those bastards. I will make sure the babies get here safely.” I told him, very much feeling the warrior spirit that coursed through my veins. We had to fight. I was needed here; he was needed on the battle field. And he knew it, too.
“Bring our babies to this world safe,” He murmured, crawling on the bed and cupping my face with both hands before crushing his lips against mine. There was so much said in that one kiss. We were both going to be fighting for our future. We would not fail.
“I love you,” I said as I pulled away from his mouth.
“And I love you. Forever.” He sat back, looking me over one last time before disappearing to mobilize our forces. Lacey came running in a few moments later.
“It’s all really happening right now?” She was panicking, and it made me laugh.
“Yeah, babe.” I breathed through a contraction. They were starting to get worse. I prayed to all gods who could hear me that my babies would be delivered safely, and that this war would finally end.
Chapter Twenty
Tristan
I sent a call to all the demigods that offered to come to war with us. They were needed. Outside my home were around a hundred men, plus demigods, waiting to overtake the house and steal my life from me. The babies were in the beginning stages of birth, and it was my job to make sure they were coming into a safe home. I transformed myself into my god-like form, and grabbed my sword. Leander and Orion came out, dressed for war, as Lacey raced to our room to support Thalia.
“I’ve called our allies. They will meet us outside. I set up a barrier about fifty yards away from the palace. We will fight them outside, keeping them as far away from Thalia as possible.” They nodded and began mentally preparing themselves for war. I could feel when our people starting showing up outside, looking for me to order the chaos.
“Let’s go.”
There were perhaps a hundred skilled demigods waiting for us as soon as we walked outside. Beyond them, forced back by my barrier, was the small army waiting to destroy us. At their lead was Wadjet, and a son of Zeus. Didn’t she learn that I was the wrong man to fuck with the first time? She saw me look at her and hissed. I would make her scream in pain for this. The son, whose name I didn’t know, was powerful. Zeus did not have many children anymore. They were considered too powerful, so he had been a good boy lately to keep himself alive.
“Simple strategy. Keep them away from the palace. No one gets inside. They will break past the barrier shortly, and when they come, we will demolish them. Thank you for your courage and willingness to protect my family.” I looked over the crowd, meeting their eyes. They needed to know that I cared, and was thankful. I was, undoubtedly.
“Leander, Orion. If anyone gets near Thalia, you shred them.”
They both nodded, prepared to do anything for her.
I heard the barrier start to crack; they would descend upon us soon. A growl came up from my chest and I raised my sword above my head. It had been a long time since I had battled like this, but I was primed to go.
Wadjet hissed at the men behind her, and the son of Zeus screamed instructions, getting them pumped to attack. This whole battle was pointless. Life would be lost on both sides, but we were left with no other choice. We had to fight.
The barrier shattered and the mob descended us.
The men and women that waited with me seemed calm, which made them more lethal, in my opinion. Our opponents were power-driven, likely to make mistakes. Our group was calculating, and had been trained to fight.
I barked out orders, and soon we were running towards them, ready to meet in the middle. I would handle who ever I could reach, and then the goddess was mine. Leander and Orion could handle the son of Zeus if the others couldn’t.
The sounds of metal swords clashed. Grunts and battle cries filled the air. I watched as people fought. Some were slain instantly. Guns weren’t allowed in the underworld, so it was old-fashioned fighting for everyone: hand to hand or bladed weapons. Wadjet held back and watched. I would make my way to her. One of the men ran at me with his spear held high. One quick swing of my sword, and he was gone. My sword was special; it absorbed my own power, so when it touched someone, it turned them to ash. My own specialty of turning all living things to ash would only work so far in this case— I couldn’t do it to this whole army. Around me the underworld was starting to change, reflecting its unrest. The sand was turning red, the air began to churn, and the sky turned orange. Things were going to get interesting soon. An hour had passed and we were still battling on.
More men tried to attack me and failed. With my eyes on Wadjet, and hers on mine, I made a show of killing the men even more violently as I got closer to her. I could tell she was ready for a fight. The son of Zeus decided it was time to join the fight and ran off to join his soldiers, giving me a wide berth.
“I warned you, Wadjet,” I growled.
“I will end this. Your children cannot live. It will destroy the balance,” she hissed and whipped her tail towards me.
“You will beg for mercy!” I roared, widening my stance, ready to attack. She shot a fireball from her mouth at me, which I dodged, but then she shot three more in quick succession. Two of them missed, but one got me in the shoulder. I growled with pain, and attacked with my sword. She pulled out two swords from her back and blocked my blows. Back and forth, we struck and blocked. Her skills were exemplary, and being who she was, that was a given. But I beat her the last time she came to my home, and this time, with the birth of my children imminent, and their lives at stake, I would do it again. Her tailed whipped back and forth, raking both allies and enemies out of her path. This fight was ours.
She tried to hit me high with one of her blades, and low with the other. I spun and barely missed one, and managed to snap the other out of her hand. She screamed in rage and moved her blade in an arc. I was on defense and blocked her, but her fangs struck the shoulder that was burned from her fireball. She had venom leaking from her fangs, which flooded my blood stream. It wouldn’t kill me, but it hurt like a bitch. I prayed there would be no other effects besides the pain. Pain I could work with, but paralysis, or any of the other rumors of her venom, would be hard to handle. I gripped her neck and threw her back, her fangs ripping skin as I removed her.
Blood coated her mouth, and she was smiling.
“I will win, and your precious wife and children will be mine.” She smiled, feeling as though she had already won this battle. That was not something I could allow; there was no other option but to push through and beat her. Beat them all. My soul filled with strength, from the love of my family, and I stood tall and readied my weapon. Wadjet’s smile fell slightly as she watched me steady myself. Without words, I rushed her, and dodged her ineffective attempts to whip me with her tail. Her blade struck mine once again, and we continued to fight for the lives of my children—her to raze them, me for their survival.
She screamed as I managed to slice her abdomen, and part of her tail. The skin around her wounds was starting to dry and flake off. The pain was evident on her face, and it fueled me more. I attacked with a ferocity that I had thought was lost. Feeling a sort of high run through my body with the knowledge she would be defeated, I lashed out with everything I had. With super speed, my blade shifted and lodged itself deep in her chest. She screamed with pain as the veins beneath her skin started to turn black, poisoned by my blade. I huffed in satisfaction. Just as she started to fade away, I felt a fire building in my blood.
“You may have defeated me right now, but you will not win this war. It isn’t allowed. Fate wil
l win, as it always does.” Her lips lifted at the corners before her body burst into hot flames and ash fell to a pile on the ground. The venom in my blood was starting to make my vision blur.
“Fuck!” I cursed. I turned to look at the rest of the battle, and saw that we were winning, for now. The son of Zeus was fighting people left and right. He had a blade made of pure electricity, not that he used it that much. He commanded the electricity in the air to come down in a shower that hit anyone within his proximity. So far none had been able to stand against him. People were burned and falling to the ground before him. Leander approached him and I winced as the venom started to do its job. Soon I wouldn’t be much help; I wouldn’t be able to do anything.
Leander gripped his blade as Orion came out of nowhere and shot the demigod in the arm, making him drop his electric sword. Leander took advantage of the moment and attacked, the son grabbing his blade just in time for them to clash. Lightning spread out like tendrils from the meeting of metals, hitting anyone who was near them. Leander growled through his clenched teeth and pulled back his sword. They battled, neither besting each other, until Orion joined in. Together, they took down the son. But a few of the enemy army had taken advantage of their distraction and snuck inside the house.
“Inside!” I yelled at them, trying to move, but my legs wouldn’t move. My body was losing its strength, rendering me helpless for a short time. I would be able to fight soon, once the venom burned out of my system. But for now I could only watch as they ran inside to help save my family.
Chapter Twenty One
Thalia
“Ah! God, it hurts!” I grabbed onto my pillow and clenched my teeth. It had been two hours and the damn epidural had worn off about five minutes ago. I had really hoped that it last, but it didn’t.
“You’re only five centimeters dilated,” Doc said as he checked me. I groaned with the news. I was done. I was ready to have these babies, like now.
“ You’re doing good, babe, just keep breathing.” Lacey was trying to help me but she didn’t really know what to say beyond that. I tried to control my breathing, knowing that it helped when I was calmer.
I could hear the swords clashing, and groans of rage and agony coming from outside. I knew it was a complete war zone out there. I only hoped we were winning. It seemed like this labor was not going to be a very quick one.
“Remember the time we stayed up all night watching The Vampire Diaries and pigged out on pizza?”
I looked at Lacey, trying to figure out why she was bringing this up now.
“Just talk to me.” She urged me with her eyes, and I tried to remember that night through the pain.
“Yeah, that was fun. We did each other’s makeup and hung out in our pajamas.” I smiled, thinking of that moment. We had fun together.
Thinking of something else was helping.
“When I first saw Tristan in my dream, I thought he looked like Damon from the show,” I laughed, thinking about it. Lacey started to giggle along with me.
“I guess he does, in that sort of bad boy, dark hair, dark eyes thing he’s got going on.” The laughter was easing my pain, and the next time the doctor check me it seemed like relaxing was helping to progress my dilation. Things were moving along much better.
Then we heard the sounds of fighting inside the house. All of us turned towards the open door. Lacey raced over and shut it forcefully, though I couldn’t see how that would help. There was no lock on the door. I guess Tristan never thought to add locks. We heard voices and cries of pain.
“That’s Leander!” Lacey yelped, frozen next to me. All good feelings fled us, and now all we had was worry, needing to know that our men were okay.
The door suddenly flew open, and Leander fell to the ground with a man on top of him, holding a blade to his neck.
“Leander!” Lacey cried out and the attacker looked up. His mistake. He lost his edge over Leander, who took advantage and struck with a knife he pulled out of his boot. Blood spurted everywhere until finally, he went limp, and Leander pushed him off his body.
Lacey left my bedside again, but this time to run into Leander’s arms. He was covered in red sand and blood.
“Is he?” I choked out, not willing to finish my sentence. Thankfully, he knew what I needed to hear.
“He’s alive. We’re going to win.” He smiled and I felt hope. The babies would be safe for now, and Tristan was alive and fighting. I looked at Lacey, and she met my smile with one of her own.
In that moment, time seemed to slow. Orion walked in, his face hard as stone as he noticed movement to my right. A man had crawled up onto the balcony and had thrown a black blade. Orion and Leander’s faces were twisted with fear. I saw the blade coming straight for me, and realized this was the end of my children—for I would survive, but they wouldn’t.
A hard force knocked me back into the mattress. When I looked up, Orion’s face hovered above mine.
“Orion.” His name was barely audible from my lips. Tears started to form as I looked down to see my swollen belly still smooth and unharmed. Oh no.
“No, no. Orion.” Blood started to drip from his lips, but he kept his eyes on mine. I heard a scuffle behind me and I knew Leander had taken down the man on the balcony. He reached up with a shaky arm and pulled the knife out of his back.
“Orion.” I couldn’t do anything but whisper his name. He tried to smile for me.
“I’ve come full circle.” He closed his eyes, accepting what was to come. I wasn’t though. Somehow this man, that was once the enemy, became a friend. He protected me and my family, literally willing to die for us. I could never repay him for that.
His body collapsed and his eyes opened, finding mine.
“You saved us,” I told him, hoping that he would find peace in that. My cheeks were covered by the tears that were running down, falling onto his chest as I covered his body with mine.
“Anything for you,” he whispered. I started to cry harder when his own tears started to leak out of the corners of his eyes. Doing the only thing I could for him that I knew, I leaned in and pressed my lips to his, mixing my tears with the blood coating them. I felt his pain, then a little flicker of love that he held for me. I burst into sobs as I felt him fade away. I couldn’t control the emotions that were running through me. I was devastated to lose him, and his sacrifice was overwhelming to me, making me clench his shirt as I tried so hard to will him back to life with my cries.
“Get out of the room!” the doctor yelled to the others, but I was so emotionally gone I didn’t understand why he told them that. As soon as they left, men that were not our allies rushed into the room, and I lost it.
Screaming so hard that the whole room vibrated, my body filled with immense power that was like a bomb, ready to explode. They did this. It was all because of them that this was happening to me. I cried so hard that I felt the power inside me snap, sending out a wave of energy that immediately turned all who surrounded me to ash. The machines all popped, and everything was gone. Powers from the babies that they gained from their father and my own had mixed. Now all electric and living objects around me were dusty piles on the floor. I looked down at Orion, eyes opened but lifeless.
“Thank you,” I told him, even though he would never hear me. My tears kept flowing and I couldn’t stop the emotions inside me from flowing out.
Chapter Twenty Two
Thalia
“Thalia, you have to calm down.” My mother’s voice entered through my sadness. I looked at her, and found her holding my hand, trying to absorb some of my emotions into herself. She had just shown up suddenly, but I was thankful she was here.
“He sacrificed himself for us.” More sobs came.
“He did. He now can finally be at peace. But Thalia, you have to calm down, otherwise his sacrifice will be for nothing. You have too much power running through you right now. The babies can’t handle it.” The babies. My babies. I gripped her hand tighter, and tried to calm down.
; “Breathe, daughter.” I was trying to do as she said. The doctor and Leander came back into the room and went to work.
“I need to move him.” Leander gripped Orion’s body, but then it disappeared into a golden light.
“Athena has taken him.” Aphrodite smiled, and focused back on me. The emotions in me were finally starting to recede, leaving me with the horrible pain of labor.
“Your outburst has forced the babies to come now. Your water broke and you’ll need to push.” I screamed as I tried to do as he said. I could feel them pushing down on me. It hurt so badly.
“Nothing.” He felt around my stomach and listened with his stethoscope. I felt the need to push again, and tried. With every contraction of excruciating pain, I gritted my teeth and pushed. The short gown I was wearing was soaked in blood and sweat. I was getting tired, but still nothing.
“Something’s not right.” Aphrodite felt my stomach and looked at the doctor. He was trying to figure out why nothing was happening. Suddenly Aphrodite looked as if she had been struck by a stray lightning bolt
“The ring. You have to take it off. It’s healing you too quickly; it’s not letting the babies come.” My ring?
“But without it I won’t be able to stay down here for long. I’ll go mad too.” There were so many reason why taking it off would be a bad idea. Then I remembered my dream. Morpheus had posed as our son, making me promise not to take the ring off. Was this what he wanted? Me to do as he said, and not listen to my mother or the doctor? Would I lose the children if I kept it on? A little bit of fear held me back for a moment. But what if I did it, and we all died? Tristan wasn’t here to keep me tied to the underworld. I wouldn’t know how long I could stay without dying myself. Not to mention the ring was the only thing keeping past me and present me grounded. I would be fighting with myself while trying to deliver the babies.
“You have to do it now, Thalia.” My mother’s voice held fear. She knew I was battling with this internally, but she was pleading with me to do as she said. I looked into her eyes, watching as they swirled with different colors. She wasn’t in full control of herself right now, showing just how worried she was. I needed to trust her. With little effort I pulled the black ring from my finger, and waited. When the next contraction came I pushed, hoping this was going to make them come. I could feel them start to make their way down. It was working!
Battle of the Heart Page 10
