by Amy Braun
I glanced at him and grinned. He pinched his lips together, trying not to return my smile.
My heart soared. He was mad, and rightfully so, but he didn’t hate me. That was all I wanted.
“My lady,” Liam asked, slowly composing himself. “Do you think that’s why Derek has control over two magics? His… our bloodline’s connection to you?”
The goddess took a moment to think about that. “It is possible. A great deal of magic was used to ensure my first daughter was born and would be raised strong. But I must confess, I have never heard of such a thing, and prior to Derek, my bloodline wielded only aether magic.” Her hazel-blue eyes moved to me. “It seems you are truly an anomaly, my son.”
Somehow, I don’t think that’s a good thing.
“Yet take heart. As long as you are within these walls, you shall be safe. The bargain between Demeter and Hades is taken very, very seriously by the Council of Clouds, and to break it would bring extreme suffering on the assaulter. You will always be safe at my side.”
“Forgive me, my lady, but that may not be the case anymore.”
Begrudgingly, I told her what had happened in the cavern between Ares and Apollo. Ares would come looking for me. I had no doubt about that. As long as the War Pact was on my neck, I was never going to be free of Ares.
Persephone frowned. “That is troublesome indeed, but the rules still apply. No one may enter my Haven without express permission, and if you deem Ares an enemy, I will not allow him access to you.”
It was an extreme comfort to know Persephone was on our side, especially since Athena had been locked away by the Council of Clouds, but it didn’t change the fact that our mission was waiting just beyond the gates of her home.
“We can’t stay,” I told her. “Our mission… the gods will hunt us if we don’t fulfill it. And Apollo… I can’t even guess where he is and what he’s doing now that he’s absorbed the Eye of Cronus.”
Persephone’s eyes flashed. I don’t know exactly what went through them, but there was no doubt she remembered the havoc Cronus and his fellow Titans had wrought all those centuries ago.
Persephone’s eyes darkened. “Yes. I imagine Cassandra is witnessing all manners of atrocities in visions bestowed on her by her jilted lover.”
I cringed. “So you know.”
“Who the blond woman truly is?” A weak smile. “Of course I do. I felt her presence the moment she arrived. She does not look as I remember her, but there is no hiding the grief in her.” The goddess’s hazel-blue eyes flickered down. “If I am being truthful, there is much that I owe Cassandra.”
Those words halted my thoughts. Liam looked at me, equally as confused.
The queen rose from her throne. “Come with me. There is something you must see.”
PERSEPHONE LED US out of the cathedral and into an alcove. Along the back wall was a large black door engraved with obsidian roses and thorns. She curled her hand around the silver knob and twisted.
We entered a pitch-black room that held only two mirrors. They were large, almost twice my height, and didn’t seem to reflect any light. Yet they were glowing with power all the same, even when the doors closed behind us.
Persephone stood before the mirrors, her reflection split between them.
“I always sympathized with Cassandra. She was a girl who was desired only for her beauty, and who had her choices stolen because of it. I could not save her from the worst of her fate, but I sheltered her for a time when Athena could not be there for her. I do not know what she did when we slipped into the slumber, but when we awoke, I was one of the first people Cassandra sought out.” Persephone’s eyes roved the mirrors as if they were more than sheets of glass. “She helped me build this place, the Dreaming Room.” She looked to the left. “These mirrors let me see the past”—she looked to the right—“and the beginnings of the future. She knew I would want to know what became of my bloodline. They also help me speak to my children through dreams.”
“This is how you spoke to me,” I said, realization dawning.
Persephone nodded. “My Haven aside, dreams are the safest place for me to speak to you.”
I looked at the mirrors, hesitating before I asked, “Can they show us what’s happening now?”
Another nod, one much slower and far more solemn.
Persephone walked to the mirror directly across from us and placed her hand against its edge. Her pupils grew until her eyes were entirely black. Cool magic whispered through the room. Curls of aether slipped out of Persephone’s skin and molded to the mirror. The glass rippled and twisted, color blooming within it. The shades spread throughout, coating the entire mirror. Slowly, the colors became shapes, and the shapes became animated life.
What I saw were flashes, quick snapshots of a scene before it jumped to the next. I imagined I saw what it was like when Selena used her Sight.
And while the snapshots were quick, there was no question what I was seeing.
Waves dashing against the shores of Santa Monica. Party tents and beach umbrellas hurled at screaming and running civilians. A gleaming Olympian standing against the current, spearing anyone who walked past him.
I reeled away. My heart pounded at what I’d just witnessed, and my mind scrambled to piece it all together.
Apollo was going to destroy everyone attending the Union of Seas. He was too powerful to be killed by a mortal. The only way we could defeat him was to freeze him in place… with the head of a gorgon. It had worked for Perseus when he used Medusa’s head to turn the Leviathan to stone. But the consequences Perseus had suffered were minor in comparison to what we would endure. A god was only a monster in the metaphorical sense. And it wasn’t just any Olympian we were looking to do battle with. It was Apollo, one of the most popular gods in all of Néo Vasíleio. A beloved child of Zeus.
Defeating him would cost us dearly.
But there was no choice for us. Angry gods were a small price to pay when so many lives were at stake.
My head spun, my body tilted back, and I was falling, falling, falling—
I jolted into reality. When I blinked again, I was back in the Dreaming Room, staring at a mirror covered in smoke. Persephone had already stepped back and was standing behind me.
Her eyes reflected what I felt, and it was suddenly very dark in the room.
I looked at my brother. “You saw what I did?”
His jaw was tight, his eyes burning. He nodded.
“I shall see to it that you, your brother, and your friends are prepared,” Persephone said. “Rest for as long as you can. What you witnessed will not occur for a few hours. I will see you prepared for it.”
She turned and placed her hand on the door. She looked over her shoulder at me.
“Sometimes, I envy those who care as deeply as you do.”
“And the other times?” The times when I was terrified, paranoid, angry, completely unsure of myself or what I could do to help the people I cared for?
“The other times… I’m glad I am not human.”
LIAM DECIDED TO talk with the others. I was glad for the distance. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see Corey, who’d shown tremendous bravery and was the reason we were still alive, or Mason, who had just recovered from his own near death experience, or Thea, who was no doubt feeling mixed emotions about the death and imprisonment of her former friends. But my mind was solely on Selena.
Of all of us, she had been hit the hardest with what happened in the caverns. Her entire past had been laid bare for all of us to see, a scab that had been ripped away, causing the wound to bleed anew. I had no idea what she was feeling. I just knew I couldn’t let her be alone.
I wandered the giant shrine for another hour, clearing my own head of its conflicting thoughts and emotions. Learning the truth about my own lineage and remembering my mother, losing Liam’s trust, and almost losing my life after using new abilities… I’d had a lot
to deal with for one day.
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t looking for some comfort too.
Eventually, I made my way to upper floor of the cathedral. After scaling a secluded staircase, I emerged on a balcony that overlooked the gardens.
The landscape was haunting and beautiful. The grass was lush, and I could smell its fresh-dew scent on the night breeze. Willow trees, cherry blossoms, and rose hedges created a detailed maze on either side of the lawn. To the left was a patch of golden grain swaying in the gentle night breeze. In the center was a marble path that led to a silver fountain with stone women pouring water from their hands.
Standing at the edge of the balcony, with the wind teasing her hair, was Selena.
“I was wondering when you would come looking for me,” she murmured.
“Do you want me to leave?” If she said yes, I would. I was going to give her all the control here.
She hunched her shoulders and wrapped her arms around herself. “No.”
Slowly, I walked out onto the balcony and stood beside her. We didn’t touch, but I was close enough that she could take my hand if she needed to.
We stood in silence for a long time, neither of us knowing what to say. I had no idea how to approach the trauma gripping her mind, and it didn’t seem like she knew what to say, either.
All I could think to do was update her on everything that happened. I told her about the fight in the caverns after she left, what I had created, and what it could mean for the Prophecy. I told her what Liam and I had seen in the Dreaming Room. I even told her about my connection to Persephone and what happened to my mother.
“I’m sorry,” Selena offered.
“I am too,” I echoed. “Deep down, I know there’s nothing I could have done. I couldn’t have left Liam up there alone, and if I had interfered, Thomas would have turned his anger on me. Logically, I know that. I was six. I couldn’t have stopped it from happening.”
“But you don’t feel that way.”
I rubbed my hands on the balcony. It was cold and rough.
“No,” I replied. “No, I don’t.”
“The hits never stop coming, do they?” she murmured.
I didn’t need to reply. We both knew the answer.
I turned my head to look at Selena. She looked exhausted. Dark circles and red lines ringed her eyelids. Her hair was tousled and unkept. She hadn’t changed her clothes. Her lips were pressed together in a grim line. She stared ahead blankly, her body rigid and taut. She looked like a woman preparing to run, fight, or scream. Or all of the above.
I was nervous about saying anything, but I had to at least try.
“How do I help you?”
Selena’s laugh was dark and ragged. “I crafted a potion to force dark scions to obey my will, then bled them nearly to death to make a trap that would hide the Eye of a murdering Titan.” Tears streamed down her face. “Any chance you can undo that?”
I worked hard to keep the emotion from my face. “You did your best to keep a dangerous weapon away from even more dangerous people. You couldn’t have known that things would turn out the way they did.”
Another dark laugh. “Seems like I just started chain of events that will lead to another Troy.”
Selena’s voice broke on the name of her city, where she was born thousands of years ago. She wiped angrily at her eyes. “I wonder how many of the gods knew. Athena… she erased me. My life. She kept me alive so she could use me. The same way everyone else used me.”
The tears started flowing, and she didn’t stop them that time.
“He couldn’t just leave me alone. He had to have his way. I didn’t want to be another notch on his belt, and he ruined me. I said no, and then I couldn’t warn my family. I couldn’t save my people. He stood back when Ajax and Agamemnon—”
She choked and grabbed the balcony, tearing at it like she could rip it in half.
“And Athena wouldn’t let me die. She could have reversed Apollo’s immortality, but she refused to. She said there were other ways, but I… I can’t See them. Every time I look, I See shadows and fire and blood and death.” She met my eyes. “I See you.”
My heart leaped to my throat.
“I know it’s you, Derek. I know you’re the Bringer. And I don’t know how to help you.”
I slid closer to Selena, our bodies only a breath away.
“I’m not here because I care about that,” I told her. “It’s a problem for another day. I’m here because I care about you.”
Yet another bitter laugh. “Because I’ve turned out to be such a wise, capable individual in the past?”
“Yes.” She was being sarcastic, but I wasn’t. “You refused to be treated as less than you are, and Apollo threw a hissy fit. You stayed strong. You tried to fight the curse. You hid every Weapon and Shard so they could never be found. You couldn’t stop the Olympians from returning, and you were willing to give your life to keep that secret. That takes bravery unlike anything I’ve ever seen, Selena. You’re the strongest of all of us. None of this is your fault.”
“But—”
Taking a risk, I slid my hand over hers and gently gripped her fingers. Selena looked at my hand but didn’t pull away.
“It’s not your fault.”
Tears flooded her eyes. She sobbed and let them spill over. My heart twisted to see her so sad. To watch the breaking of the strongest woman I had ever met. The woman who had changed my life and brought me so much happiness. The woman who doted on my brother as if he were hers as well. The woman who fought relentlessly at my side because she would never be relegated to the sidelines. She was a force of nature who’d saved my life and brightened my world.
Watching her fall…
“Can I hold you?” I asked tentatively.
She nodded. “Please. I can’t…”
Slowly, I curled my arms around her and brought her to my chest. Selena tightened her arms around my waist and sobbed against me.
“I can’t face him again, Derek,” she whimpered. “I can’t… what he caused… but I can’t let you go out there alone. I have to be there. I know it all, and if any of you get hurt…”
Her words trailed off, and she cried into my chest again.
I didn’t say a word. Holding her was the most I could do. I couldn’t take back what happened to her. I couldn’t tell her it would go away. Worst of all, I couldn’t protect her from her memories. I couldn’t enter her mind and fight off Apollo or Ajax or Agamemnon and Clytemnestra.
But I could be there for her, the same way she’d chosen to be there for my brother and me. Selena could have left us after the whole debacle with the Thunderbolt. But she stayed, not just because she was loyal to her goddess, but because she wanted to.
I would repay that strength and kindness tenfold. I would protect her and fight for her with every breath I had, assuming she didn’t fight off her enemies before I did, which she would likely do anyway.
And if Apollo got in my way…
“I don’t know what to do. I can’t use my Sight. He’ll See me. Gods, he might be able to See me now.”
“He can’t,” I assured her. “We’re safe here. The cathedral is blocked from magic, unless Persephone wills it. And she is fonder of you than she is of Apollo.”
“But we can’t stay here.”
I rubbed Selena’s back. “You can. No one will think less of you if you do.”
“I will think less of me. If I let you go out there alone, knowing what I do, and one of you gets hurt, that’s on me. I’m fucking terrified, Derek. The hex he put on me is still there. I can’t fight it.” She tightened her grip on my waist. “Am I a coward for wanting to stay here where I know he can’t get me?”
I slid my hands to her shoulders and gently pushed her back so I could look in her eyes. Her cheeks were wet with tears, and her eyes were red and swollen.
“No,” I told her. “That makes you smart. Far smarter than the rest of us.” I tried to smile, but she just looked away, cre
stfallen.
“Selena.” I whispered her name. She raised her sad, silver-blue eyes. “You can do whatever you want. No one will force you to do anything. If they try, we won’t let them. Me, Liam, Thea, Mason, Corey—we’re all on your side. We’ll support you no matter what. You can fight with us, or you can stay here to heal. No one will think less of you, whatever you do.”
She took a breath, but I was quicker than she.
“Before you answer, think about it. Don’t make a choice because you feel obligated. Make a choice that will be best for you.”
Selena chuckled, grim. “That’s the thing. I’ve already Seen what I will do.” She took a deep breath and wiped her tears. “I’m going with you. I need it. I need to feel strong again.”
I nodded, smiling gently. “You’re already strong, Selena.”
“Let me clarify. I need to punch some bad guys.”
I laughed, the weight in my heart easing a little. She still had a long road to go to recover from the shock of her reemerging trauma, but she sounded like herself.
I relaxed my grip on her, sliding away even though I wanted to hold her again. “I almost feel pity for the bad guys.”
She laughed, her shoulders finally easing. The tension wasn’t gone. It might never be. But she was comfortable with me. That was all I wanted.
Selena’s eyes rose. “Thank you, Derek. I needed that.”
“I think it was something we both needed.”
She hummed in agreement.
“Do you want to go back inside?”
“I think I’ll stay out here for a little while longer.”
I nodded. “Okay. I’m going to go check on the others and think about what to do with Kallis. I want to call the Sea Guard and let them know about Apollo. I should also probably tell them about that trio of Cetea we left in the Sea Guard station, which is going to make me sound insane, but… Good Samaritan, and all that.”
She nodded, losing herself in her thoughts again.
“Try to get some rest if you can, Selena.” I turned for the door.
“Derek.”
