by Lucy Roy
His deep blue eyes searched mine for a moment before he responded.
“I’m as confident as you that Hestia planted that vision in your mind for me to bring forward. I don’t know what her purpose was, but regardless, I was the one who threw it in your face.”
“You didn’t throw it in my face, Nathaniel. If everything you say is true, this is on Hestia, not you.”
“If?” The corners of his mouth turned up in a smile. “I thought we established my trustworthiness already.”
I narrowed my eyes, then nudged his leg with my toe. “It’s still up for debate, so don’t push it.”
“I suppose that’s something,” he said with a laugh, swatting my foot away.
We sat for a few moments in companionable silence listening to the night singing insects attempt to drown each other out.
“How do you sleep with that racket?” he asked.
“I grew up with it. It’s nothing but background noise for me.”
“I suppose that makes sense.”
“What’s it like on Olympus?”
“Quiet,” he said with a smile. “Very quiet. It’ll probably take some getting used to if this is your nightly serenade.”
I set my empty mug down and pulled my legs to my chest, then wrapped my arms around my knees.
“No, I mean what’s it really like? Do you get to see the gods often?”
“Sometimes,” he said. “Not as often as I used to.”
I smiled. “Do the Elders just stay in their castles high in the sky?”
He laughed. “Zeus and Hera do, but the rest all have their own jobs or interests elsewhere. You’ll meet Athena, Ares, and Hermes tomorrow.”
My eyes widened. “All three? Why so many?”
“Athena and Ares because they’re in charge of all Ischyra dealings, Hermes because he facilitates all inter-realm travel. He’ll be there to make sure your first trip through the portal system goes smoothly.”
Right. Because tomorrow I would be traveling through a portal to a different realm.
I let out a shaky breath and tried to figure out how to keep my nervous thoughts to myself.
His expression turned concerned. “It’s nothing to worry about,” he said, his voice reassuring. “Really.”
“I know. It’s fine,’ I said, not meeting his gaze. The last thing I needed was to look weak in front of him.
“It’s not weak to be fearful of what’s to come,” he said.
“Can you stop reading my mind, please? Or teach me how to stop doing that projecting thing?”
“Sorry,” he said with a smile. “You’ll have to work on building up your mental walls once you transition.”
I huffed. “Do people normally shout at you with their thoughts?”
“Not as much as you.”
“I’m not sure if I should be flattered or concerned that I’m some sort of freak,” I said, forcing a grin onto my face. “What do you think it means?”
He shrugged. “If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say that you’ll probably end up with Mentalist abilities.”
“Oh,” I said, feeling a little deflated.
“Hey!” He poked my leg. “Mentalist abilities can be pretty amazing.”
“Says the Coercer,” I muttered. “What are there, five of you? Of course you’d think it was awesome.”
“I’ve known and helped train Ischyra with plenty of other mental powers. Trust me, it wouldn’t be the worst thing.”
I sighed and looked up at the moon. “I don’t suppose you could coerce me into a coma for a few hours, could you? I don’t know how I’m going to sleep tonight.”
“You mean the forest symphony isn’t enough to lull you to sleep?”
I raised my eyebrows. “I guess that’s a no?”
“That’s a no.”
I groaned. “What use is having a Coercer friend if I can’t even benefit from his powers?”
“Ah.” He nodded and smiled at me. “So I’ve gone from debatably trustworthy to a friend, all in the span of a conversation. I’d say my day is complete.”
I had no response to that, so I just stuck my tongue out at him.
He chuckled. “Alright, I’ll let you get to bed. And try not to worry about tomorrow. Nothing much happens on the first day. It’s the second day you have to worry about.”
“Jerk,” I said, picking up a pillow from the swing and tossing it at him. “That’s not helpful!”
He laughed as he caught the pillow and set it back down on the swing. “I’m kidding. Really, go try to get some sleep. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”
“Fine, but if I don’t get any sleep tonight, I’m blaming you.” A thought occurred to me just then. “Hey, wait a sec.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Hmm?”
“What would you have done if I hadn’t been sitting on the porch? Rang the doorbell?”
He laughed, then pointed to my bedroom window above the porch. “What they do in movies. I’d have thrown a pebble at your window. Or just yelled in your head for you to wake up.”
I arched a brow. “And how do you know you wouldn’t have been hitting my guardians’ window?”
“Are you telling me yours isn’t the room with the pink and purple striped curtains?”
“Oh.” I frowned. “Fair enough.”
He chuckled and walked down the steps. “Goodnight, Tessa. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Goodnight, Nathaniel,” I said, unable to help the smile that formed on my lips as I watched him walk down the driveway. Once he was out of sight, I picked up my mug and went inside, positive I wasn’t going to get a single wink of sleep.
9
Tessa
Surprisingly, I fell asleep relatively quickly after Nathaniel left, and for the first time in more than two months, my sleep was dreamless.
Despite my best efforts, I hadn’t been able to convince Mary or Eric to stay home after graduation. When we got to the portal field at seven the next morning, Mary climbed out of Chris and Alan’s blue Honda in black leggings, a fitted gray Charmed t-shirt, and flip flops. Her wavy brown hair was wound into a top knot, Ray-Bans firmly in place, and her skin had the tell-tale pallor of someone who’d overdone it the night before.
I couldn’t help facepalming when I saw her walking toward me on the sidewalk. My best friend was about to become an immortal soldier, and she showed up in an outfit that practically screamed “hangover.”
With a shake of my head, I turned my attention to the portal field that sat about one hundred yards away. A dozen white doors stood in the middle of a small grassy clearing in the woods, each bearing a golden number and leading to a different location in the realms of Earth and Olympus. The area immediately around it had been spelled by one of Olympus’ witches to repel anyone who wasn’t an immortal.
I hoped whenever our escorts arrived, they wouldn’t take Mary’s outfit as a sign of indifference to her position.
“Mary’s certainly going for an interesting first impression,” Analise whispered.
John laughed beside her. “She’s always been her own girl. They’ll probably like that about her.”
Analise and I shot John identical dubious looks. I looked down at my own black capris and sleeveless white button down. I’d blown my hair out that morning, so it hung perfectly smooth to my lower back.
“Well, I’m glad some of us remembered to dress for the occasion,” I teased as Mary and her guardians approached.
Mary stuck her tongue out at me. “Whatever.” She scratched the top of her head and wrinkled her nose. “Aren’t we supposed to be getting uniforms there or something?”
“Not until the transition ceremony, dummy.”
“You guys!”
I looked over and saw Leila running toward us, still in her plaid pajama pants and a pink tank top, her long curly hair flowing behind her. Josh trailed behind her, looking a bit worse for wear. His blond hair was messy, and his eyes were a bit glassy, as though he’d just rolled out of bed.
/> “Wow, they actually made it,” I said, laughing. Leila had sworn they’d be here to see us off, but I figured they’d be sleeping off Josh’s party most of the day.
She crashed into us, wrapping us in a huge hug.
“I’m going to miss you two so much,” she sniffed as she pulled back and brushed her hair out of her eyes. “I’m so happy we got to be friends.”
I gave her a tight hug as tears pricked my eyes. “Me too, girlie.”
I opened my arms to Josh, and he wrapped me in a tight hug, lifting me a good six inches off the ground.
“I’ll miss you, Tessie Bear,” he said, using Leila’s stupid nickname for me.
I patted his back and gave him a loud kiss on the cheek. “I’ll miss you, too.”
He set me back down and draped an arm around Leila’s shoulders.
She gave a watery laugh and leaned into him. “What am I going to do without you? Who am I going to—Mary, what the fuck are you wearing?”
Her face was incredulous as she turned toward me.
“You’re letting her meet the gods looking like that?”
“Letting her!” I scoffed. “She’s the one that decided to go out drinking last night.”
“I don’t know how this surprises any of you,” Josh grumbled, stifling a yawn.
“Oh, you guys suck,” Mary grumbled. “Hmm. Let me see…” She started digging through her suitcase. After a moment, she pulled out a thin-strapped blue and yellow flowered dress. “What about this?”
Josh snorted.
“For one, it’s wrinkled.” Leila sighed. “And two, it barely covers your ass. So no, not that. You’ve had ages to pack. Why’d you even bring that?”
I bit my lip to keep from smiling. I was really going to miss spending every morning with those three.
“Just forget it, Mare,” I said. “You don’t have time to mess around with getting changed.”
Leila’s eyes grew wide. “Crap, we should go. They probably won’t want me here.” She looked at the doors with narrow eyes.
“Who’s coming for you guys, anyway?” Josh asked, sending a furtive glance over my shoulder.
“I think Ares and Athena,” I responded, not divulging how I knew that. I really didn’t care to get into a discussion about Nathaniel showing up at my house, considering Mary’s actions toward him at graduation. “They’re the ones in charge of the Ischyra.”
Leila gave us a tightlipped smile before diving in for another hug. “You two are going to be the best immortal soldiers this world has ever seen.”
“Damn right.” Mary grinned cockily. Her face softened as she pulled back and looked at Leila. “I’m going to miss you so freaking much,” she whispered.
“Will you ever be able to visit?” Leila asked, her voice quiet.
Mary and I exchanged a look.
“I don’t know,” I replied. “I guess it all depends on where we get assigned.”
“But we’ll try,” Mary promised. She looked up at Josh and grinned. “Do I get a hug, big guy?”
“I probably have one to spare,” he said, laughing. He pulled her into a one-armed hug and ruffled her hair, then blew a raspberry on her cheek, knocking her sunglasses askew.
She let out a yelp and pushed him back, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand. “Dammit, Josh, you got morning breath on me! You know what? I lied. I’m not going to miss you one bit.” She pulled the tie out of her hair, then flipped her head upside down to gather it back up.
“Your love for me will never die, Mare,” he joked, grinning as he glanced toward the doors again. “We should probably go, Lei. I doubt they’re gonna want us civilians here.”
Leila let out a deep breath and nodded.
“Yeah, you’re right.” She grinned as she looked between us. “Good luck. I love you guys!”
We gave her one last farewell hug before they turned and jogged back to her car. When she climbed into the passenger seat, I saw her wipe tears from her eyes, and Josh reached out a hand and rubbed her back reassuringly.
“Gods, I’m gonna miss her,” Mary said wistfully. “Her and her stupid boyfriend.”
“Oh, Josh isn’t so bad.”
“He’s always messing up my hair,” she grumbled as she secured her hair on top of her head. “It takes a lot of effort to get a messy bun this cute.”
“Very true,” I agreed. “Here comes Eric.”
Eric grinned as he walked up to us, his guardians trailing behind him.
“Hey, guys. You ready for this?”
“As ready as we’ll ever be,” Mary said, stifling a yawn.
“When do you think they’ll be here?” he asked us.
Mary shrugged. “Who knows? They said we needed to be here by eight, so hopefully soon. I’m antsy to get moving.”
“Gee, I wonder why?” I muttered.
“You’re really not nervous at all?” Eric asked.
“Kind of. I don’t know. I mean, I feel a little pukey, I guess.” Mary said as she put her hand to her stomach.
“I have a feeling that’s tequila, not nerves,” Eric said, laughing.
Before she could respond, I sucked in a sharp breath. “They’re here!”
Four figures had appeared in the middle of the portal field. All conversation died out as our entire group faced them as one.
“Holy shit, is that—” Before Eric could finish his question, Mary cut him off.
“Hermes! Oh, my freaking gods, that’s Hermes. I always knew he’d be hot,” she whispered.
Mary stood gawking at the roguish looking Elder who’d just arrived with three companions. His deep tan and butterscotch hair gave him a golden glow, accentuated by his loose, white, button-down shirt and pale khaki pants. Strapped to his feet were tan leather sandals, nearly the same shade as his skin. He looked more like a frat boy on spring break than a god.
Beside him stood a tall, slender man with white blond hair and cheekbones to die for, wearing a blindingly white suit. On his right, arms folded across her chest, was a small, fierce looking woman.
A tall, muscular man stood beside her, his hands on his hips as he took us all in. His eyes were sky blue, visible from my spot ten feet away. His cropped hair was the color of dark coffee, and he had a chiseled jaw most male models would probably kill for.
“Welcome, recruits. Guardians as well,” the woman, who I assumed to be Athena, said, her clear voice loud and almost musical.
She looked to be a few inches shorter than me and moved with the grace and strength of a dancer. Her light brown hair was pulled back from her delicate face in a simple bun, and she was dressed in a sturdy-looking, navy blue tunic and white leggings. A silver bow and a quiver of arrows rested against her back. Without having to look, I knew her eyes would be the color of steel. A silver clasp in the shape of a shield was pinned to her dress
“I am Athena, overseer of all Ischyra dealings and coordinator of military tactics. This is my brother Ares, who oversees all aspects of physical and weaponry training,” she said, indicating the man on her left. She gestured toward the blond man on her right. “This is Apollo, Olympus’ second in command.”
The stern looking god inclined his head in our direction, betraying no emotion at all.
“Welcoming” was not the word I’d use for him. Intimidating, maybe. Or terrifying.
“Hermes here handles all inter-realm travel,” Athena continued. “He will help ensure your first time using the portal goes smoothly.”
Hermes grinned and held up a hand in greeting.
Athena clasped her hands behind her back and looked at the ground for a moment before facing us again. “Although you may have awaited this day all your lives, we know it may be a bit difficult for you. It is important to remember that you are embarking on a journey that is far greater than what you have experienced the last eighteen years. Tomorrow you will become soldiers, defenders of the human realm. Your mortal lives and all that they contained will be left behind.”
No need to sugarcoa
t it, geez, I thought.
“In just a few minutes, we will be sending you through to your new home. Once through, you will meet your trainers who will give you your dormitory assignments and all further instruction.”
She smiled warmly and held out her hands. “Now, are there any questions?”
We shook our heads. For once, Mary didn’t have anything to say.
“Wonderful. We will give you a few moments to say your farewells. Please take your time.”
I turned to face John and Analise, who had come to stand behind me, and felt my lower lip begin to tremble. John opened his arms and pulled me into a tight hug, and I felt Analise place a hand on my back, her forehead resting on my shoulder.
“I’m going to miss you guys so much,” I said, trying to force back sobs that were forcing their way up my throat.
“Us, too, sweetheart. Us, too.” John’s attempt to control his tears was failing as miserably as mine.
John set me down so that Analise could draw me into a hug. I buried my face in her shoulder and inhaled the familiar, comforting smell of her mint shampoo. Tears silently dripped down my cheeks onto her shoulder.
“You’re going to do wonderfully,” she whispered. “I need you to know how much we truly believe that.”
Her words were meant to calm me, but all of my insecurities reared up, pushing her soothing words aside.
Will I be strong enough?
Will I be able to control my powers?
Will my nightmares continue their nightly torment?
Will the vision of fire and destruction come true?
“You are going to be amazing,” Analise whispered fiercely. “There isn’t anything you won’t be able to achieve.”
“Remember—" John began.
“‘Things that are out of my control cannot take control.’” I gave him a watery smile and took a deep breath. “I know. I won’t forget. Thank you.”
He grinned. “Just remember, anytime you’re feeling homesick, look to Taurus. That will be our common point, alright?”
“Sounds like a plan,” I agreed, quickly wiping the tears from my cheeks. The massive K-shaped constellation had long been one of my favorites.
“Alright, then. It’s time to put your game face on,” he said.
