by Lucy Roy
I arched a brow. “You want to go again or something? I’m game if you are.”
His blue eyes narrowed, but I saw the corner of his mouth twitch slightly.
“No. It was a good match,” he conceded.
“Great job, both of you,” Prometheus said as he walked toward us. He handed Damien his other dagger which had skated off into the crowd when I had hit it out of his hand.
“Not to worry, Damien,” Prometheus offered. “You can’t win them all, right?”
Damien took the dagger and gave a curt nod, then stalked off to deposit his weapons back on the table.
Prometheus looked down at me, appraising. “You handle yourself well. I haven’t seen anyone maneuver a staff like that in quite some time.”
I grinned, still out of breath, then rested the staff on my shoulder and scraped the dried blood off of my cheek with my sleeve, the only remnant of the knife cuts that had healed almost immediately. “Thank you. My guardians were great teachers.”
Prometheus glanced back toward Epimetheus, who was eyeing us warily.
“I may have to pit you against my brother one of these days,” he whispered conspiratorially. “The staff has long been his favorite, and it’s been quite some time since he’s had a partner.”
My eyes widened. “Uh—I’m sorry, what?”
He laughed and patted my shoulder. “Not to worry, it won’t be until after a bit more training. You’re good, but not quite that good.”
I felt a slight flush come across my face, even though I had no logical reason to be embarrassed. “Sounds good.”
His eyes drifted behind me and lit up. “Ah, Nathaniel, there you are!”
I turned around and saw Nate walking toward us.
“Good morning, Prometheus. How did the recruits do?”
“Good, so far. This one did wonderfully.”
Nate smiled down at me. “That doesn’t surprise me. Thank you for taking over today. I’m going to have to steal Tessa for a bit if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. We’ll catch up later.” He glanced down at me. “It was good to meet you, Tessa.”
I smiled, still feeling a bit weird about getting praise from a Titan. “Thank you.”
Nate put a hand on my arm and began leading me toward the exit.
“Come on, Chiron needs to speak with you.”
“What’s up? Where’ve you been?” I asked him.
“I’ll explain outside.”
As we exited the arena, his hand found mine. He led me across the lawn in front of the arena toward where Chiron was waiting.
“Morning, Tessa.” Chiron greeted me with a smile, his long, brown tail twitching. His eyes moved to Nate and he frowned.
I looked up at Nate and saw him give a quick shake of his head. I glanced between the two of them uneasily.
“What’s going on?”
Nate ran a hand through his hair and blew out a breath. “I told Chiron about your dreams.”
“What?” I tugged my hand away, then looked to Chiron and back at Nate. “Why would you do that without talking to me first?”
“I know, I’m sorry, I just—you need to hear what he has to say.”
I folded my arms across my chest and raised my eyebrows expectantly.
“I think—” Chiron cast a worried look at Nate, then looked back at me. “Listen, I may be able to help you, Tessa, if you’ll let Nate transfer the memory of your more recent dreams to me.”
I looked at him incredulously. “I’m sorry, what?”
“It would be similar to the way you speak mentally, only instead of pushing words, he would push your memories.”
I looked up at Nate and frowned.
He gave me a reassuring smile and put a hand on my shoulder. “Tessa, he might know who the people are in your dreams.”
That drew me up short. I stood stunned for a moment, then cleared my throat.
“Well, you probably should’ve led with that.” I blew out a breath. “I was actually going to ask if you wouldn’t mind taking a look. I had another one last night.”
“What was it—never mind, just let me see.”
Without waiting for my okay, Nate started sifting through the memories of my dreams.
When he pulled back, he was frowning.
“Is it alright if I show Chiron?”
I looked back and forth between the two of them. “What’s going on?”
“Tessa, I’m sorry, but now is not the time for questions. You know you can trust us both. Please.”
I arched a brow, surprised at his impatience. “Fine. I’m surprised you didn’t do it already,” I muttered. “What are you going to show him?”
“Last night’s dream and the one you told me about last week, where the woman was killed.”
“Okay.”
As Nate transferred the memory, I watched Chiron’s face transform from impassive to confused, and I started to feel a glimmer of hope. It was looking like I might actually get some kind of answers today.
I folded my arms across my chest and started tapping my fingers on my arm impatiently.
When they were done, Chiron looked stunned. His mouth hung open, and his eyes were wide as he stared at me.
“How long have you been having these dreams?”
“I—uh—two or three months? I didn’t actually see anything until Nate poked around in my head that one day. They’ve been pretty vivid since my transformation.”
Chiron shook his head and ran his hands through his hair, causing the bushy ponytail to loosen slightly. “Tessa—the man you’re sparring with. You’ve never seen him before?”
“No, never. Why?”
“That man,” he said, his voice strained as he looked down at me from his massive height. “That’s Atlas.”
I blinked.
“What?” I spun to face Nate. “What is he talking about?”
“Chiron, tell her the rest.”
I rubbed my hand across my forehead and closed my eyes, then turned back to Chiron.
“What else is there?”
His dark brown eyes looked hesitant. “The dream you had last week, where you saw a woman die?”
“Uh huh,” I replied weakly. “What about it?”
“Nathaniel was right when he told you that you were describing the destruction of a god.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “That was Clymene.”
My eyes widened and I felt my heart thump loudly in my ears.
“That was…” My stomach rolled as I remembered her screams of agony as her killer pulled her life force away.
“How is that possible?” I whispered hoarsely.
Chiron shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“So, then the man who killed her… was Iapetus?”
Nate squeezed my shoulders. “Yes. The other—”
“Cronus. That was Cronus, wasn’t it?”
Chiron pressed his lips together and nodded. “Yes, it was.”
“And the witch?”
“Hecate,” Nate murmured, running a hand through his hair.
“I knew she looked familiar,” I said, taking a seat on a small boulder. “She was at the transition ceremony, right? Isn’t she kind of reclusive?”
“More or less,” Nate responded. “I was actually surprised to see her there. She rarely leaves her home.”
“So she probably wouldn’t be too forthcoming if we asked her exactly why she was screaming ‘Chaos take her’?” I faced Chiron. “Do you think she was talking about the Void or literal chaos?”
Chiron held up his hands and shook his head. “I don’t know. It was hard to tell, but that sounded like a protection spell of some sort, so I would assume the Void. I’d have to take another look to be certain.”
I scrubbed my hands across my face, trying to ground myself. “Then tell me this. In these dreams, who am I? I’m clearly not myself, but I’m someone. Did Atlas have a lover or something? He had a bunch of daughters, right?”
A frown flickered across Chir
on’s face. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, then cocked his head to the side. “Atlas had many lovers over the years, and a number of daughters, none of whom he was close with. I’m not sure who you would represent in this dream.”
He rubbed at his temples. “I remember…something. I don’t—Nathaniel, can you help me, please?”
I stared at him, confused, then looked up at Nate curiously.
“What’s wrong with him?” I asked, watching Chiron alternate between rubbing his forehead and his eyes. “Why is he doing that?”
“He can’t remember,” Nate murmured. “Hold on.”
Nate stepped away from me and up to Chiron, then placed a hand on his friend’s cheek.
Chiron looked at him, his brown eyes grateful. “Thank you,” he said. “Someone…I don’t know why I can’t remember.”
After a few moments, Nate dropped his hand and frowned. Chiron slumped back against the boulder he’d been standing in front of. His tail twitched in an agitated motion as he pressed his fingers to his eyes.
Seeing both of them so confused was freaking me out. “What is it?”
Nate shook his head, looking perplexed. “I can’t tell. Something is blocking the memory. It’s as though someone has gone in and erased it. There are small traces, but nothing intelligible.”
Chiron’s memory had been erased. This was just getting better and better.
I put my hands on my hips. “I thought that thing wasn’t possible for you guys?” I looked at Chiron. “You’re the son of a Titan, for gods’ sake.”
Chiron’s jaw clenched at the mention of his parentage, and I immediately felt bad. If Cronus was my father, I wouldn’t really want it thrown in my face, either.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled. “I don’t get it, though.”
Chiron pulled his hands away from his face and looked at me, his eyes helpless. “I wish I had answers, but I don’t.”
“This doesn’t make any sense,” Nate said, running a hand through his hair.
“Perhaps she’s a descendent? He had a lot of daughters, and a descendant wouldn’t be a far reach,” Chiron suggested.
“That would make the most sense. Or maybe it’s prophetic?” Nate asked.
Chiron cocked his head to the side. “How so?”
“We’ve been hoping to get Atlas to return to Olympus for quite some time now. Perhaps locating this woman, assuming she’s still alive, will help with that. It seems clear they were very close.”
“Yes, that’s certainly a possibility,” Chiron responded.
“Still right here, guys,” I said.
Nate placed a hand on the small of my back and looked at me apologetically. “I’m sorry. This is just very…”
“Weird? Confusing?” I raised my eyebrows. “Yeah. I know.”
He brushed a stray piece of hair off my face and brushed his thumb along my jaw. “We’ll figure it out, don’t worry.”
His eyes drifted toward Chiron, who was staring at him, arms crossed. Nate’s expression hardened.
“Not now, Chiron,” Nate warned.
“Don’t you think—”
“Not now, Chiron!”
“Nathaniel, this isn’t about you,” Chiron said quietly.
“What?” I looked between the two of them warily. “What’s going on now?”
Nate continued to glare at Chiron, his jaw clenched. He shook his head, so quickly I almost missed it.
“If you won’t take her, I will, and you know better than to challenge that,” Chiron said, his voice was harsh and full of warning.
“Nate!” I snapped. “What is going on?”
He didn’t respond, but looked down at me, frowning. Finally, he looked back to Chiron and nodded. “I’ll take her. Go back in and keep an eye on things.”
Chiron hesitated. “Shouldn’t I—”
“No, it’s fine.” Nate looked at me, his eyes weary. “It’ll be fine.”
He took my hand and led me toward the portal door that stood next to the arena entrance.
“Nate, where are we going?” I pulled on his hand, trying to get him to stop.
He stopped as we reached the door, his eyes looking pained.
Finally, he gripped the sides of my face and laid a fierce kiss on my lips.
When we pulled apart, his eyes were filled with fear.
“We’re going to see my parents.”
35
Tessa
A surge of panic coursed through me when we stepped through the portal. Nate had avoided talking about his parents that night at the zipline field, but I knew one of them had to have been an Elder. I hadn’t pushed him to tell me, and suddenly I was regretting that decision.
We came out in front of a massive and opulent one-story white building. Vibrant flowers and evergreens adorned the property, leading up a gradual incline to the building’s white stucco walls. Wide arched windows that stretched the height of the walls faced outward, the inner view obscured by heavy curtains.
“Where are we?” I hissed.
“My family home.” He replied, leading me toward the wide marble steps that led to the large mahogany doors that graced the front of the building.
“Nate, stop!” I’d had enough. I yanked on his hand full force as he was in mid step, causing him to lose his balance and nearly fall.
“Tell me what’s going on,” I demanded. “Why are we here?”
He took a deep breath, then squeezed his eyes shut.
“Tessa, I should’ve told you sooner and I’m sorry. I’m not—"
“Nathaniel?” A smooth voice interrupted him.
When I looked in the direction it had come from, I felt my eyes widen.
Apollo stood at the top of the stairs, arms crossed over his chest, leaning against a white column. He was dressed in a stark white suit; double breasted with gold buttons, a small silver sun gleaming on his lapel. His head was cocked to the side and his eyes narrowed, accentuating the sharp contours of his cheekbones.
I looked up at Nate, suddenly terrified. Dionysus and Hermes had been easy to get along with once I’d gotten over the initial shock of their presence, but Apollo looked nothing short of terrifying.
I was surprised to see that Nate looked furious.
“Apollo,” he said tersely. He continued making his way up the last few steps, and I followed slowly behind. When we reached him, Apollo looked at us appraisingly.
“I had hoped you’d come to me first, Nathaniel.”
I hoped the shock I felt wasn’t as clear on my face as it was in my mind.
‘Apollo is your father? You couldn’t have given me a heads up?’
He pressed his lips together and flicked his eyes down toward me.
‘Shut your mind down now, Tessa.’
I blinked, surprised at the malice in his words.
“I did come to you, Apollo.” He shook his head and laughed. “You were useless, in case you’ve forgotten.”
Apollo bristled at the insult, and I sucked in a breath, waiting for him to rebuke Nathaniel in some way.
Instead, he shrugged.
“I can understand why you might see it that way, but I was only trying to help.”
“Help with what? I told you what was going on with her and you refused to answer any of my questions. How in all the realms was that helpful?”
Oh. They were talking about me now.
Wait.
‘You talked to him about me? Before you talked to me?’
He ignored me, which was incredibly unsettling.
“There is a time and place for information to be revealed, Nathaniel, and it is not when a girl has only just completed her transformation and has so little control over her powers.”
“So you know what she is, then?”
Apollo scratched his jaw, then nodded. “Yes, I know what she is.”
‘I am so going to kick your ass for this!’
I could feel the desperation in my thoughts, but it seemed to have no effect on him.
A
pollo glanced down at me, his cold gray eyes meeting mine. A small smile flashed across his lips.
“She’s upset with you, Nathaniel. Are you sure you want to do this?”
“You haven’t given me much of a choice,” Nate responded. “Now get out of my way.”
With that, he shoved past Apollo, causing the god to stumble back several steps.
As Nate pulled me the rest of the way up the steps, I stared back at Apollo, terrified at what he would do to Nate for pushing him. Father or not, he was still an Elder and that was miles beyond inappropriate.
Surprisingly, he just straightened his jacket and followed us inside.
“A word of advice, Tessa?”
I turned my head, surprised to hear him address me.
“I’d listen to Nathaniel. If you’ve got any control over those mental walls of yours, now would be the time to put them up.”
Before I could respond, Nate pushed open the massive wooden doors onto a long, extravagant hallway. He walked quickly, causing my sneakers to squeak on the white and beige travertine floor. We were moving so fast, I was barely able to take in the appearance of the hall, aside from the dark paneled walls inlaid with gold designs. It looked like there were quite a number of corridors that branched off, but I couldn’t make out where they led.
We had walked almost the entire length of the hall and were nearly at a set of massive dark wood doors when I finally spoke.
“Nate, please talk to me,” I begged. “What’s going on?”
“My father will be able to help,” was his only response. His words were clipped, as though he didn’t want to speak.
Confused, I looked at Apollo, who had fallen in step beside me, his white shoes clicking on the marble floor.
“But I thought—”
“Oh, I’m not his father, girl.” He laughed. “I’m surprised he hasn’t explained his parentage yet, seeing how close you two have grown.” He looked at me appraisingly. “I must say, it has been nice to see Nathaniel so interested in someone other than himself for once.”
Before I could respond, Nate dropped my hand and spun on Apollo, driving him back against a statue of a woman with a bird resting in her hand, causing her to wobble precariously on her base.
“Nate!” I yelped, startled by his sudden show of violence.
