Chaos (Tessa Avery Book 1)
Page 41
They looked like they were sitting vigil.
The moment we stepped into the room, Zeus’ head shot up, and Athena jumped from her seat and faced me. She wobbled a bit, as though she might take a step in my direction but thought better of it. Apollo eyed me curiously, then sat down on the sofa next to Hestia, who was smiling softly. Hera arched a brow and looked at me appraisingly.
Zeus cleared his throat and stood. He ran his fingers through his wavy blond hair and put a hand on his hip, looking decidedly awkward. “How are you—please, sit down,” he said, gesturing toward the long blue sofa that Athena sat on.
I offered them all a wavering smile, suddenly wishing I’d brought the glass of water with me.
“I’m...alright, I guess,” I said once I’d taken a seat next to Athena. Prometheus and Epimetheus hovered behind the sofa. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything.”
“Here,” Athena whispered. She handed me a bottle of honeysuckle water.
“Thank you,” I said, smiling gratefully.
She gave me a hesitant smile in return.
“Do you remember anything?” Zeus leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “About your life before?”
“It’s coming back,” I admitted. “It’s still pretty murky. The more recent memories are very clear. They’re making it hard to remember the old ones, so there are still a lot of blank spots.”
“Yes, that’s likely going to take some time.” Hestia gave me a sympathetic smile. “Not all of us can understand how it feels to remember two lives.”
“That must be confusing,” Athena said. She looked at her lap and started tapping her fingers against one another. “Do you—what do you remember?”
I smiled. “I know that we were friends. Good friends, and I think that’s part of the reason we got along so well when you were training me.”
She let out a heavy breath, then gave me a relieved smile. “That’s good to hear.”
“Like I said, it’s beginning to come back in small pieces.” I waved my hand in the air next to my head. “Right now, everything is just…trying to figure out where it fits, if that makes sense.”
Zeus eyed me warily. “I suppose it does,” he said with a sigh. He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his hands across his face.
I could sense disappointment coming off of him.
“I know that you’re hoping I’ll be able to help with your war, and I plan to do all I can, but I can’t promise that it won’t take time to figure out how to be who I was before.”
“I understand that,” Zeus replied. “It doesn’t make it any less disappointing.”
Epimetheus squeezed my shoulder reassuringly. “We all understand that, Tessa. No one is expecting you to bounce right back.”
I looked up at him, then let my gaze meet those of everyone else in the room.
“I appreciate that,” I said slowly. “I just don’t know how ‘back’ I’ll ever be.”
“You’re a Titaness,” Apollo said brusquely. “You’ll return to your former self soon enough.”
Hestia laid a hand on his arm. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” she warned. “She’s been through quite an ordeal. A separate life. That changes a person.”
Apollo pressed his lips into a hard line and eyed me speculatively. “I suppose we’ll see,” he said.
Before anyone could respond, the door opened and Nate walked in.
Relief flooded me at the sight of his tall frame and warm smile.
He crossed the room and sat down next to me, stretching one arm out on the back of the sofa behind me. Smiling up at him, I relaxed into his side.
“I left Mary at the dorms to fill in Yana and Eric,” he said, absently running his thumb along the back of my neck.
“Thank you,” I murmured. “I’ll go see them when we’re done here.”
He brought his arm down and laced his fingers between mine. “There’s no rush, Tessa. They understand you need time.”
Apollo arched a brow. “It seems some things haven’t taken long to return,” he muttered.
“Quiet,” Hestia said, admonishing him.
Hera cleared her throat, cutting off any response. “So, you plan to continue your relationship with my son, then?”
Apollo snorted and Athena let out a huff.
Nate made a sound of annoyance. “Really, mother?”
“Hera, that’s hardly relevant here,” Zeus chided.
She shrugged. “I only have my son’s best interests at heart. That’s all.”
“Your son is three thousand years old,” Nate said. “And I’m quite certain there are more pressing issues here than my love life.”
“Can I please speak?” I looked between them both, then turned my focus to Hera.
“There are very few things that stick out clearly in my mind from either of my lives. Nate is one of them. I can tell you unequivocally that my feelings for him are as strong as they were two days ago.”
She eyed me speculatively. “Alright then. I just hope you recall our conversation. If not, I’m happy to refresh your memory.”
I bit back a smile. “Yes, I remember.”
“Can we get back to the bigger picture here?” Prometheus said. “My sister needs to be protected. Somehow, Menoetius knows she’s back. I’ve no doubts he’s more motivated than ever to find a way to release Cronus and my father from Tartarus. They’ll come for her the moment they’re free.”
“I’m aware,” Zeus said dryly. “I’ve already been in contact with Hades. He’ll be arriving tomorrow to discuss how we might proceed.”
I felt a weird tugging sensation in my mind at the mention of the god of the Underworld. I couldn’t quite place the feeling, although it felt something akin to irritation. I made a mental note to ask Athena about it later.
“Are you both forgetting that she’s no longer the weak recruit we were training just a few days ago?” Athena asked, looking annoyed. “She’s a Titaness, not a child. She has her full strength now, right?”
“I think so,” I said, looking at Hestia. “Right?”
Hestia nodded. “Yes, when your memory returned, so did all of your deific abilities.”
“She’s still a Titaness with an unclear memory of being such,” Zeus snapped. “Therefore, she needs protection.”
Athena groaned. “Here we go again. You all nearly smothered the life out of her in the name of ‘protection’ back then. Don’t you understand how detrimental that was?”
Prometheus glared at her indignantly, but Zeus held up a hand before either of the twins could respond. “Enough. For the time being, until we’re certain Tessa is back up to her full strength, I agree that she needs an added layer of security.” He looked between my brothers and Nate. “Nathaniel—”
“No,” Nate said firmly. “She’ll stay with me. Titaness or not, as of right now, I’ve still got the best chance of waking her up if Menoetius tries another dream walk.” He looked at me, then added, “If that’s alright with you.”
I raised my eyebrows and smiled. “It doesn’t sound like I have much of a choice.” I frowned at Hestia. “Hang on. Menoetius threatened to kill me in that dream walk. If he knew who I was, wouldn’t he have known that wasn’t possible?”
Hestia cast a glance at Zeus. He met her gaze briefly, then went back to staring into the fire.
“If I had to hazard a guess,” Hestia said, “I’d say he was likely just taking pleasure in tormenting you. Your brother enjoys mental torture nearly as much as physical.”
“Oh.” I frowned as something flickered in the back of my mind, another memory trying to break through. It felt almost…dirty. Black.
Before I could force it forward, Zeus let out a rumble of annoyance.
“As to our current situation,” he said. “Tessa, what do you plan to do now?”
I looked back at my brothers, then around the room at everyone else.
“Well,” I said slowly, meeting Zeus’ eyes. “There is something I need to do
before I do anything else.”
“What might that be?”
“I need you to tell me everything you know about Atlas. I think—no I need to go find my brother. Wherever he is right now, I need to bring him home.”
Acknowledgments
To my husband, whose sage advice to “write the damn book” has finally been put to good use.
To Shae (but not Katrina) because, well, you know. (Just kidding. Love you both.)
To my crazy cousins, who could make "supporting your family" a competitive sport.
To my betas, ARC readers, and my beta-turned-alpha, Eric, who might be the only person to actually like Mary’s character. None of you told me what you thought I wanted to hear, and my work is better for it.
To the BBs. Despite having never met any you, you’ve been some of my biggest cheerleaders throughout this process. You may not know it, but every bit of encouragement you offered gave me confidence to do this.
To Brittany at TBR Editing & Design for my gorgeous cover—thank you for putting up with my pickiness.
To Jenifer, my amazing editor for putting her shining touch to my words.
To all of the authors who’ve inspired me over the years—I may never meet you, but I thank you, nonetheless.
Finally, to all of the readers who’ve chosen to take a chance on me. Writing has become my heart and soul, and I’m thankful for all of you who’ve taken the time to read my work.
About the Author
Lucy lives in southern New Jersey with her husband and two daughters. When she isn’t writing, or momming, she enjoys reading and endless reruns of Buffy.
Stay up to date!
Follow Lucy on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Lucy Roy - A Readers Group
facebook.com/AuthorLucyRoy
twitter.com/LucyRoyAuthor
instagram.com/lucyroyauthor
Also by Lucy Roy
Tessa Avery Series
Chaos (Book 1)
Paradox (Book 2)
Coming Summer 2019