Adrastia (The God Chronicles Book 4) (20 page)

Except I would most certainly be cast into Tartarus.

I’d been coming to terms with my fate since I shared it with her, taking her advice to spend the time we had together just being with her. If I was going to Hell, I might as well be happy before I got there.

Pulling myself from grim thoughts, I watched as she started the transformation of her fingers into snakes. This was more painful for her, I could tell from the way her eyes glistened and her lips pressed together, but still not altogether gut wrenching. It hurt me to see her being harmed, but I knew it was for her good, to protect her from the tidal wave of attacks we would surely be facing.

“You’re doing well,” Arsenio coached her, holding onto her shoulder as the last bits of snake appeared, writhing at the ends of her hands.

Her concentration dropped for a moment and the snakes disappeared, her fingers cracking back into place so loudly that even I flinched.

“Sorry,” she panted, holding her hand to her chest. “She pushes so hard against me sometimes. It’s difficult to use just a little bit of the power.”

Curious.

When I’d first started my training, we’d thought I’d inherited Zeus’s powers, since I’d been able to hold a lightning bolt without being harmed. But when we tried to unleash the powers, they just weren’t there. It was like there was a wall, much like Avalon described was holding her Titan back. After several unsuccessful tries, we’d set at seeing if I had other powers and discovered those of Adrastia.

“I’m tired.”

Avalon’s voice broke through my thoughts again and I looked up, noting that some of the color had drained from her face.

“Just a little more,” Arsenio coaxed. “You can do it.”

She nodded, holding her hand out to try again.

With a flurry of movement, she suddenly lit on fire, her fingers instantly transforming as Arsenio jumped back out of the way. With a heart wrenching cry, her back arched and wings started to push through her skin, tearing her apart, blood dripping onto the deck beneath her.

Jumping to my feet, I rushed to her side, her cries screeching out across the water as tears washed her face.

“Avalon,” I said, grabbing her to me and holding her tightly.

She was shaking violently, the wings still sprouting from her back and beating against us as I tried to talk to her.

“Shut her down,” I ordered.

“I can’t,” she whimpered. “Sh-she’s pushing t-too h-hard.”

“Listen to me,
zoi mou
,” I urged her. “You can do this. I’ll help you.”

Tightening my grip on her, I muttered encouragement in her ear until finally, the wings shuddered and began to fold back into her skin. My heart felt like it might break as she screamed anew, her nails clawing at my back as great sobs of anguish rocked her. When the wings were finally gone, she collapsed against me, her breathing shallow.

“No more,” I said, looking at Arsenio.

He was looking at us, wide eyed, but nodded all the same.

Standing, I gathered her into my arms and carried her into the cabin, lying her on the bed. She cried out again as the fabric brushed over her back and I flinched, my own hands shaking at having seen her in such pain once more.

“I’m sorry,” her hoarse voice croaked out as I tried to arrange her better.

“You don’t need to be sorry,” I reassured her. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I couldn’t hold her back,” she said, defeated. “She won.”

“You’ve been holding her back for a very long time,” I replied gently. “It’s not surprising she broke through again.”

“She’s only ever done that when I needed protecting,” she whispered. “What was different about this time?”

“You’re testing your limits, that’s all,” I said, smiling the best I could. “Rest now. I’ll come check on you in a little while.”

She nodded, closing her eyes and instantly fading into unconsciousness.

With a shuddering sigh, I looked down on her, wanting to hold her and make the pain I knew was still there go away. Somehow, it felt like this was my fault, for wanting her to learn how to control it. Maybe she’d been pushed too much, but at this moment in time I didn’t want her to have to do it ever again.

With heavy feet, I walked back up the stairs and onto the deck of the boat, looking out over the water as a soft breeze brushed the hair from my face.

“Is she okay?” Arsenio asked from behind me.

I turned to see him at the helm, steering the ship with one hand and a water orb in the other.

“Yes,” I nodded.

“I didn’t mean to push her so far,” he confessed. “If I’d known she was that close to breaking—”

“It wasn’t your fault,” I interrupted him. “She’s tired, that’s all. Let her rest now.”

“She’ll be able to use the fire at least when we get to Mount Etna,” he said encouragingly. “If she wants to.”

I remained silent, looking out in front of us, reliving the memory of her cries.

“How long?”

“What?”

I turned to look at him, confused by his question.

“How long have you had feelings for her?” he asked point blank.

“Arsenio,” I sighed.

“You’re not fooling anyone,” he laughed. “
Zoi mou
? That was a dead giveaway when she asked me what it meant.”

Caught, I grinned at him, annoyed he looked so happy and all knowing.

“She’s undone me,” I confessed. “And it was what I’d hoped to prevent all along.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, abandoning his post and coming to join me.

I wanted to tell him so badly of my fate, to confide in my closest friend and brother in arms. I knew he would try to prevent it, though, getting himself into situations he shouldn’t be.

“I wanted to avoid feeling like this until after the war,” I said instead. “It’s not a very good time to find your other half.”

“You love her.”

It wasn’t a question, merely a statement of a fact, one I let him have.

“Well, at least you have her,” he smiled, clapping me on the back. “I’m convinced I’m going to die an old, lonely man while Aphrodite vacations in Fiji with her husband.”

Laughing, I turned and smiled at him, thankful for the distraction from my thoughts about the Titans.

“I doubt Aphrodite has even noticed you exist yet,” I goaded him.

“She’ll notice after we get the helmet back,” he said confidently.

Something of my worry must have shown in my features because his face softened in the afternoon light.

“She’ll be okay,” he assured me. “She has you. If it were me, I wouldn’t have a single doubt that you would take care of me.”

“You can take care of yourself if you need to,” I laughed humorlessly.

“She’s held her own pretty well against the things we’ve brought her up against so far.” He shrugged, going back to the helm. “I think she may just surprise us.” 

“Cristos?”

I breathed deeply, woken by the sound of her voice as she moved in my arms, twisting to look at me.

“What is it?” I asked, not wanting to wake and let go of her just yet.

“I didn’t remember you coming to bed,” she whispered, laughter shaking her small frame. “I don’t know who else I thought it was, but I was just making sure.”

Cracking one eye open, I looked at her skeptically.

“Have you been inviting other men into bed with you?”

“Never,” she said, her smile barely visible in the dim light.

“Good,” I growled, hugging her closer to me.

“Do you know what time it is?” she asked, fingers playing with my hair.

“Early morning,” I mumbled, closing my eyes and burying my face in her hair. “I took the first watch last night. Arsenio’s out there now.”

“Of course,” she said, fingers moving to trace my lips.

“We’re right off the coast of Sicily,” I shared, pulling my head back and finally deciding it was time to be awake with her. “We’ll be at Mount Etna by late afternoon.”

“Oh.”

She fell silent, hugging me tightly as we lay together.

I knew she was scared. Gods, I was, too. I didn’t want to lose her, not now, not ever. How I’d managed to let myself agree to her staying and trying the trade was beyond me.

“There’s still time to run,” I said softly. “We can go together, just disappear. All you have to do is say the word.”

For a moment, she seemed to consider it before finally letting out a long breath.

“Your family needs you. I know you don’t want to abandon them either. I’m scared, but I can do this, for you. I need you to do it for me, too. We can make this world better.”

“Anything you want,
zoi mou
,” I replied, kissing her forehead. “I’ll do it.”

“Just hold me now,” she said, a slight tremble to her movements. “Just be with me.”

I obliged her, adjusting so she could lay her head on my chest and I could run my fingers through her hair.

“Arsenio knows,” I said in passing. “Apparently all of our staying away from each other was useless.”

“I wondered,” she laughed. “He always seemed like he was smiling at me for some reason, or turning his back just long enough for us to touch hands.”

“He’s not stupid,” I laughed. “But it was worth a try.”

Silence fell between us again, the motion of the water rocking us back and forth softly. I couldn’t help but think that everything would be different by this time tomorrow, hopefully for our good.

Zeus,
I thought, hesitating on whether or not I should ask him to meet us at the volcano.

The prayer went unfinished, my attention turned to the woman in my arms.

“Avalon,” I said softly. “I don’t know what’s going to happen today, but either way, I want you to know something. I love you. It doesn’t make sense, not to other people anyway, but this is the best thing I’ve ever done. If you’re taken—or I am—don’t forget. I will come, because I love you.”

Her hand found the side of my face and she placed a gentle kiss on my lips before resting her head back on my chest.

“Then you better never forget that I love you, too.”

Chapter Twenty Two

My heart grew heavier with each mile that brought us closer to Mount Etna. Not needing to keep up appearances for Arsenio any more, I held Avalon close to me in the car, letting him drive us to our destination. By now, the Titans knew where we were headed and would be around. There was no point in trying to stay hidden and taking longer.

“Remember,” I said for what felt like the millionth time. “If they don’t take the deal, you immediately grab the axe out of my bag. Your hands will be tied, or at least look like they are, so they will think we’re really trying to hand you over.”

“I know,” she reassured me. “And I remember all of the moves you showed me to start out with, to gain the upper hand in any fights.”

Arsenio seemed uncharacteristically quiet, lost in his own thoughts as we neared the mountain. His worries were pushed aside for my own, though. All I wanted to do was grab Avalon and run, duty and callings be damned. If I ever went back in time, it would be to tell myself to never even utter a word about her being traded.

“Harpies,” Arsenio suddenly said, pointing out to something further out in the sky.

“They know we’re here,” I said, holding Avalon to me even tighter.

“It will be okay,” she whispered to me.

I was astounded by her strength and willingness to do what she was about to. Any other person would have thought it crazy, or would have had to been part of an actual trade. It made me feel a little sick to think I’d actually intended on doing something like that in the beginning.

The rest of our drive was spent in silence, myself thinking over everything I could do to save her from harm should the need arise, even if it meant sacrificing myself to do so. The anticipation was growing thick between us all, the clock counting down to show time.

Finally, the peak of Mount Etna rose above us, the most active volcano in the world, waiting to see how our fates would play out today.

“There’s no one here,” Avalon said as we got out of the car, wind blowing hair in our faces.

“They’ll be inside,” I said. “There’s a door that opens up to the lower chamber.”

“Inside?” she asked, shocked. “Won’t the fumes be too much?”

“Not for immortals,” Arsenio said, smiling as he slung his bow over his shoulder.

“Okay,” she gulped, breathing deeply. “Okay. I can do this. Let’s go.”

I grabbed her hand tightly, looking her in the eye one more time.

“
Zoi mou,
” I started hesitantly.

“Do it,” she encouraged me.

Halfheartedly, I removed a rope from my bag and tied it loosely around her wrists, making it easy enough for her to get out, should she need to.

“Gods be with us,” Arsenio prayed as we started out.

The trek to the door of the mountain was uneventful, but I maintained a careful watch, not even the slightest rustle of a bush going unnoticed.

The stone door was easy enough to find, one of the old portal doors from before the Undoing. All we had to do was walk through it and we would find ourselves inside the volcano, the hot magma boiling beneath us.

We passed through the entrance, appearing deep inside the earth, almost in Hades itself it seemed, the rocks around us super-heated and the air filled with smoke. The dirt ground stretched out in front of us, making the arena for our imminent confrontation.

One lone figure stood out in the smoke, standing on the edge of the overhang jutting out over the lava, his golden armor glinting in the brightness of the liquid. Instantly, I was on guard, pulling my sword from the bag and nodding to Arsenio.

“There’s no need for that,” the form said, turning to look at us.

“Helios,” I hissed.

“Who is that?” Avalon whispered intently.

“Someone who deserves to rot in Tartarus,” I snarled, glaring at him.

“Oh, so they do still talk of me on Olympus,” he laughed, hands clasped behind his back. “Good.”

“They tell the story of a traitor,” Arsenio spat. “Who betrayed his family for the promise of power he never got.”