Releasing the Gods

by Leia Stone

  Cronus tucked me into his body and the pain I’d felt completely vanished in his presence. “I will be back for you. I will have your head for this,” he told his delinquent, psychotic son.

  We blinked from that beach and suddenly we were back in Bali, in our cabana, the food plates still lying on the deck. Cronus cupped my face and drew one thumb across my lips. “Hyperion is holding Turmoil and Strife, ready to place them in your necklace but…” He pulled up my hand and gently kissed my fingertips. “Tell me what happened with this, because I would let the whole world burn before causing you any harm.”

  I would let the whole world burn before causing you harm.

  Did he even realize he’d just said the most romantic thing possible? Like ever.

  I couldn’t think straight, I just kept thinking about being naked in that water with him and wishing I’d given myself to him last night. Finally, I found my words and quickly relayed the entire story.

  “So you felt rage and fear and screamed, and the black stuff just … came out?”

  I nodded. “After the necklace pulsed.”

  He cursed. “You didn’t say that before.”

  I winced. “I forgot.”

  He started to pace the room. “This is exactly what I wanted to avoid!”

  Fear started to trickle back into my body. “Cronus, what aren’t you telling me?”

  When Cronus turned to face me, he looked completely devastated.

  “Maisey, I don’t think the necklace is the box. The necklace is just the conduit to portal the sins into the real box.”

  Holy shit. Holy shit. This was going to be bad.

  He let out a strangled sigh. “I think you’re the box.”

  #TotallyFucked #NotInTheGoodWay

  Chapter 20

  After allowing myself a full two minutes to wallow in my pity of being a living box that contained the world’s untold evils and would probably kill me, I sighed. “Let’s go to Egypt. We need to capture Turmoil and Strife before anyone else gets hurt.”

  Cronus frowned. “Did you hear what I just said? I think you are the box. I think we are putting the sins into you and not the necklace. I don’t know what will happen with each sin, but it won’t be anything good.”

  It made me sick to think about, but I nodded. “Yes, and every minute we don’t do shit, an innocent human dies. Let’s lock them away and we can figure out how to save me later.”

  If at all. I couldn’t think about that, but one life was worth sacrificing for the masses, and if I had to and it came down to it, I would.

  Cronus shook his head. “No. Sickness did that.” He pointed to my hands, which were still coated black at the fingers but slowly fading. “You have dark powers, and more sins could weaken your human body.”

  “Or my Selene half of my body could rise up and heal. You said it yourself, back in New Zealand: I have healing powers, but they only work on myself. Maybe I can heal myself.”

  That seemed to get his mind working. I purposely avoided mentioning how badly I did not heal myself when I’d gotten the plague.

  “Cronus, I’ll never forgive you if we don’t go and save those people right now.”

  You could see the struggle play out across his face. “Turmoil and Strife. No more.”

  I nodded; we’d argue about the rest later. “Okay. Let’s go.”

  Cronus stalked towards me and I expected him to tuck me into his body and beam us to Egypt. Instead, he tilted up my chin and claimed my mouth in a kiss. I’d barely had time to process it before he pulled away.

  “I think the Fates knew what they were doing when they paired us up,” was all he said before we were transported into the war zone in Egypt.

  “Cronus!” Hyperion shouted.

  Once the dust settled a little and I could see what was going on, I gasped.

  A fucking thirty-foot black tornado of dark magic spun across the sky.

  “I. Can’t. Hold it.” Hyperion looked pale, sweaty and ready to pass out. I mean, they said he controlled the elements but holy shit.

  “Is that Turmoil and Strife?” I pointed to the black mass swirling in the sky.

  Cronus looked terrified. “It is, and we’re not putting it inside you. Come on, I know a seer. She can glimpse the future. Let’s go talk to her before—” I slipped out of his grasp and ran at the tornado. My gaze had fallen on the two little boys at the edge of the city, covered in dust, one bleeding at the arm, and I just reacted.

  War was fucked up. Innocent kids getting hurt was double fucked up. I was too soft for this shit. If it was me or them, then I would always have it be me.

  “Maisey!” Cronus roared when I did the stupidest thing possible: I jumped into the tornado with my hands outstretched.

  The second the darkness hit my skin, I felt anger and rage boil within me. I wanted to kill. Zeus, the sins, even Rhea, anyone who got in my fucking way. Suddenly, Koios and Crius were there next to me, one hand on each of my arms and the necklace pulsing at my throat.

  A five-hundred-pound weight dropped onto my chest then as the tornado slowly lowered itself into my necklace, Hyperion guiding it.

  Rage. Anger. War. Kill. Death. Blood. These dark thoughts swirled around my mind until Cronus’ face swam into view and he placed both hands on either side of my head.

  His blue magical light flared and suddenly all of the dark thoughts were chased away. It was like a salve had been placed on a wound in my mind. I sighed contentedly, closing my eyes.

  “You can’t have her.” His voice was low and deadly, and with a pinching in my chest I popped my eyes open to see the last remnants of Turmoil and Strife suck into the necklace.

  I felt sick, like I was about to barf, and then I felt warm. It was like … Sickness and the other two sins … were now fighting for space in my body.

  “You okay? Talk to me?”

  I took a deep cleansing breath, full-on fucking namaste-yoga-class-breathing, and the sick feeling subsided. “I’m fine. We’re good.” I smiled for good measure, even though there was still darkness swirling in my gut, threatening to expel any food and possibly intestines at some point.

  I’d done this dance with Sickness already, and now I’d absorbed two more. I knew that meant it would take extra time for the weight of the sins to settle inside of me.

  “How am I strong enough to even hold the sins?” I wondered out loud.

  Cronus shook his head at me, and I realized he hadn’t wanted his family to know about that— that the sins were a part of me and not just the necklace.

  “You mean inside the necklace?” Hyperion said, his eyes shrewd and assessing as he locked them on me. “Because magical objects of that nature are usually strongly forged using multiple god powers.”

  I cleared my throat, not sure if I should lie to my grandfather. I mean, I didn’t have a ton of experience with competent father figures, as mine was a raging alcoholic, but it felt like telling him the truth was the right path.

  Cronus interrupted before I could open my mouth. “We’re not totally sure about the necklace,” he said, eyes on me even though he was talking to his friend. “Maisey has had some odd side effects, and for now we need to speak with someone that might be able to give us more information.” I looked down at my fingers to see they were normal looking again.

  Ugh, the last time he said that, we ended up visiting the Crone-who-wanted-to-kill-us.

  Cronus finally looked away from me and I felt warm all over. This time it wasn’t from the power of the sins encased in my body, but from his eyes focused on me as they had been.

  “You going to Jessell?” Hyperion asked, and it was random enough that I knew there was a huge back-story there. Probably one that ended with Cronus sticking his dick into the wrong woman again. #Asshole.

  Cronus’ brow furrowed. “I’m not sure if she’s still in the business … or even still alive. The whispers of information that made it to my prison were few and far between. You’re usually more informed from the underworld…”
>
  Hyperion, Crius, and Koios all shook their heads. “She’s not in the underworld, if that helps,” Koios said, rubbing a hand over his dark hair. He looked tired, his skin darker and more grey than usual—like Cronus when he’d expended too much energy, but I could already see color returning.

  “I guess we’ll hunt her down and see what we find.”

  Considering Cronus had been locked in a cage for a thousand years or so, it wasn’t surprising that a lot of his old contacts would be out of service. Or dead.

  “Is she a god?” I asked, wondering what she might be able to tell us that the Titans didn’t already know.

  Cronus shook his head. “She’s a powerful seer, blessed with longevity and future sight. At one time she was my greatest asset, but she defected to Zeus’s side and was part of my downfall.”

  I stared blankly at him, blinking a few times. “Let me guess, you fucked her and then didn’t send flowers?”

  Cronus shook his head as his brothers laughed—was that a smile on Hound’s face too?

  #CronusIsASlut

  “In this situation, I’m not sure of the reason,” Cronus told me, ignoring my jibe. “One day she was at my side, and the next she was helping those bastards lock me away.”

  Anger rose inside of me, so swift and brutal that I felt like fire could rage from my fingertips and I wouldn’t even find it odd. It took me a second to see that some of my emotions were elevated by the new sins I carried, and if I let them take control now I’d probably lose my mind. So with a lot of effort, I dialed it back.

  “We can’t trust her, then,” I bit out, somewhat under control. “I won’t speak with someone that betrayed you so easily.”

  Cronus shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. “It’s a cutthroat world. The Greeks probably offered her something that she couldn’t turn down. A lot of time has passed. It’s worth going to see her again.”

  I snorted, crossing my arms. “Loyalty shouldn’t be able to be bought.”

  Cronus and Hyperion exchanged a single smile. “And that’s why, my dear,” Hyperion said, “you are a breath of fresh air to us old Titans. Gods can be bought. Humans, on the other hand, occasionally there is one who will literally die before betraying those they love. Looks like you might be the rarest of breeds.”

  I paused, not sure if that was completely true or not. Would I sacrifice myself…?

  “You threw yourself into a storm born of pure sin to save the humans,” Cronus reminded me. “You didn’t even hesitate. Your altruistic nature goes against your love of selfies and that Facegram thing, but I think your true self has been hidden for a long time. Squashed by this world.”

  Koios made a sound, and I startled because those two were so quiet at times, I forgot they were there. Giants silently observing in the background. “Your mother had a kind heart as well,” he said. “The sins will try to corrupt you, and the longer you hold them, the stronger the corruption will be. Your heart … you need to keep it pure.”

  I swallowed roughly. “And how do I keep it pure?”

  He shrugged. “I’m not sure, but the seer should have some answers.”

  The rage again, tempered this time because I was ready for it. “Nope. Let’s just go after the next sin.”

  “No,” Cronus rumbled. “You need to rest and let Turmoil and Strife settle. We don’t know the side effects of taking on each sin.”

  Hyperion cleared his throat. “Want me to talk with Thanatos and see if I can organize a meeting with Selene’s essence? I know he has his strict rules, but any information she could give us about what Maisey is going through would help.”

  My throat went dry at the mention of my mother and her essence.

  Cronus nodded. “Yes. Do that. Use more than a little persuasion to convince Thanatos that it’s time to bend his rules.” He spun to the other two. “Can you pick up Rhea and make sure she’s recovered? We need to go after Jealousy before he crumbles cities in his quest to make the world succumb to their base instincts.”

  The pair nodded. “We’re going to need our last two brothers,” Crius added. “I know you’re not on speaking terms with Oceanus, but we can’t do this without him.”

  So far it had seemed like each sin had a god that was adept at fighting them, and they were asking for the next to be returned to life. I couldn’t imagine having the strength to bring more back, not yet.

  “We don’t need them yet,” Hyperion said gruffly. “I can handle Jealousy and Famine. Those two have always been my favorites to destroy.”

  Famine? Well, great. Just what we needed. A bunch of angry jealous people that were also starving. #BringBackStrifeAndTurmoil #Kidding

  “We also need to send Zeus a very strong message,” Cronus added, his voice nothing more than a rumble of pissed-off. “He took Maisey from me, he caused her pain, and I can’t let that go unanswered.”

  That voice did something to my lady parts, because they were all tingling. And this time it had nothing to do with the sin energy I was carrying around like a pack animal. Nope, it was all Cronus.

  “Zeus will get what’s coming to him,” Hyperion said, and he smiled in a way that caused all the sexy feelings to dry up and dread to form in my gut. If that smile was directed at me, I’d be running and screaming. I didn’t like Zeus, like at all, and I almost felt sorry for the poor bastard. He’d taken this vendetta against the Titans too far this time. The only thing saving him was the fact that we were kind of busy trapping sins. Otherwise, he’d already be suffering.

  “Let’s rain check on Zeus,” Cronus agreed, a similar scary smile playing across his lips. “For now, we finish our tasks, and then we meet up again to take down the next two sins.”

  Everyone agreed and Hyperion asked to take Hound with him. Then they did their zapping away thing, Hyperion stopping briefly to give me a hug before he vanished. I felt a little better knowing he was out there in the world, keeping an eye on everything.

  “How are you feeling?” Cronus asked, his gaze running down my face before settling on my necklace. “Are you adjusting?”

  Automatically, my head nodded. I hadn’t really stopped to think about it or check, and I wondered if that had been a reflex reaction, or if somehow the sins controlled that response. Either way, it was scary.

  “I’m feeling slightly angrier and more annoyed than usual,” I admitted, forcing the words out. “But the necklace isn’t heavy like last time, and I’m finding that odd.”

  Cronus grimaced. “Now that we’ve realized the necklace carries no real burden, your brain no longer expects it to be heavy.”

  “I am tired,” I said softly, wanting to drop to the ground and sleep for a dozen years. “So, it’s my body with the heavy load now.”

  His expression went hard as he opened and closed his hands at his side. Cronus didn’t like to feel helpless. I could tell he’d never really felt that way, outside of being a prisoner, but even then, he’d still controlled what he could.

  In this situation, there was very little he could do to help me.

  I had to carry this burden alone.

  Chapter 21

  Turned out Jessell was not as hard to find as one might expect after losing her for a thousand years. All it took was a quick Google search to find a “Just Jessell” show in Vegas, where she made millions peddling her seer tricks to humans who wanted a glimpse of their future.

  “That’s her,” Cronus said, sounding surprised that it had been as easy as that. “Guess we’re taking a trip to this Las Vegas place.”

  A chuckle bubbled from me. This was going to be fun.

  Ten minutes later, we stood on the strip watching the hundreds of people stream past us, half of them carrying slushy drinks as they stumbled along.

  “Looks like she adapted pretty well to the times,” I said dryly, letting Cronus have a moment to take in all the lights and crazy that was Vegas. “Not at all hiding her powers.”

  Cronus shook his head. “It’s surprising she hasn’t been stopped yet. We aren
’t supposed to advertise our existence to humans. We should always be revered as gods, a step above them. Any contact could lessen this.”

  “Humans aren’t the same creatures now that they were a thousand years ago,” I told him. “They’re less about gods and religion and more about technology and reality. A lot don’t believe anymore. Maybe this was Jessell’s way of keeping herself powerful.” Not that I knew exactly how Titans, gods, or seers got their power, but I knew for sure some of it was to do with worship and human emotions. That just made sense.

  “Seers thrive on emotion,” Cronus said, like he’d read my thoughts.

  I laughed. “Then there’s no better place for her to be than Vegas. This is one happening place, always filled with people, and a glitz and glamour that hides a seedy underbelly.” My eyes swept across the scene again.

  Cronus was getting a lot of looks as we stood there. Partially because we were still covered in dirt and grime from Egypt, but mostly he was over six-and-a-half-feet of gorgeous Titan, and Vegas was the place to find a rando and spend one night of pleasure with them.

  Hopefully waking up unmarried.

  “We should move before I have to start fighting the women off,” I said, rolling my eyes as I marched along. “We need a room and clothes for tonight. Her show is popular and likely sold out, so I think we need to splurge on a penthouse and hope the concierge can hook us up with some tickets.”

  Cronus had no idea what I was talking about, but he didn’t argue and I was glad. I knew how this shit worked in these places. It was the smaller, condensed version of Instagram. Flashing money and faking everything. Including orgasms.

  Not that I’d ever done that. #Cough #Lies #CoughCough Besides I’d never stayed in a penthouse before and I’d probably not have the chance again without Mr. Gold Dick Bars here.

  I’d been to Vegas only once with a friend from work who’d been supposed to get married, but then her fiancé ran off with their florist. Their male florist. She’d brought me out instead and we’d spent most of the trip drunk and window shopping. I’d vowed to make it back again soon, but I’d never expected it would be under these circumstances.