by Jaymin Eve
‘We shave our vajayjay in this century, bitch.’
“You were married for that long?” I asked, something dark slithering through my chest. I was regretting this line of conversation.
Rhea snorted, slumping forward a little. “In name only. We were never really in love. I loved one man and it wasn’t Cron—”
I coughed loudly to cover up his name because my Instagram likers were ferocious and would be googling the fuck out of his name. I mean, I wasn't scared any of them would think they were legit Titans reborn, but it could happen.
“Who did you love?”
Rhea eyed me closely, before shaking her head. “I never say his name.”
‘Hahahaha. That bitch did not just say that. He Who Will Not Be Named!’
‘She thinks she’s in HP.’
I wondered then if Cronus knew that Rhea had only ever loved another. Was this hurting him?
For some reason, that didn’t sit right with me, even though I was hurting pretty badly myself. Cronus generally seemed to be as ambivalent about Rhea as she was about him, but just in case, I decided to cut off that line of questioning. Before I could change the subject, chills ran the length of my arms.
Fuck.
In a flash, I ended the live stream and spun around. Zeus stood just behind me, glowering down at our table. This place was dead. It was 4:00 A.M. Even the cashier was in the back, probably still making our order. Hopefully she stayed there, because I really didn’t want anyone to die in the fallout of Zeus and his insanity.
“Rhea,” I said urgently, nudging her. I was really regretting getting her so hammered; a little help would be appreciated right about now.
Zeus curled his lip at Rhea. “This look is unbecoming of you, Mother.”
The Titaness sneered back. “You dare speak to your mother like that! I birthed you. I protected you.” Icy tendrils leaked from her mouth and her hand came out and clamped down on mine, rooting me to the spot.
Zeus grinned. “You think you can protect her from me? I get what I want, Mother. You should know that by now.”
He reached out to grab my shoulder, seemingly to zap me away with him, but nothing happened.
Zeus grimaced. “You’re too drunk to take her away yourself, but you can block me.”
My eyes flicked to Rhea and I saw alarm there. Fuck. He had been right—she’d tried to zap me away with her and it hadn’t worked … but at least she’d blocked him.
Anger rolled through me as I allowed the sins to bubble to the surface. The world was ending, Cronus had ditched me, and now I was having to entertain his ex-wife. I had enough problems on my plate without fucking Zeus getting in the way.
“Leave.” My voice was low and deadly. Strife had taken over; the tips of my fingers started to turn black, and both Rhea and Zeus yanked their hands back.
Rhea looked horrified, but when I turned to look at Zeus, I saw something else there.
Fascination. Greed. Desire.
“Let’s make a deal,” Zeus purred. If I wasn’t busy hating on him I would have taken a moment to admire the man’s beauty. He had nothing on Cronus, but he was definitely pretty.
“Don’t listen to him.” Rhea stood, swaying a little.
It dawned on me then. “You want the necklace,” I breathed, clutching the pendant at my throat.
He grinned. “With powers like that, who wouldn’t?”
The black tips of my fingers were now smoking. Tendrils of inky black wafted toward the ceiling.
“What would you use these powers for, Zeus? To destroy the fucking world? I can’t let that happen.”
“You know you’ll die, right? Carrying those sins when you’re all but human.” His voice was low and hypnotic. “I have a crone who can transfer the necklace from you to me.”
He held out his hand for me to shake or to zap me away—or both.
My chest was tight at the thought that I might die, but at the same time I couldn’t let Sickness, Strife, and Turmoil fall into his hands. He’d use them to hurt people. He’d take the other sins and use them against humanity.
“Fuck off.” I thrust my hands out; black tendrils shot from them like whips and lashed at his body. Both Rhea’s hands clamped down on my shoulders and everything went black. We were spinning like in a washing machine, with no end in sight.
“Rhea!” I shouted.
“I’m trying!” she cried.
Holy fuck, we were stuck in some in-between. She’d fucking drunk-zapped us and now I’d probably be ripped in two.
After what felt like forever, my feet slammed down on hardwood floor and I leaned forward and vomited. The room spun as nausea rolled into me like crashing waves. My eyes snapped open and I sighed.
I’d just thrown up on my kitchen floor.
Great.
At least Rhea had taken us to my apartment—and I still had all my limbs.
“Clean that mess up and then make me some food,” the drunk bitch ordered, skimming the wall as she walked to my bathroom.
#INeededToGoogleHowToKillATitan
The black tips of my fingers slowly retreated back to their usual tan coloring, and I was relieved that the sins settled inside of me.
Rubbing at my face in desperation, I tried to think. Zeus wanted my necklace…
Tonight had been his way of trying to figure out where I stood, but next time he’d be back with full powers blasting.
Where the fuck was Cronus?
That bastard left me with his ex-wife while his son wanted to rip my head off so he could procure the necklace. Some almost boyfriend he was.
Zeus had said that a crone could take my necklace…
My fingers went to my throat as I thought of being free of the sins that I carried. Did Zeus know I was the box and the necklace was just the conduit? Was there an actual chance I could be freed of my burden at some point? Did I trust anyone else to do the right thing?
So many questions and so few answers. It was making my head spin.
After I cleaned up the mess I’d made, I showered and brushed my teeth. When I came out, Rhea was passed out in my bed with an empty potato chip bag in her lap.
I was not sleeping on the floor in my own house! After three attempts to move her ass onto the floor without waking her, I finally gave up and just snuggled in beside her.
#FuckIt #ModernFamily
As I lay on my back staring at the blue wards that crackled on my ceiling, it reminded me of the man who’d put them there.
I’d never forgive Cronus for leaving me. Even now, sending his ex-wife to deal with me. How fucking dare he? When I finally saw him again, I was going to smack him across the face. That would show him that Maisey Hope Parker was not to be fucked with.
And with that, I fell asleep.
My eyes felt like they were glued shut with some sort of sand-based substance: gritty and painful. A groan escaped as I tried to rub it away, only I missed my face completely and smacked into a soft body that was sprawled next to me.
#Fuck #NotAlone #CreepAlert
Rolling over in one swift movement, I shoved the warm body away, hearing a thump as they hit the ground. When a familiar voice started cursing, relief hit me. Rhea. In my sleepy state I’d forgotten that she had been with me at the party. That after Zeus crashed our Taco Bell session, we’d ended up here.
Finally prying my lids open, I peered through blurry eyes, assessing the current danger level from the Titaness.
Sober Rhea was a high-class pain in the ass. Today I was expecting her to lift her level of bitch to something epic.
“I should kill you, human,” she groaned, sounding much raspier than usual. “I seriously want to kill you.”
#Ditto #YouBasicBitch
“If you kill me, you’re going to release a few more sins back into the world. You didn’t fare so well with Sickness last time … are you aiming for round two?”
It was a low blow. A lot of people died, and many more had fallen so ill, and it wasn’t Rhea’s fault. She’d s
acrificed herself to try to keep it at bay, but still, she’d have failed if it wasn’t for the Titan-who-won’t-be-mentioned-because-he-broke-my-heart-like-the-true-asshole-he-was.
“You need to get over Cronus,” Rhea said. Apparently I’d spewed my hatred out loud. “He was never going to settle for a human. You shouldn’t be surprised by this.”
I pitched a few pillows at her. “Can you even hear the bitch coming out of your mouth? Besides, I'm not human. Half Selene, remember?”
She groaned. “What do you put in your alcohol now? It never used to be this painful waking up.”
It was probably the way it was manufactured these days. Some part of the process didn't work well with their magical makeup. Or she was just #Soft.
“How much longer am I stuck with you?” I pushed, in no mood to deal with her today. We didn’t even get Taco Bell last night because of that fucker Zeus. That alone was a great travesty, especially after I already paid.
#RheaOwesMeTenBucks
“Cronus is making the rules,” she said hoarsely. “Not me. Trust me, I wouldn’t be hanging around scummy humans like you if I had a choice.”
I snorted. “Says the bitch who flashed everyone her thong while sucking down half a keg of beer.” I waved my finger at her. “Scummy gods shouldn’t throw stones.”
She glared. “I have no godly idea what you’re talking about. But I will be taking my shower now. Make us food.”
#Sure #FoodWithPoisonComingRightUp
Then she flounced off into my bathroom like she didn’t have a care in the world.
“I’ve gotta pee,” I shouted as the door slammed shut.
Shit. Fucking gods.
I eyed the sink and not for the first time envied dudes their abilities to pee anywhere. Meanwhile, I just bounced around a bit and hoped like hell Rhea wasn’t going to spend an hour in my bathroom.
I’d already cleaned vomit off the floor. Pee was not going to be the next on that list.
Right?
#FML
Chapter 3
“Maisey,” a deep voice whispered in my ear as someone stroked my neck. I must have fallen asleep again while waiting for Rhea. The shower was still audible in the background.
“Wake up!” It was more of a snap this time, and I swung my head to find a giant leaning over my bedside.
Cronus. My heart felt like it detonated in my chest as I stared up at the most perfect face I’d ever seen. I thought I remembered him clearly. In the last month I’d pictured his face so many times, but seeing him in person … it was fucking overwhelming. There was something about Cronus that was so much more than any other being I’d ever met. An energy. The hard planes of his face. The power that licked across his skin.
#DontCry #NeverFuckingCryOverHimAgain
“We need your help,” he said, not looking directly at me.
His face was cold, expressionless, nothing like the Titan I’d known, who had been warmly amused around me most of the time. If anything, he was reminding me of that first moment he popped out of the portal. I hadn’t been a fan of that version of Cronus, and now that he was back, not to mention how physically close we were, it was actually quite painful.
“You left me,” I whispered, pulling the pillow closer, holding it in my arms so I didn’t reach out and touch him. I mean, nothing about him was inviting my touch, but for some reason my body didn’t care.
He ignored that, his jaw seemingly even tighter than before. “The replacement box did not hold Jealousy,” he bit out, each word husky. “We need the necklace. We need you.”
We… #Ouch #FuckThatHurt
“So that’s all, then?” I sat up, throwing the pillow to the floor. “You’re just back for the necklace? Do you want to cut off my head to get it?”
Fiery blue eyes slammed into me. “Don’t be ridiculous. We both know the necklace doesn’t hold the sins. You do. If I killed you, it would only release them into the world. That’s not the solution.”
The silence was almost deafening after that. I wasn’t sure if I was giving him a few seconds to understand what he’d just said, or if I was too shocked to speak.
“What happened to you?” I snarled, jumping up off the bed and pushing against him. I was sick of him towering over me. “You’re being a fucking asshole.”
#Crap #StillNeedToPee
He didn’t flinch. “I’m doing what must be done so that we all survive. This is the path now, and you will either get on it or I will drag you on.”
Jesus. Who was this man? Tears pricked my eyes at his rudeness.
“What did Jessell tell you?” It must have been really bad for him to go back to asshole Cronus.
He stared at the wall, not meeting my gaze.
Rhea chose that moment to shut the shower off, emerging a few moments later in a cloud of steam and smelling like my shampoo and body wash. Cronus turned her way; he no longer looked like a statue, hard and unyielding. Instead he looked exasperated.
“You had one job, Rhea,” he growled with a shake of his head. “And you were too drunk to even check in with me. What if Zeus got hold of the necklace?”
The necklace. Not me. He no longer cared about me except for the fact I was attached to the conduit for the sins.
Spinning on my heel, I dashed into the bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind me. After peeing for what felt like ten minutes, I finally got into the shower, and it wasn’t until I reached for the body wash that I noticed how badly my hands shook. Cronus had ripped me apart when he left me. Ripped me to pieces and I’d been drifting along trying to force myself to keep existing. All that time, I’d thought he did it to protect me. It was the only thing that made sense, but now, after the reception I’d just gotten, I wasn’t so sure.
In the movies, that was exactly why he would have taken off. But apparently this was no movie. Because if he’d left to protect me, he’d be nicer to me. Right? This asshole Cronus was all business, and that hurt the most.
#Motherfucker #CutThatGoldDickOff
When I was finished with the shower, I got out, brushed my teeth, and threw my hair into a thick top knot.
“We need to leave, Maisey,” Cronus said, startling me through the door. I had an immediate flashback to that first night in my apartment, when we’d been physically tethered together and I’d sung to annoy him. Right now, I wanted to do much more than annoy him.
I wanted to hurt him.
There were spare clothes in the bathroom, so I threw on clean underwear, jeans, and a simple white shirt. Then I slipped into tennis shoes, I didn’t care about my looks today. Swinging the door open, I was once again face to chest with a giant Titan.
“Maisey Parker, at your service.” I bowed.
#PettyAF
He sighed. “I didn’t miss your little tantrums, human.”
“You didn’t miss anything by the sound of it,” I shot back, before shoving him hard to get him out of the doorway. My hand slammed into solid muscle, and I tried not to soak in the warmth and power beneath my palm. He didn’t move; he grabbed my arm and transported us out of my home and into some back alley. After the silence of my apartment, it was loud. A city. Cars and an ambulance zoomed by to confirm my observations.
I crossed my arms, stepping back from him. “Where are we? And what happened to Rhea?” Not that I really cared, but I didn’t want that bitch loose in my apartment for too long.
“New York City. And she’ll find the other Titans and keep moving forward with the plan.”
As long as she wasn’t pawing through my shit, I really didn’t care.
“Jealousy is here?” I got right to business, because that was clearly the only reason Cronus was even near me.
A nod. “He tends to focus on densely populated cities. He hits hard and fast.”
Made sense.
“Okay, where is he, then? Let’s get this over with,” I grumbled.
Someone popped in right behind us and I would have screamed but Cronus got his hand over my mouth first, sile
ncing the yell.
#No #HeSmellsSoGood
Why the hell did he do that? Now his scent and the feel of his skin on mine filled my mind. If he was going to so spectacularly reject me, he should at least have the decency not to rub it in my face. Literally.
The shadow closed in on us. “Are we ready to go after Jealousy?”
It was Hyperion who’d popped into the alley behind us. AKA long lost grandfather.
“Maisey,” he exclaimed, leaning toward me, arms out like he was going to hug me.
Cronus stepped in front of him. “We don’t have time for reunions. Jealousy has been hard to track. We can’t lose him now.”
I poked my head out around Cronus. “Hey, Grandpa! I’m not talking to you either. At least not about anything but business. You abandoned me as well, and I’m very good at holding a grudge.”
#DontMessWithMe #ICanHoldAGrudgeForever
His face crumpled and I fought against the instinct to comfort him. “I’m so sorry,” he said, his eyes imploring me to understand. “A lot has been happening and we’ve been trying to protect you.”
I eyed Cronus, but he neither agreed nor denied the claim.
#AgreeGodDammit
“We need to get in there,” was all Cronus said, and we were once again business.
“What’s the plan?” I whispered, following them as they edged to the front of the dark alley. It was a dreary day in the city, and this far back the huge buildings surrounding the area blocked what little light there was.
“Jealousy is not like the others,” Hyperion told me, trying to counter Cronus’ unfriendliness by being extra helpful. “He doesn't want glory or recognition. He doesn’t brag or show himself much. His power is subtle, but deadly in its intent. A lot of murder-suicides happen when Jealousy is near.”
Yikes.
Cronus sighed, running a hand through his hair. He looked tired. I mean, he was gorgeous as usual, and gods never really looked anything other than perfect, but his eyes held weariness.
“Every time we’ve gotten close,” Cronus started, “Jealousy slipped by just before we could hold him. And then the one time we managed to trap him, the box we had couldn’t contain him.”