The Prophecy: The Titan Series Book 4

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  She tensed. “Okay.”

  “So, you know how Gable has an affinity with water, practically a dolphin or a merman?” Deacon said, and Gable’s forehead creased at the description. “He’s Poseidon’s son, so duh. And Cora-Bora over here is like a walking, talking Miracle-Gro. She’s Demeter’s daughter, so that also makes sense.”

  I started twisting my hair into a thick rope. “Yes, we know all of that.”

  “And you’ve just realized that some of your dreams are actually foretelling things that are going to happen,” he continued.

  A shiver curled its way down my spine.

  It wasn’t until their friend Caleb showed up from the Underworld with the means to remove the bands Hyperion had placed on me did I realize that my dreams were something more, because I had seen Caleb in a dream and I’d never met him before that moment he removed my bands. That wasn’t the only dream to come true in some fashion.

  But there was one that hadn’t come true yet.

  One where I was wearing a beautiful white gown, being held by Seth, and I…I was dying.

  I shoved that thought aside. That wasn’t something I needed to think about. At least not at this moment.

  Deacon drew in a deep breath. “We know that Zeus and Hera’s kids didn’t make it, because those two gods put the cray in crazy. And that Ares took out four more during his I-Want-To-Take-Over-The-World phase. That’s six down. We lost two more at the hands of the Titans. We know, according to what Apollo told Seth, that they were Hermes’s and Athena’s offspring. We have Poseidon’s kid here. Demeter’s kid, and of course, Apollo’s kid. That doesn’t leave very many gods left.”

  “It leaves a lot, actually,” Alex said. “It could be Artemis or—”

  “This is where the part about Gable discovering something else comes into play,” Deacon interrupted.

  I suddenly had a bad feeling about this. Call it instinct or maybe it was a weak premonition that my demigod abilities were capable of, but either way, I had a really bad feeling about what they were about to say.

  “I didn’t see any missing person’s reports, but I did see a lot of police reports involving fighting and assaults, all within the last couple of months,” Gable explained. “And I mean some serious fights. Like, entire bars throwing down. Street fights. People getting into arguments at intersections and it turning pretty violent. The police there are constantly responding to battery calls. It’s a seriously, abnormally high amount. Like, you’d think the town was the most violent and not the most haunted.”

  The blood drained out of Alex’s face so quickly I feared she might pass out. “No way,” she whispered.

  “Like I’m saying, it could mean nothing,” Luke reiterated. “But for some reason, both Gable and Cora had begun to experience some of the abilities tied to their parent even though their powers hadn’t been unlocked. It would be safe to assume that the same would happen to this demigod. And it made us think of…”

  Alex drew in a sharp breath. “It made you think of Ares. That this demigod could be Ares’s offspring?”

  Chapter 6

  Seth

  Even if I hadn’t seen him once before, I would’ve immediately recognized the god standing before us. He wasn’t just a god.

  He was the god of gods.

  I was not expecting to see Zeus today.

  The last time I’d seen him, he wore only white linen pants and appeared to be in his mid to late forties. The only thing different about him now was that his shockingly white hair was a little longer, brushing his shoulders.

  The glyphs on my skin were going crazy in response, and instinct locked up every muscle in my body. There could only be one reason why Zeus was here.

  He wanted to throw down.

  The moment Aiden realized who was standing before him, he dropped to one knee and bowed his head.

  I, however, did not move, because fuck that shit.

  Zeus stared at me, waiting for the same treatment. I smirked. His all-white eyes snapped electricity as his nostrils flared. “Your ego will be your downfall.”

  “That’s quite ironic coming from you,” I retorted, folding my arms across my chest. “Then again, I guess it takes one to know one.”

  Aiden’s audible inhale brought a smile to my lips.

  The god’s lip curled and then he looked at Aiden. His expression actually softened. “Rise, my child.”

  Rising to his full height, it didn’t look like Aiden took a single breath as he stared at Zeus. He was awestruck, staring upon a being only a very few people ever would. Because of that, I didn’t hold his reaction against him. As utterly useless as I thought Zeus was, he was an impressive sight to behold.

  “You have done well today,” Zeus spoke, his voice deep and commanding, as if he was the very thunder in the sky during a storm. “It’s time for you to go home.”

  Zeus snapped his fingers, and Aiden was simply gone.

  Poof.

  There no more.

  “I really hope you sent him back to the University,” I drawled, not taking my eyes off the god. “Because if not, there’s going to be a certain young lady you ordered killed that’s going to be really pissed.”

  His lips thinned. “You speak of Alexandria, the true Apollyon? You think I enjoyed ending her mortal life? You would be wrong.”

  “I don’t care if you liked it or not. You did it when you didn’t have to do it. Not like that. Not after what she sacrificed—”

  “You speak to me of sacrifice? What do you know of sacrifice? She did. She understood what sacrifice meant and what had to be done. So far, all you know is to run when you cannot control yourself.”

  Shit.

  That little personal remark struck home. The truth in his words stung like a damn road rash.

  “Have you had to kill someone you love for the better of the world? Have you had to answer for any of your mistakes? Truly answer for them? What have you given up, Seth, to lead? You know nothing of sacrifice.”

  Anger flowed through every pore, blanketing my skin, but I managed to keep my mouth shut. Because what could I say in response? Paying for my past sins had been temporary. In a way, it was almost like I’d been rewarded with my godhood. It was something that had worn on me every day since I became…this. Something I wasn’t sure how to process myself.

  Zeus’s smile was faint, as if he knew the reason why I stayed quiet. And maybe he did. “We could not allow a God Killer to exist, but obviously, at the end of the day, her mortal death didn’t stop anything.” He stepped forward, and I unfolded my arms, tensing. “You still became the God Killer.”

  “That I did.”

  “Are you not afraid of me?” he asked after a moment. “You do know that I can kill you.”

  I held his gaze. Only absolute power could destroy absolute power. In the whole world, there were only three of us. Zeus. Cronus. Me. “And you know that I can kill you, so there has to be a damn good reason why you’ve decided to make an appearance after all this time.”

  Zeus sneered as lightning struck, heating the sky. “You would not win a fight against me, boy.”

  “Are you here to test that theory?”

  For a moment, I thought Zeus just might do that. Fury poured into every line of his face. The air crackled with power and the threat of violence became a tangible being, but he seemed to suck it all back in.

  A tense moment passed. “You only stand before me because we need you to entomb the remaining Titans. That is why I allow you to live.”

  “Allow me to live? That’s cute. You know what I don’t understand? Why you don’t entomb them yourselves—you and the remaining Olympians. You’ve done it once before.”

  “It took everything we had to entomb them, and that was with Ares’s help,” he answered. “It is too much of a risk now. If one of us were to fall, all would be lost.”

  “So, I guess the demigods are just disposable then?” My hands curled into fists as I thought of Josie. “They’re cannon fodder. Who cares ab
out them, right? As long as they get the job done. After all, that was what they were created for.”

  “They must do what is necessary as we must to ensure they do not fail.”

  I had no idea what that meant, and I had no clue where this damn conversation was going. “Why are you here? Is it because we just killed a hydra? That really wasn’t our fault. Can’t have that running around the mortal realm. If that’s not why you’re here, can you get to the point?” I smirked. “Because I am seriously trying to keep cool right now, but you’re really pushing every one of my piss-me-off buttons.”

  “Of course I am,” he retorted. “It would not be hard. You allow your emotions to rule every action. You always have, but that must be stopped.”

  Impatience sprung to life. What I wanted to do was get back to Josie. We had plans for today. Pretty fucking important plans. So, I didn’t want to stand here and be lectured by a god who for the last how many thousand years stood on the sidelines and watched the world burn. “I feel like I’ve had this conversation before and—”

  “This is your I-don’t-give-a fuck face? Yes, you’ve had this conversation before, but it has not sunk through that thick skull of yours.”

  “Well, now that was just rude.”

  “You are a god now. You are capable of changing the course of this world and every life that exists with one simple act—an act you may not even think twice of. That kind of power comes with—”

  “Great responsibility. Yeah, I know. I saw Spiderman.”

  His jaw throbbed with irritation. “That kind of power comes with great consequence. Something you need to see for yourself.”

  Zeus blinked out of existence and reappeared directly in front of me, clamping a hand on my shoulder. In a heartbeat, we were no longer standing in the alley near the Hotel Cecil.

  The world came into focus as I shrugged off Zeus’s grasp. I opened my mouth, about to demand to know where in the hell he’d taken me, but anything I was about to say died on the tip of my tongue as I looked around and saw…

  Destruction.

  All I saw was absolute, utter destruction.

  Buildings crumbling and burning, sunken into the scorched ground. What must’ve been a beach at one time, and all the structures near it, had been razed, leaving nothing but splintered debris. The air smelled of burnt wire and sewage, and the echo of screams clawed their way into my brain, digging in deep.

  Scattered among the rubble and burning piles were broken…bodies. Dozens of them. Maybe even hundreds. They were strewn across the ground, as if they’d been picked up and thrown. Arms and legs poked out from the ruins of houses and businesses. Bodies stuck in bent palm trees. Others floated in water that was in places it shouldn’t be.

  I stumbled back a step. “Gods.”

  Zeus said nothing as he stared out over the destruction.

  Horror robbed the air from my lungs as I turned, seeing a city behind me. It was a fiery hellscape. “What is this?”

  “This used to be Long Beach. It is no more.”

  I stepped forward, but found I couldn’t move any further. I couldn’t make sense of it, all the death and destruction. The air reeked with it. And I had seen some shit. I’d been responsible for some shit, but this…this was absolute, unbridled devastation.

  I didn’t want to ask the question crawling up my throat, but I had to. “Did I…did I do this? By killing Hyperion?”

  Zeus was quiet for a moment and then he looked at me. “Would knowing that his death would trigger this change the course of your actions?”

  Gods, I wanted to say yes—that if I’d known this would happen, I would’ve done something different, but I couldn’t say that. Not honestly, because I didn’t know. Because how could I regret killing the creature who’d tortured Josie, nearly killing her? How could I live with myself allowing him to breathe?

  How could I live with myself after this?

  “The ramifications of Hyperion’s death are vast, and the mortal realm has yet to see all of them, but his death did not cause this. Not directly.” A tinge of sorrow filled his tone, and I looked at him sharply. “This was Tethys. Her response to the death of her lover. Well, one of her lovers. I do believe she is still technically married to Oceanus.”

  My brows lifted.

  “In a fit of anger, she caused a massive tsunami. The loss of life is…substantial.” Zeus shuddered. “She would not have retaliated in such a manner if Hyperion had not been killed.”

  My throat thickened. “You really think she wouldn’t have done this if he’d been entombed?”

  “That I cannot answer. Perhaps she would’ve, but does the what-if matter in the end? You killed Hyperion, causing other damage and death, and she responded as such, destroying entire cities all up and down the coast.”

  Pressure clamped down on my chest. I didn’t want to see this. I wanted to say something smartass. I wanted to show Zeus that I wasn’t affected, but that would be a lie.

  My insides were torn up, in shreds.

  Because even if my actions hadn’t directly led to this, they had indirectly caused this.

  “We’ve all made mistakes—mistakes that have laid waste to entire civilizations. Mistakes that have destroyed countless lives. You are a new god, the start of a new era,” he said, and I turned to him, almost against my will. “And you’re already beginning to learn the hard way. You do not need to follow in our footsteps. I would think you of all people would want to avoid that.” Zeus’s voice was quiet. “You have a lot of reasons to be angry. I get it. Your mother was a cold, heartless woman. Your father a man you never got the chance to know. You were used as a tool in a war you did not know was brewing, and you struggle with countless decisions, but you cannot let your emotions rule you. Not anymore.”

  I was…I was utterly dumbfounded.

  I knew that one day I would come face to face with Zeus again. Probably after we defeated the Titans. I’d figured he’d try to take me out because I was a threat to him and the rest of the Olympians, just like the Titans were.

  I didn’t ever expect him to be standing here, giving me…advice. This was perhaps stranger than seeing a hydra.

  “Why?” I asked, genuinely curious. “Why are we having this conversation?”

  “Instead of trying to fight you?” He finished my unspoken thought. “Because we need to work together. Neither of us needs to be looking over our shoulders when we should be focusing on the Titans. We cannot have anything like this happen again. But there should be a more personal reason for you to want to be better than me and my offspring.”

  Tension crept into my shoulders.

  Zeus looked away, onto the devastation. “Is this the kind of world you want your child to be brought into?”

  ~

  Josie

  Cora and Gable had disappeared with Deacon after he dropped the whole “the last demigod may be Ares’s son” bomb. He’d left only after I promised to meet up with him later to discuss all baby-shower-related issues. I hadn’t the heart to tell him it was way too soon to be discussing any of that. I guessed they were doing the tour of the campus.

  Shortly after they left, Colin showed up, and he eventually perched himself on the arm of the chair across from the couch. The first time I met Colin, I hadn’t actually spoken to him. He’d been there when that poor half-blood had been killed by a pure. Later, Colin had sought to protect me, before he knew I was a demigod, and he’d been there as a really good friend when Seth had broken things off with me. And he was still here even though he knew that Seth was not a fan of his.

  Probably didn’t help that Colin was nice to look at. His blue eyes were a striking contrast to his dark hair, and he had classic good looks. “So, you guys really think that demigod is Ares’s son?” Colin asked as he slowly shook his head. He’d been filled in on everything. “Man, that’s going to be rough.”

  As terrible as it sounded, I was glad that we all had something to talk about and focus on instead of my pregnancy. I just wished it
wasn’t something as messed up as this.

  “Rough?” Alex laughed softly. Back to sitting on the couch, she rubbed the nape of her neck. “I know it shouldn’t matter. This guy’s not responsible for anything his father did. Hell, he doesn’t even know he’s a demigod or who his dad was, but…”

  “I get it.” I glanced over at Luke as he handed me a bottle of water. “It’s not like you’d blame him for what Ares did, but it’s still going to be hard. I mean, I think anyone can understand that.”

  Colin nodded in agreement.

  “Yeah.” Dropping her hands, she lifted her head. “I just wasn’t expecting that. I don’t know why. I just wasn’t, because gods, that is messed up.” She exhaled heavily. “I mean, really? Can we not catch a break here?”

  “But you need to deal and I know you can,” Luke said as I took a drink of my water. “You’ve dealt with crazier stuff, and if this guy is going to be anything like Cora, we don’t need to freak him out.”

  “You mean, freak him out any more than you’re going to by showing up and explaining that he’s the demigod son of the worst god ever?” Colin asked.

  I smiled at that. “Probably be best to leave out the whole ‘your father was a psychotic god who nearly ended the whole world’ part. Not sure if it’s worth telling him what his father did, at least right off the bat.”

  “Agreed.” Alex smacked her hands down on her knees. “Then again, maybe we’ll get lucky and he’s not Ares’s son. The fighting could be co—”

  The door to the room swung open, and a very tall pure-blood strolled in. Aiden. I shifted on the couch, expecting to see Seth behind him, but the door swung shut behind Aiden.

  That was…weird.

  No Seth.

  Before I had a chance to question where Seth was, Alex shot to her feet. “You! Oh, you have a lot of explaining to do.”

  Aiden stood in the center of the room. “I just saw Zeus.”

  Boy, did that stop Alex right in her tracks, stopped all of us.

  “What?” she asked.

  Colin’s brows knitted as he looked over at me. “Did he just say Zeus?”

  “I did.” Aiden blinked slowly, like he was coming out of a daze. “I saw Zeus, and I saw a hydra.”