“Okay, but a—are these real people?” he wondered aloud, his voice shaking as he rudely tapped a dead Knowing man on the head. I just nodded gravely and kept moving along the overgrown path since we needed to get back to the camp as soon as possible. Cole followed me closely and didn’t say anything more.
Finally, after we rounded a sharp curve in the trail, I spotted a mass of nymphs, satyrs, Knowing warriors, and even a couple centaurs wandering about. Looking closer, I could make out the outlines of the camouflaged tents covered in dirt and branches. With a sigh of relief, I quickened my pace with renewed strength as the tired Cole scurried along after me, practically dragging my beautiful shield on the ground. Only my excitement to join the other gods helped me restrain myself from giving Cole an austere lecture.
There was one armored soldier, a satyr, standing guard about ten yards away from the actual camp, but he instantly recognized me and kindly waved me through along with Cole. Unlike me, however, Cole was not yet accustomed to seeing such creatures since he had become Knowing only an hour earlier. Therefore, I was not surprised when an open-mouthed stare at the guard’s furry goat legs earned him a cold glare and a threatening growl from the satyr. I quickly apologized to the guard for the boy’s ignorance then dragged Cole into the middle of the circle of tents, past all of the staring soldiers who had suddenly gone quiet with great interest. They were obviously very surprised to see another human, but they didn’t dare to speak up about it.
“Jan!” I shouted for the plump Knowing nurse as I forcefully pushed back the tent flap of the infirmary. But I stopped immediately and my jaw dropped, for the large tent was completely filled with sad, groaning, wounded soldiers. The unlucky ones didn’t even get to sit on cots; instead, they just lay on the flattened grass, clutching their various wounds in vain to try to stop the bleeding. Shirts were soaked through with the substance, while beads of blood slid slowly down the smooth armored torsos of those who were still wearing their chestplates. The soldiers’ forlorn faces were streaked with dirt, blood, and grime, and a few of them were even missing half of an arm or a leg. Small pools of dark red and golden blood sat stagnant in the grass under their severed limbs, and various pieces of armor and weapons were scattered on the ground.
“Yes, Lady Athena?” Jan the head nurse asked as she anxiously trotted up to me and bowed.
Grunting, I pushed Cole forward once he returned my shield to me and ordered Jan to watch over him and possibly even direct him in helping to care for the soldiers. But after seeing the amount of gold and red blood on her blue apron and everywhere else in the tent, Cole began to protest in anguish, begging me to stay with him. I could tell that the gravity of the war was finally starting to hit him and he wasn’t the least bit prepared.
“Cole, listen to me,” I said in English, raising my voice and ignoring the fact that every single being in the room was watching us. “You’ll be fine. Don’t worry; you’re in capable hands and I’ll be right back.”
Although Cole’s lips quivered as Jan forced him to sit down on a small cot next to a tree nymph and a blond Knowing archer whose names I didn’t know, he stayed silent and the nurse began dabbing his face with a wet cloth. “The other gods are all in their private tent, my lady, and I’m sure they’ll want to talk to you right away, but is there anything else you need before you go?” Jan said in Greek, looking pointedly at my blood-smeared torso and bruised arms.
I knew I should have stayed and had Jan treat my many minor wounds, but I felt like meeting with the gods was much more important. So I simply shook my head and replied firmly in Greek, “No, thank you. That will be all for now.” Then I acknowledged the brave soldiers in the room with a short nod and walked out of the infirmary, now heading for the similar tent at the other end of the circle, the one Zeus, Alec, and I had slept in two nights before.
Sighing, I took a short pause right outside the tent in order to prepare myself for all of the shouting and fighting I would face inside, the kind of arguments that could actually turn into a hurricane. I could already hear the worried voices of the gods trying to talk over each other at once and couldn’t help but roll my eyes as I stepped into the confines of the tent. They would never learn to take turns.
But the gods hardly even noticed me at first, as they were all crowded around Zeus at the far side of the tent still arguing about what to do about me. Finally, Apollo looked up when I pulled off my bronze helmet and smoothed down my wavy hair, and his hazel eyes widened in utter shock as they met my piercing gray ones. “She’s back,” he said quietly, obviously noticing my dilapidated appearance, and the other gods whirled around.
I barely even had time to open my mouth before a shirtless and very bloody Alec broke away from the crowd, pushing over Hera, Dionysus, and Ares in the process. “You’re such an idiot!” he exclaimed as he raced over, a mixture of desperation and relief in his starry blue eyes. I couldn’t even fight back as he dragged me in closer with the force of a tornado then gently cupped my face in his warm hands and, suddenly, his soft lips crashed into mine.
To be honest, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Not at all. But I was, so I ended up dropping my helmet immediately and it fell to the ground with a dull thud. Damn, I thought to myself, knowing I probably should have stopped this from happening somehow. But then, Oh, why not? And so I kissed him back, permitting myself to sink even deeper into his strong arms, his velvety lips. Because let’s face it; that would certainly be my first and last kiss so it was only right to make it worthwhile.
Mere seconds later and much too soon, I pulled away from Alec, both of us gasping for breath. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw most of the gods either raise their eyebrows or smile collectively, and Aphrodite threw her hands into the air as she shouted passionately, “Well, it’s about time!” Ares let out a long, high-pitched whistle in agreement, and Hera appeared especially pleased, though she was probably just glad that I wasn’t latched onto Zeus.
Ignoring the other gods’ excitement, I stayed silent and looked down at the grass under my feet then at the blood on my hands—both Alec’s and mine. I was still shocked and slightly embarrassed at what I had done and apparently so was Alec. “You kissed me back,” he whispered, sounding stunned—but clearly in a good way—because he hadn’t expected me to hang on.
“Like you said, I’m an idiot,” I responded dryly, my mind clouded with mixed, out of control emotions. Part of me meant that as a joke, and part of me didn’t.
Quickly, I tore off each part of my armor and hurled them onto my small cot, one after another. I just wanted to have full control over my own feelings again. Half of my time spent with Alec felt as if Aphrodite was inside my head, encouraging me to surrender in my seemingly endless fight against love. And I was not one who surrendered easily.
But then Alec grabbed my arm just before I could throw my spear into the cluttered pile of armor and out of annoyance with my erratic behavior, he pulled me back to him. “Hey, calm down,” he told me in a low but commanding voice, and I simply raised my eyebrows at him. I found it slightly ironic that the only guy I ever loved as more than a friend was the only one who would ever call me an idiot or try to push me around. But then again, maybe someone like that was what I really needed. Throughout my entire life, no one had ever questioned me or ordered me around, though it was mostly because I had never actually needed to be told to calm down before. Usually, I was able to settle these problems by myself, but love was definitely uncharted territory.
It seemed like hours passed as Alec and I stared each other down, neither of us giving in, until I glanced back at his bandaged hand, which was still possessively gripping my arm. He let go immediately and cleared his throat awkwardly as a bright red color began to rise to his cheeks again, but I, on the other hand, managed to keep a straight face. We then stiffly turned in unison to face the rest of the gods who were just grinning at us as if there wasn’t anything else in the world to be worried about. So, crossing my arms, I rolled my eyes and proclaime
d seriously, “I have some stuff to report.”
“Yes,” Zeus replied, still smirking somewhat proudly. “Yes, you do.”
Chapter 12
A PHILOSOPHICAL PARTY
I sat on the nearest cot and let Persephone clean off my visible wounds with a damp cloth as I recounted my story of what had happened down in the Underworld with Hades. I’m sure Alec would have happily sat next to me, but on the other side of the tent Apollo was currently taping bandages to his bleeding back. Nevertheless, Alec didn’t take his eyes off me once and I was certain that he was still thinking about our kiss. Hell, I was still thinking about the kiss.
And the prophecy, of course. You can’t forget that.
When I had finished telling the story, Ares exclaimed angrily in Greek, “So you just gave the helm to Hades?! What on earth were you thinking?”
“I have to agree with Ares on this one,” Poseidon murmured, running his fingers through his jet-black hair. “How do you know for sure that Hades will even come to this meeting tomorrow? I can’t say I would be surprised if he screwed us over.”
“Trust me, he’ll show up,” I responded confidently, clenching my fists in my lap. “Let’s just say I gave him an offer he couldn’t refuse.” Thinking again about what it would be like to leave the forest forever, I gulped, but when Zeus raised one eyebrow questioningly, I quickly shrugged it off.
Breaking the short moment of silence, he announced vaguely, “Well, what’s done is done.” And after a few last orders were handed out, most of the gods left the tent in a hurry, heading back in a large group toward Main Street. Yes, even after a full day of saving the world from being taken over, some of the gods still had curfews to meet and lies to tell. So after a few minutes, only Alec, Persephone, Pan, and the Monster Watch remained.
When Persephone had finished cleaning up and bandaging my wounds, I muttered a quick thank-you and began polishing my armor so it wouldn’t rust. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that everyone but Persephone, who didn’t even have armor, was doing the same, and I simply ignored them as they chatted nonchalantly about who had died and which monsters they had killed that day. I wasn’t in the mood to talk and, frankly, I just didn’t have the energy to socialize.
I’m not sure how much time passed, but eventually Alec strode over to his cot next to mine. I didn’t even have to look up to know it was him so I continued to scrub my breastplate as I asked him seriously, “Are you actually going to have a conversation with me this time, or are you just going to try to kiss me again?”
Alec smirked sheepishly, but I avoided his gaze and kept picking at the dirt on my armor as I waited for him to speak up. When he finally realized I wasn’t joking, he cleared his throat and said firmly, “Athena, I’m not sorry for kissing you so I’m not going to apologize.”
“I know,” I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut, and Alec patiently waited for me to continue. I paused to take a few deep breaths and then, with a shaking voice, I finally admitted, “I’m not sorry either. I’m just . . . confused.”
Alec chewed his lip thoughtfully. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out. You always do,” he told me, trying his best to comfort me. “You’re just lucky you don’t get confused as often as the average person.”
He sat down on the cot across from me, pausing to brush a stray piece of dark hair out of my dirty face and to wipe off a tiny smudge of blood, and then he smirked again. “Damn, you look absolutely gorgeous.”
I honestly couldn’t tell if he was joking or not so I simply rolled my eyes at him. “Why did you come over here again? I hope it wasn’t just to tease me.”
“Oh, right, that reminds me . . . I brought you some food,” he said. I glanced up and narrowed my eyes in slight disappointment as he set down some berries, a few nuts, and a single piece of bread in front of me. Reading my less-than-thrilled expression, Alec explained with a sigh, “I know it’s not much, but the troops already ate the food we brought from your house.”
“It’s fine. I’ve had to live off of less food before,” I assured him, picking up a berry and popping it into my mouth. “So how is your back?”
Alec’s expression darkened, and he looked down at his worn-out shoes. “Hades is a jerk” was all he said as he clenched his fists in his lap.
“How long had Hades been cutting you before I got to the palace?” I asked softly, swallowing down a pang of guilt. But Alec just shut his eyes and shook his head silently so I knew that Hades had been torturing him for a long time—too long to measure and too long to want to think about. Woefully, I took a shaky breath and put my head in my hands. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get there sooner, Alec.”
Alec shook his head. “Athena, it’s not your fault. I’m just glad you got there when you did. Remembering how powerful and alive I felt when I was destroying those monsters with you earlier today and patrolling with the A Team a couple of weeks ago—that’s what got me through the pain. I knew that if I survived to see the gods again, everything would be fine again or at least I would feel fine. And I was right.”
But for how long will you feel fine? I thought to myself guiltily, though deep down I already knew the answer. How long until the prophecy is finally fulfilled?
Seemingly oblivious to my personal emotional struggles, Alec paused for a moment to eat a few berries before he questioned me in an equally grave tone, “Now, how are your own injuries? I have to admit you scared me quite a bit when you showed up looking so bloodied.”
I just shrugged indifferently in response, seeing as neither of us was willing to complain about the amount of pain we were suffering; we both viewed whining as weak. After all, there was no point in dwelling on what could have happened, what the results could have been. Preparing for future battles was much more important at the time.
“Maybe we should talk about something else,” I suggested, tugging aimlessly at the end of my ponytail.
Alec nodded in agreement, passing me half of the piece of bread. “Are you going to tell me about that letter now? You promised you would,” he said, hesitantly reaching for the piece of paper sticking out of the pocket on my leather jacket.
I ducked out of Alec’s reach as I quickly stuffed the paper farther down in my pocket. To be honest, I had almost forgotten that I had actually written it. And when Alec glanced at me suspiciously, I gulped, trying to decide on the best way to handle this. “I’ll show it to you tomorrow,” I replied firmly, thinking about the meeting with Hades the next day. I couldn’t think of any better time to explain it to him, although “better” wasn’t quite the right word.
“Okay, I guess. But speaking of tomorrow, do you want to fight alongside me? I think Zeus will have me stationed in the small meadow again,” he asked in a lighter tone, and I couldn’t help but giggle. “What is it?” Alec’s dark eyebrows knit together in confusion.
“My life,” I responded, rolling my eyes playfully. “Most girls get asked out to dances, but I get asked out to go to battle. Crazy, huh?”
Alec just grinned hopefully. “So is that a yes? Don’t tell me you’d rather go to a dance, Athena, because I am definitely not taking you to another one with the Knowing.”
“Never in a million years would I willingly pass up the chance to kick the enemy’s ass, little hero. You know that. So, yes, I will gladly fight with you,” I answered him with a sly smile. Then I finished polishing my armor and pushed all of the different pieces under my cot, looking up just in time to catch Alec’s eye, and he blushed, slightly embarrassed to be caught staring.
I opened my mouth to reprimand him, but was suddenly sandwiched on my cot by Zeus and Apollo on one side, Poseidon on the other. “Whoa, is this a date? Can we crash it?” Apollo asked, a goofy smile on his face and his blond hair sticking out all over the place, a common result of wearing a helmet for almost the entire day.
Unamused, I retorted, “First of all, you can’t ‘crash’ an event if you ask for permission. And second of all, we’re eating berries and nuts over an old cot�
��in an army camp, no less! Does this look anything like a date to you?”
“No, but it looks like your idea of a perfect date,” Zeus pointed out smartly, raising his eyebrows, and I tried my best to keep myself from blushing, settling instead for a glare in his direction. Meanwhile, Poseidon and Apollo both started cracking up and Alec just smiled; they all knew it was true.
“But no worries,” Zeus continued, patting my shoulder lovingly. “We’ll join you anyway. We’re all on a date tonight, boys!”
“Ew! I don’t want to go on a date with Athena!” Poseidon exclaimed in mock disgust.
“Your loss,” Alec replied to the lord of the sea, eagerly sticking up for me. He winked at me jokingly, but I just rolled my eyes again and stood up.
“Well, I’ll leave you guys to flirt with each other while I go talk to Cole. He’s probably freaking out,” I told them as I ate another berry, and Alec frowned. Poseidon and Apollo didn’t seem to care, as they were currently stuffing their faces with the food, but Zeus said he would come along with me.
We left the tent together and started to slowly make our way over to the infirmary, where we thanked the nurses (specifically Jan) for their services and picked up Cole, who had been listening to the older blond man sitting next to him tell stories from the battles. Unsurprisingly, Cole seemed to relax a little bit as we left the tent full of strange creatures and sat down on the riverbank about thirty yards from the camp, looking out over the rushing waters. Other than the noises coming from the camp behind us and from the river, it was quiet. Zeus had stopped the rain for the time being, although silver mist hung low and heavy in the air.
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