by Lucy Roy
“You’ll get your chance today, don’t worry.”
“I know!” She squealed, clapping her hands together. “I’m so freaking excited I could puke.”
“Um, okay?” I shook my head. “That’s not weird.”
She stuck her tongue out at me. “Whatever. You’ll see.”
While we waited for Chiron to address us, I looked around, taking in my fellow recruits. We looked nothing like the teenagers who’d crossed to Olympia just a few days ago. Here, lined up in our matching black training gear, we really looked like Ischyra. It was a heady experience knowing that we’d officially met our fate.
“Alright everyone, that was a great first attempt,” Chiron said once we were all settled. “This will be our typical warm-up each morning, although after a few days we’ll be adding in a strength component.”
A few muffled groans rose up from the recruits.
“No, I don’t want to hear any of that. I promise each day will get just a little bit easier. The rest of today will be spent with your mentors. On Monday, one week from today, our schedule will begin to rotate to include hand-to-hand combat and weapons training as well. For the first few days, though, we’ll be focused solely on getting comfortable with your new powers.”
“Gods, have we really only been here for three days?” Sina whispered, leaning in close. “It feels like it has been weeks!”
“Right? I completely lost track of time,” I whispered.
Chiron cleared his throat.
“Now, before I send you off to your mentors for further instruction, let’s take a seat. I wanted to give you an idea of what you’ll be dealing with, once your training year is complete.”
Within seconds, the arena was silent, and we were all seated, backs straight, waiting like obedient school children.
“As I’m sure you all noticed,” he began, clasping his hands behind his back, “Prometheus and Epimetheus have joined us. I acknowledge that some of you may have…thoughts about the presence of the latter of these two, so I will be very clear.”
He let his eyes traverse the crowd.
“Your thoughts on their presence are of no matter to them, to me, and especially not the Elders. They are here because they will be joining us in facing a common threat. Your guardians, if they performed their duties adequately, would have educated you on the decade-long war with the Titans. When the war ended, Cronus and many of his supporters were locked in Tartarus. Eventually, Zeus opted to release those who he believed had paid their penance. As of today, the only two left in Tartarus are Cronus and Iapetus, the twins’ father.”
He sighed and shook his head.
“The war with the Titans was about rebelling against an oppressor. Ousting a Titan who had no place ruling the Olympic realm. Cronus was a despicable creature, and Zeus was able to remove him from power not only with the help of his siblings but with many of Cronus’ brethren as well.”
“Prometheus and Epimetheus were two of our Titan allies, and despite certain events that took place after the war, they have come to an agreement with Zeus and the other Elders. They have rejoined the ranks of Olympus, not as guests, not as disgraced gods, but as allies.”
“Certain events?” Mary muttered, crossing her arms. “That’s one way to phrase it.”
“Shh!” I whispered.
“Recently, it has come to our attention that someone is attempting to organize a coup, another rebellion, not unlike the one Zeus led against Cronus and his allies. While most of the Titans who are free wish to live their lives peacefully, there are some who would see Zeus usurped and his father brought back to power.”
“Who?”
I craned my neck to see who had spoken and saw Damien sitting near the front.
There was a pause as Chiron assessed the recruit who’d interrupted him.
I watched the two with interest, wondering how Chiron would handle Damien’s rudeness. As the seconds ticked by, I began to feel uncomfortable, as though waiting for a bomb to go off.
Finally, Chiron smiled.
“Well, Damien, it appears there are a number of factions who have merged. Not everyone is as amenable to peace as Prometheus and Epimetheus.” He narrowed his eyes at the recruit. “Now, go run one lap for interrupting me. One of your fellow recruits can brief you on what we’re discussing.”
Damien gaped at him and tried to sputter a response, but Chiron dismissed him with a wave of his hand.
Red faced, Damien stormed off toward the running field.
Chiron waited until he was out of sight, then began pacing back and forth as he spoke. “Menoetius, the twins’ brother and one of the Titans Zeus released from Tartarus, appears to be the one leading this rebellion. He has managed to garner the support of a number of the more malevolent beings across the realms who wish to free his father and Cronus from Tartarus.
“Let me assure you—” he spoke firmly “—Menoetius seeks nothing but power and has no thoughts or cares for anything but his own goals. If he succeeds in freeing the Titans from the Underworld, Cronus will seize the opportunity to take back his ‘throne’ from Zeus. We cannot let that happen. What this means for you is that you will be facing a brewing war, if not an active one, once your training is complete.”
He folded his arms and glared out at us. “Understood?”
A heavy silence hung in the air.
A brown-haired guy who I recognized as Andrei’s roommate Demir cleared his throat. “Why should we trust them to fight their father and brother on our behalf?”
“Excellent question,” a new voice remarked.
The other recruits and I turned to see who the newcomer was, and more than a few gasps went up when we saw the tall, hulking forms of Prometheus and Epimetheus walking toward us.
The twins were a study in contrasts. Prometheus wore dark khaki pants and a long-sleeved blue shirt that stretched across his muscular frame, his close-cropped blond hair styled neatly. He smiled easily as he approached, somehow managing to look professional, formidable, and approachable all at once. Epimetheus wore jeans and a black t shirt, and his own dirty blond hair was pulled back in a short ponytail at the base of his neck. Nothing about him seemed remarkable. He looked just as stoic as he had the first two times I’d seen him, so I assumed his brother had been the one to speak.
“Prometheus, Epimetheus. Good of you to join us!” Chiron grinned as the twins came to a stop beside him.
Prometheus nodded. “Yes, well, we thought we’d get the awkward introductions out of the way sooner rather than later.” He flashed a grin at the group of recruits.
I couldn’t help but smile as he acknowledged the mixed feelings of the new recruits toward him and his twin.
“As to your question, Demir,” Prometheus continued, his voice a gentle baritone, “I don’t expect you to trust us. You’re only just meeting us, that would be foolish. I only ask that you let us earn your trust. We still believe in Zeus’ original purpose. Cronus is an unfit ruler for Olympus. Allowing him to reclaim his seat would be detrimental to us all.” He glanced at Epimetheus, who stood beside him, arms folded across his chest, eying the recruits.
“As for our relationship with our brother and father… well, that’s a bit of a complicated mess. Suffice to say, we do not wish to see those three reunited, so it would behoove us if we could ensure that does not happen.”
He smiled at Demir. “Does that answer your question?”
Demir nodded, wide eyed. “Y-yes s-s-sir.”
I recalled what Andrei had said about Demir seeming too apprehensive for life as an Ischyra. Based on his reaction to the Titans, I could sort of see what he was talking about.
“Where are the rest of them?” Kieran spoke up from the back row. “The rest of the Titans who survived the war?”
“Some still live in the Olympic realm,” Chiron responded. “Hyperion and Theia actually assist Demeter in running Olympus’ agricultural operations. Many of the others chose to take up residence on Earth. You’ll likely meet them
in time.”
“What about your other brother? Atlas?” Sina addressed the twins directly.
A small frown flickered across Epimetheus’ forehead, and for a moment I thought he might actually speak. Instead, Prometheus responded.
“Atlas is currently unavailable,” Prometheus responded, his expression hard. “That’s all the information we can provide on him at the current moment.”
“Alright, everyone,” Chiron held up his hands to indicate the time for questions was done. “I know that you probably have many more questions, but just trust that they will all be answered in time. We simply do not have the time to take them all today.”
He waved the mentors over to stand beside him.
“Now, let’s move on. For the rest of the day, you’re going to split off with your mentors for further instruction.” He stepped back and began speaking quietly with the Titans, while the mentors stepped forward and began directing us to different areas of the arena.
Whispers broke out among the recruits as we stood.
“Is this what you talked to Nate about the other night?” Mary whispered.
I arched a brow. “Nate?”
She waved her hand dismissively. “Nathaniel is too much of a mouthful. He’s Nate now.”
I snorted. “I’m sure he’ll love that.”
“So? Was that what you guys talked about?”
“Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” She sounded hurt.
“I’m sorry. Things just got so heated that night when we got back. I didn’t really want to get into it.”
She gave me a dubious look. “Okay…”
“Mentalists, over here!”
I squeezed her hand and smiled. “We’ll talk later, K?”
She gave me a reluctant smile. “Fine.”
I grabbed Anette’s hand and followed the sound of Charlise’s southern drawl to where she, Nate—the nickname was totally sticking from here on out—and another male Ischyra were hovering by the tables.
“Let’s move it!” She bellowed.
“This feels like boot camp,” Sina muttered, coming to my side.
“This is boot camp. This is literally basic training.” I sighed as I looked at our mentors. “They’re going to run us ragged every damn day.”
“Morning, everyone,” Charlise greeted us. “I mentioned last night that two other mentors would be joining us. You’ve all met Nathaniel, of course, and this is Fletcher.”
“Hello, everyone.”
Fletcher had a heavy British accent, and with his lanky frame, dark skin, and friendly smile, he kind of reminded me of Will Smith from his Fresh Prince days.
“I’m Fletcher Hughes, but you can all call me Fletch. I went through my transformation five generations back with Charlise,” he said, giving her a cheeky grin. “I’ve got affinities for psychometry and astral projection.”
“Alright, let’s get going,” Charlise barked, getting right down to business. “Everyone join up, two to a table. We’re going to expand on the exercises we did last night.”
We scurried to grab tables, and I ended up with Damien, who’d just returned red-faced from his lap. We were at a table on the end, not too far from where the water users were set up.
“Right, then. Fletch, Nathaniel, start going down the line to get them started. I’ll take these two,” Charlise said, gesturing with her chin at me and Damien.
Fletch and Nate each started moving to the other groups to dish out instructions, and Charlise came over to stand with us.
“Tessa, Damien.” She gave us a friendly smile. “How are you guys doing so far? You enjoy that run?”
Damien’s sharp-featured face was pinched in annoyance at Charlise’s obvious dig, and I bit back a smile.
“It was…great?” I hedged.
Charlise gave a hearty laugh. “Oh, it sucked horribly, and you know it! Don’t worry, though. Chiron was right, it’ll only get easier from here. Tessa, I think we’ll start with you since you did so well last night.”
She waved a hand toward the mystery box that sat between us.
“Open the box.”
I blinked. First again. Of course.
I tried to remember how I’d gone about throwing the table the night before.
It’s just another sense. Go to the box and open up the damn thing.
I took a deep breath and focused all my energy on the smooth brown lid.
“You’re pushing too hard. You did great last night. See if you can find that same headspace.”
I nodded and closed my eyes. I inhaled deeply through my nose and exhaled through my mouth.
I pictured the box in my head, sitting innocuously on the square table. It was stained a dark brown and in the shape of a perfect cube. The lid appeared to be a slider, so I wouldn’t have to lift it to open it; I would have to slide it toward me.
Steeling myself, I opened my eyes. Staring intently at the lid, I pictured a handle in the center and made that my focal point.
Pull!
The lid flew off, sliding out so quickly that I had to jump out of the way to avoid getting hit.
I looked at Charlise and beamed.
“That was so freaking cool,” I squeaked.
She beamed at me. “You’re a rock star, Tessa,” she said proudly. “You really are.”
“Can I do something else?”
She laughed. “Let’s give your partner a shot. Damien?”
“Yes?”
“I’m going to ask you to try to mind-link with Tessa so you can pick up the object in the box using her hands.”
He nodded sharply. “Of course.” Jaw clenched, he looked me up and down, his pale blue eyes appraising.
“Now, Tessa… remember, your first instinct will be to shut him out. It will be very hard to go against that instinct, but you need to let him in. Remind yourself that this isn’t malicious, it’s an exercise. Put your mind at ease and you shouldn’t have a problem.”
She turned her eyes to Damien. “As for you, take your time with this. There’s no rush. I’m going to move on to the next group, but one of the others will be over to check on ya’ll in a few.”
Giving us a thumbs up, she moved on to Anette and Sina who’d taken the table next to us.
“I’ll apologize now if this is uncomfortable,” Damien said, not sounding at all apologetic. “I have heard it can be.”
I sighed. “It’s all for the sake of learning, right? Just do your thing.”
He gave a curt nod, then folded his arms across his chest and closed his eyes. For a few seconds I felt nothing, then finally, I felt a slight nudge in my mind.
It was nothing like when Nate entered my mind. That had been forceful, like a physical push. When Damien tried to link with me, it was weaker, more annoying. I felt like my brain was getting hit repeatedly with a fly swatter. Each time his power smacked at my mind, my own affinity would rear up, pushing back like some kind of guard dog.
After what felt like an eternity of an internal battle of wills, Damien let out a frustrated groan.
“Tessa, you are blocking me!” he accused. “Stop!”
“I am not!”
“You are, I can feel it! Every time I get close, you push me out.” He made a sound of disgust and threw up his hands. “I do not think I can work like this.”
“It’s not like I’m doing it on purpose!” I crossed my arms over my chest. “And who says I’m the problem? You’re the one trying to enter my mind.” I arched a brow, daring him to challenge my logic.
He squeezed his eyes shut and ran his hands through his thick brown hair. After letting out a few deep breaths, he dropped his arms and met my eyes.
“Fine, we will try again, but please try to keep your brain under control.”
“My brain isn’t the—"
“Having trouble?”
I rolled my eyes as Nate came to a stop next to our table, cutting off my retort.
Damien huffed, then jerked his chin toward me. “She keeps blo
cking me out of her mind.”
“Oh, real nice, Damien. You’re acting like I’m doing it on purpose!”
“Perhaps if you tried harder—”
“I am trying!”
“Okay, enough!” Nate barked, causing us both to jump. “What is the problem?”
“Damien can’t link to my mind and he’s blaming me for it.” I gave my partner a scathing look.
“I cannot link to her mind because she keeps pushing me out!”
“I am not!”
I felt another hard push on my brain and glared at Damien, kicking him back with all my mental might. “Gods, Damien! Can you at least wait until he gives us a little guidance? Forcing it clearly isn’t working.”
He frowned, then opened and closed his mouth a few times. No sound came out.
“Are you done?” Nate asked, his tone measured. He pierced us both with a glare.
Looking back at Damien, who still wasn’t speaking, I realized Nate must be using his Coercion to keep him from talking.
“If he is,” I snapped.
Nate pinched the bridge of his nose, then pointed toward the back of the arena.
“Damien, take a walk.”
Damien heaved out a frustrated breath, then stormed off without a word.
Sighing, I faced Nate. “I’m sorry, I just—”
He held up a hand to stop me.
“It’s fine. It’s not abnormal for recruits to argue like this, especially when it comes to mental abilities.” He gripped the back of his neck with one hand and pursed his lips. “Tessa, you were blocking me, too. What’s going on?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I was using Coercion on both of you, and you blocked me.”
“Oh. Hey! You’re not supposed to do that!”
“You two were at each other’s throats and words weren’t doing the trick. You need to train, not bicker. So, yes, I used Coercion to shut you both up so I could help.”
So apparently, he was assertive and a hard ass.
I huffed. “Well, I thought it was Damien. Sorry.”