Tension was high and nerves were frayed. Everyone spent that time on edge, wondering how they were going to combat this threat when they'd barely gotten Hypnos off of this world in the first place. The reality that something was happening, bigger than anyone had ever expected, caused a moderate level of panic.
Athena had finally connected the dots between the disappearances of the Hunters and the episode with Lyssa. I could hear her in the background of the tapes, demanding that Zeus tell her what was going on, why they would be attacking us after so many years.
He dodged well, but even to my ears, his excuses were becoming weak. Poseidon, whom I hadn't met yet, also demanded answers. None were forthcoming. It looked like Hypnos' initial bid to break down Zeus' powerbase was finally working after all of this time. People were losing faith in their leader and the only way he'd regain that trust and strength was to come clean.
How do you tell people that you've been secretly keeping someone trapped in a watery grave for a few thousand years? It was a tricky situation and I didn't envy him. I could only support his decisions and help him keep this planet safe. I wanted to tell him that we'd all commit to that task. By telling everyone the truth, he'd gain more support - but I wasn't certain.
There was a beautiful routine to the tapes. The mornings would start off with Zeus checking on my progress. Then he'd hold court around my seemingly dead body like some informal wake. They didn't realize that he was recording their expressions and words. It wasn't until I woke up that I found out why.
There was always someone with me, whether it was Drew or Athena in the early afternoons or Heph who generally took night duty. With the exception of Zeus' courtly exhibitions in the mornings, only one person was with me at a time to minimize risk. It would have been better if that routine had gone unbroken. However, life is never that easy. Four days into the second week of what I now call my 'downtime,’ Drew found caught a stray thought from Heph during shift change that Hope was being kept in the forge.
That is when all Hell broke loose.
It was like watching an action movie, all the while knowing that the actors hated each other. Instead of playing their buddy cop roles, they were going to kill each other.
Drew's chair crashed to the ground as he leapt up and lunged for Hephaestus. "How could you not have told me?" he yelled.
His hip crashed into the table where I lay, knocking the base off balance. My body rolled precariously to the edge but they didn't stop to take notice. Heph's massive hand gripped Drew's neck to pull him into a chokehold. "If this is how you react, why in the Hell should I tell you anything?"
"She's my fucking wife!"
"She was your wife. She's nothing like the Hope you knew, Adonis. She's changed and broken. She cannot be allowed to just walk around. For fuck's sake, she slit your son's throat!" The last was said with a roar that I could appreciate. I also wanted to know how he could have any feeling left after seeing our son's lifeless body, broken from her not so tender ministrations.
Drew's face turned red as he struggled for air. His left elbow shot back, nailing Heph squarely in the solar plexus. An audible rush of air burst from Hephaestus as he loosened his grip and bent over. His hands caught the edge of the table and that was all it took to completely upset my already tenuous balance. I dropped to the floor like a sack of oranges.
The fight immediately stopped when they heard the fleshy thud of my body hitting the floor. The looks on their faces would have been comedic if I hadn't watched my head rebound off the tiles a few times before finally coming to rest at an unnatural angle. As I watched that scene, a few choice expletives left my mouth. Idiots.
Heph immediately released Drew and stared at my prone body with his mouth open in shock.
"Shit," Drew muttered. "Help me get her back up on the table before anyone sees her."
Heph righted the table and Drew scooped me up off of the floor. "No, the table isn't balanced right. You need to move it to the left." He gestured in the direction and my head lolled over his arm, bouncing a little with each movement.
"The table is perfectly balanced. Christ, Drew. Stabilize her head! You're going to re-break her neck!" My hand reached up and rubbed my neck as I watched. I hadn't realized that it had been broken. Looking down at my bobbing head, Drew blanched and cradled me a bit more gently in his arms.
"Here, give her to me and you can adjust the table," Heph exclaimed, exasperated.
"It's your fault that she ended up like this in the first place. You don't need to be anywhere near her," he replied vehemently.
I watched as Heph's eyebrows rose to his hairline. "Is it my fault Adonis? Really?"
Oooh, low blow there. I couldn't disagree with Hephaestus' sentiment, but looking at the video, I could wish that he hadn't pointed it out when my body was in that vulnerable state. Drew's arms tightened against my body as he struggled to keep his temper in check. After a moment, his shoulders relaxed and he nodded.
"We're both at fault. I look at her now and wish that I could take it all back. She doesn't deserve this hurt. But you were on tap when this happened, Hephaestus. This happened on your watch and for that, I could kill you."
I expected Heph to punch Drew in the face. I would have, but his shoulders simply slumped and he nodded. "She's impulsive and rash at the best of times, but I should have known that she wasn't acting rationally when she threw me through that Rift. I was just so surprised that she'd be so idiotic and bold."
Drew grinned, "Yeah, that's our Grace – idiotic and bold. I don't know if a thousand years on this planet will change that about her." He gently laid my body back onto the table and Heph checked me for any further injuries.
"She's going to have a bruise on her cheek. With the way she's healing right now, it shouldn't be visible for long. I'm – I'm not going to tell anyone about it." Heph looked at Drew uneasily as though being co-conspirators tasted like he'd eaten a bug.
Drew nodded. "Yeah, we should just keep this to ourselves."
"You realize that you lost your chance, right?" Heph's eyes bored into Drew's face and I could see an intensity there that I hadn't noticed before.
"Have I?"
"You just started a fight with me over your 'wife,’" he replied with an ironic quirk to his lips. "What do you think? Do you think that you deserve her?"
Drew's fingers reached up and ruffled through his hair in frustration. "I don't know what's going on there. Just when I think that I have a pinpoint on the feelings, they jumble up again. I know that is not my Hope in that body. But for some reason, every time I see her I lose sense."
Hephaestus frowned at this last confession. "Have you had Zeus check you out for any coercion? It's possible that Lyssa compromised you."
The look of shock and pain on Drew's face made my heart clench. Okay, maybe it was still clenched from the simple question. What did that mean? I shook off the uncertainty and went back to watching the events unfold.
"I hadn't thought of that. I'll have him check me out when I see him next. I want you to think about this though, Hephaestus," his head cocked to one side and he crossed his arms. "Do you want her because of her, or because she reminds you of things you've lost?"
Heph's face shut down into a mask of cold stone. "This discussion is over. I have matters to attend to. Please stay here until Athena comes back to watch over Grace." He spun on his heel and started for the door.
Drew's next words stopped him in his tracks. "At least I know what my motivation is."
"I can assure you, I am fully aware of my motivations." With that, he blinked out.
I sat back and wiped a tear that had escaped. A strong hand rested on my shoulder and I looked up to see Zeus' concerned face staring down at me. "Have you watched it all?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I think that you're right. There's a mole inside Olympus. I've focused mainly on your daily meetings with the core staff. Nobody knew that you were recording the room, correct?"
"Correct," he agreed.
"I
want to watch a few things again, but I have a suspicion. I just need to make sure before I confirm." I reached up and rested my hand on top of his and squeezed gently. "Thank you for letting me watch this. Thank you for not giving up on me. I'd hate to have come to on fire."
He chuckled and leaned down to kiss the top of my head. "Of course, dear. Now try to get some rest. You've only been back with us for a couple of days and we need you back in fighting form."
"Yes sir," I replied. He was right. I'd been awake for three days now and the only people that knew were Zeus and I. I woke up on his watch and he'd immediately shut the Lab off from the rest of Olympus, with the excuse that he'd accidently released an exotic virus into the environment while trying to find a safe way to wake me up. The only person allowed in was himself.
I wanted to see Dylan and assure him that I was alright, but he couldn't be trusted to keep it a secret. Those were the hard knocks of parenting. You know your kids and you know what they are capable of. Sometimes doing what is best for them isn't always what is easiest on your heart or theirs.
"I'm going to grab something for you to eat. It will help with the recovery process. When do you think you'll be up for visitors?"
That was a good question. Honestly, I just didn't know. I needed to get a handle on myself before I could let anyone else near right now. "Maybe a day?"
He nodded in understanding.
"Oh hey, did you end up checking Drew for tampering?"
He paused, startled. "What do you mean?"
"I thought you'd watched the tapes," I said confused.
"I have. I didn't see any mention of Lyssa possibly tampering with Drew's mind."
"It was during the talk after the fight between him and Hephaestus."
"Oh," he said looking uncomfortable. "I didn't watch that. It seemed… personal."
"Oh," I said shortly. Yeah I guess it was pretty personal. "You need to check Drew's head for tampering. He's been acting erratically. It would be good to know if she's gotten her hooks into him. Plus, it will help us eliminate him."
"Nyx and her children have much to answer for," he growled.
"Yes, they do. I'm going to give my brain a bit to process, so please don't worry overly much about feeding me right now." I smiled at him, softening the blow of my dismissal. I just needed to sort through what I'd seen.
I always thought that I had a line on the way men thought. I was a tomboy and they made more sense to me. I was beginning to think that men made absolutely no sense at all. Here I was in the midst of a possible global crisis, I'd just come back from being mostly dead and I couldn't stop thinking about how these two men fit into my life. What was wrong with me?
I didn't know anything at all. Worse, I didn't know how to feel about listening to that conversation. I thought back to my last moments of the battle, after Heph had kissed me. I'd felt hopeful. It wasn't the soul wrecking emotion that Drew's kiss had given me, but it was something, right? It was something that could grow into more.
Oh Drew. I didn't even know what to do about him anymore. It felt unreasonable and unrealistic to hold out that small modicum of hope that he would come around. I knew that when the time came to put Hope out of her misery, it would break us beyond repair. Did it make me want to spare Hope's life to avoid that? Yeah, it did. But it didn't mean that I was going to. I wrapped my arms around my calves and pressed my face into my knees. "Oh Grace, what are you going to do?"
"Do about what?"
Speak of the proverbial devil. "Aren't you supposed to be on the other side of the quarantined door?" I asked him.
"I'm supposed to be, but when it comes to following my father's orders, I'm rarely dependable. I wanted to see how you were doing."
I raised my face and looked into Drew's eyes. I could stare into those blue orbs for the rest of my natural life and completely forget my name. "I'm obviously awake," I said with a sardonic grin.
"I see that." He sat down across from me, wary. As if he was expecting me to attack.
Sometimes I think that there is a demon inside of me that just begs to fuck with people. It can't just be my personality. No – not at all. "Although," I began a little more pitifully. "My face hurts. It feels like somebody took a hammer to my cheek right here." I pointed to the spot that had bounced off the ground when they knocked me off the table.
He had the grace to look sheepish. I wondered if he'd confess, or lie to me about it. I think that I was sort of hoping he would lie. It would give me a reason to be angry with him. It was dangerous for me to not be angry when he was near me.
My face gave me away and his gazed turned shrewd. "Are you fucking with me Grace?"
"Drew, I would never fuck with you," I replied innocently.
His lip quirked up at the corner and my heart squeezed, which made me angry again. "Yeah, right."
"Whatever," I shrugged. "You've seen that I'm alive and upright. You can toddle off now. You probably have important things to attend to."
An exasperated sigh burst from his lips as he strode forward, threaded his fingers through my hair and pulled me into a kiss.
I forgot how to breathe. Electricity sizzled from the tips of my hair to the bottoms of my toes and I melted into him, my body a liquid pool of need. This was what I'd been waiting for – no, needing, and while my arms entwined around his neck, my tongue traced the outline of his lips. As we kissed, I breathed his breath in, every exhale fueling my intensity.
Finally, I broke away with a ragged gasp. What was I doing? "I-I c-can't think. You need to go. I can't leave, so you need to go."
He looked at me, eyes wide, and shook his head in confusion.
"Look," I began adamantly. "I can't deal with this right now. You and me, we're broken, Drew. We're not going to be okay after a kiss. You have shit to deal with and I have – well, I have a planet to save. God, I feel like fucking Superman right now."
"Does this mean I'm your Lois Lane?" He chuckled as he said it, but I could feel his discomfort. It's easy to pretend that everything is normal in the heat of a kiss. It's harder to deal with the realities of a fucked up relationship that seems impossible and irrational.
I couldn't help myself, I laughed. If I didn't laugh, I'd start crying. "Get kidnapped a few times and we'll talk about it."
"Grace, we should-"
"No," I interrupted. "No. I can't think right now. You turn me into an idiot, Drew. I can't think. I can't be rational. I certainly can't plan and plot. I can't…" My words trailed off and I turned my head so he wouldn't see the emotions on my face. "Please," I whispered. "Please, just go."
"Okay," He responded quietly. "I'll be here if you need me."
"I know you will." When I looked back up, he was gone. I collapsed into the pillows and let out a wordless scream of frustration, need and – well, things I had no words for.
Chapter 25
Sometimes, it's really just good to have a full on hissy-fit. I had forgotten that people cry for a reason. It releases the pent up emotions that feel as though they could crush you at any moment.
I rolled over after soaking the cushions around me with tears. Zeus was standing in the corner watching me with concern. "Oh God," I muttered.
That made him smile. "Everyone cries, Grace."
"Yes. Yes. I know."
"Which one of them broke in?" There was a reason this man was in the seat of power. He had an uncanny knack of just knowing things.
"Drew," I muttered.
"Ahh, well that makes sense. Would you like to discuss it?"
My brow furrowed in disbelief. "Uh, no."
"I understand that I am known to be an excellent listener."
"People pander to your vanity so you won't blow their hands and feet off with a lightning bolt," I retorted.
"You might try that some time," he muttered under his breath. I tried not to smile at that. I really did, but I couldn't help myself.
"Blowing someone's hands and feet off with a lightning bolt?"
He scowled when h
e saw my partially hidden grin. "Grace Murphy, sometimes I think that you are sassy with me just to be difficult."
My eyes widened in feigned surprise and innocence. "Why, I'd never do that."
"Cheeky," he muttered.
"I'm grateful that you're in my life. Thank you for saving my ass again."
"Your mother would kill me if I didn't," he said nonchalantly.
"Well there's that." I gestured for him to sit down. "Let's talk about the meetings you had in here. Are you certain that nobody was aware they were being recorded?"
"Do you believe you'd have seen that fight if anyone had?"
"Mmm, good point." I nodded to myself and took a deep breath. My best guess at the mole’s identity wasn't going to make him happy. I didn't know how to soften the blow, but had only ever been one person who was consistently at the daily court sessions. Her face took on a rapt but vacant expression at the start of each meeting. If you weren't paying attention, you wouldn't have noticed. You'd have blamed her zoning out on her youth.
"Well," he asked impatiently.
"It's Alexandra, Georgia's sister. I've seen her at every meeting, but her face is wrong. When I first met her she was very animated. Her telepathic abilities help give her the ability to read what is going on in everyone's mind while you speak to them, and report back to Lyssa – or whoever. I was surprised that neither she nor Georgie had been taken yet. I think the reason is that they wanted someone here. Did you check on Drew?"
He was flabbergasted. "Grace, I find this very hard to believe. She's still considered a child!"
I raised my eyebrows at him. "So you should understand that she is much more susceptible to suggestion and coercion. I'm thirty-four years old and Lyssa almost made me kill myself, Z." My hand rose unconsciously to my throat.
He grunted in response.
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