by Leia Stone
I laughed, “They are pretty amazing,” I agreed. No need to be modest when you knew your best assets.
He smiled, and it was like we were two love drunk teenagers. I’d never seen him smile this much in our entire time together. It was intoxicating.
We played in the water for a while, until eventually we just hung out and floated near the deck off our cabana. “So, you never got a chance to tell me what Selene said.” His face was calm; his eyes were another story. “Is there a way to fix this and protect you?” He gestured to my black-streaked hair.
Panic spiked inside of me as I fumbled with what to say. I didn’t want to outright lie to him, but I also knew what would happen if I told him the truth. “Well, she was a little vague—”
I was cut off by a tiny pop. Hyperion was suddenly standing on the deck to our cabana.
Cronus looked up at his brother with a death glare. “Go away.”
Hyperion sighed. “I’m glad to see you two have figured things out, because War just manifested at full strength and we need to contain him.”
Chills ran up my spine. War? Like … the legit fucking War?
Cronus was no longer relaxed and carefree, his expression one of darkness and stormy skies. “I don’t care,” he seethed. “I’m done fighting this shit. Nothing fixes it and there’s no vessel to take the sins once we have them contained—I don’t see the point.” He shot me a measured stare. “I’ll take Maisey to another realm and we will live happily ever after.”
#Whoa #TitanGivesZeroFucks #FuckTheWorld #Ugh #ExceptIKindaLovedItHere
“Cronus!” I smacked his shoulder and struggled to get out of his grasp and stand in the water. He didn’t let me move an inch.
His fiery gaze met mine. “I’m not letting you take on another sin. At all. Ever. Think I missed your little hesitation about Selene before? I fucking didn’t.”
#FuckingFace #YouHideNothing
“You cannot let humanity die off because of your feelings for each oth—” Hyperion’s protest was lost as another Titan popped in.
#ExcuseMe #CouldYouCallFirst
Koios fell onto the deck, covered in what looked like a shit-ton of blood. Cronus finally released me, and I immediately swam to the deck, trills of dread shooting through my stomach. It was lucky we hadn’t eaten yet, because at this rate of anxiety I’d probably barf.
Cronus somehow got up before me, already standing over Koios’ bloody and bruised form. An angry growl ripped from his chest. “Who did this?”
I had assumed War, but surely that would have been Cronus’ first thought too, so this mustn't look like War’s handiwork.
“Zeus … has Rhea.” Koios grabbed his side, panting. “Said he will trade Maisey for her.”
The sky overhead darkened; clouds rolled over the island in a completely unnatural phenomenon. I held my breath, waiting to see what Cronus would say next.
Thunder rumbled, his voice sounding almost the same as he said, “If he thinks I’d even remotely contemplate trading the love of my life for my ex-wife who I barely tolerate, he’s stupider than I thought.” Cronus crossed his arms, and I tried to remember how to breathe.
#LoveOfHisLife #TakeThatSeanFromEighthGrade #ImTotallyLoveable
“Besides, he won’t hurt her,” Cronus continued. “He loves his mother, in his own fucked-up way. He couldn’t even kill her, having someone else do it.”
I blinked at that statement, reminded again that Titans were not like humans.
#Uhh #MeasureLoveALittleDifferently #IDontThinkThatMeansWhatYouThinkItMeans
The darkening clouds above us grew in intensity, and it was clear that Cronus was more pissed than he was letting on.
Hyperion ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m not sure about that, friend. He’s finally lost it. I think he wouldn’t hesitate to kill Rhea. Besides, we need her to get the sins.”
#DidWeReallyThough #Fine
My arm came out and rested on Cronus’. “Listen, Hype’s right. You weren’t there that night in Taco Bell. Zeus showed up and his hatred of Rhea was palpable. I think he would hurt her.”
Cronus frowned.
Why was I protecting that bitch? I mean, she was a funny drunk, and she had nice hair, and mostly … because girls needed to stick together and protect each other.
Even mean-girls like Rhea.
Cronus sighed. “Fine, I will head to the meeting spot and see what Zeus has to say.”
His arms wrapped around me and Koios made a pained chuckling sound. “Is it finally time for us all to stop pretending that you hate Maisey and just stick together?” He shot me a grin, and it looked macabre as fuck with all the blood on his face. I just shook my head at the idiot.
Cronus nodded. “Yes. No more deceptions. We’re stronger as a team.”
He turned to my gramps. “Hyperion, figure out a way to temporarily shut War down, then we’ll discuss options of containing him.”
He faced the injured Titan. “Koios, I’ll get you a healer, then I’m going to leave Maisey with you so I can teach my son a lesson.”
“I’ll get the healer and send Okeanos to track War. You work up a plan to save Rhea,” Hyperion said.
Cronus nodded, then looked at me. “I know of a nice little realm. It’s all forest and blue skies, barely inhabited.”
“Stop. I know you don’t mean that. You’ve been protecting the world for too long.”
I mean … the fucking clouds overhead were black; it was as if night had fallen over Bali. I could see some locals on faraway beaches standing out there trying to figure out what was happening. A torrent of rain suddenly released from the sky, and with it rough winds rocked the water. All of that added up to one thing.
#AnUnhappyTitan
It wasn’t in his DNA to just abandon the world, but I kind of loved that he wanted to for me.
“Come on, let’s get Koios into bed,” I told Cronus.
Koios didn’t look mortally injured, but he’d had his ass handed to him, that was for sure.
When I stepped forward, my legs gave out again and I had to shoot my left leg out to steady myself.
Hmm. Weird.
“What was that?” Cronus was breathing down my neck, Koios in his arms.
“Slipped on the deck,” I lied. “Come on, put him down here.”
Selene’s warning came back to haunt me then. My human half was weak and she was sure I couldn’t take all nine sins.
Maybe Cronus’ giant dick hadn’t broken me. Maybe it was Jealousy. But I could deal with a little weakness in my legs, right? I was still functioning almost like normal. This last Sin had seemed to go down even easier than the others.
I was almost certain I could handle War until we figured something else out.
“Zeus is fucking dead,” Cronus exclaimed as he looked at Koios’ wounds. “Never liked that fucking child, and then when he decided to destroy our family for power, it really sealed the deal.”
“Let’s blame him on Rhea,” I said, trying to break the tension. “His mother was the bad parent.”
Cronus’ lips twitched and I was relieved to see some humor back on his face.
“So what exactly does War do…?” I started to ask, but was distracted when Hyperion popped in with Panacea, the healer I’d met during some of my darkest moments.
She ran to Koios’ side.
“You can’t kill Zeus,” Hyperion said straight away, and either he had heard that as he was popping in, or he had seen that look on his friend’s face before. “Killing him could have disastrous consequences. He’s got so many plans in place, a tangled web of power. If he’s killed, we may not like the outcome.”
“I don’t care!” Cronus’ roar was so loud that the walls of the hut shook and thunder rumbled outside. “That boy has been allowed to run amok for too long. He is my responsibility. I have let him go out of guilt and parental responsibility. No more.”
Hyperion swallowed hard. “I agree. So here’s what I'm suggesting we do. Go to Zeus, kick his ass, an
d imprison him so we can deal with the rest of our shit. After he's locked down, we take Rhea and meet Okeanos. Together we have to take care of War before nukes start going off and ruin all of our plans for living long, long, lives.”
Cronus took a long deep breath. I was glad that at least one Titan seemed to have the ability to get through to him. Finally he nodded. “Let’s imprison him in the same realm I was trapped in. That’s strong enough to hold that little shit. And it’s a nice karmic solution.”
Hyperion looked relieved. “Agreed.” He turned to Koios. “Where is he?”
The Titan in the bed, who already looked much better, half sat. “I left Crius at the meeting spot, but Zeus said he won’t come without Maisey there.”
Cronus growled. “And how the fuck will he know?”
It dawned on me then. “Social media. He’s been following me too. That’s how he found Rhea and me after I went live in Taco Bell.”
Cronus gave me a look. “You want to use your Facegram to trap Zeus?”
#Facegram? #HeWasLuckyHeWasCute #ThinkItsDeliberateAtThisPoint
I nodded. “I’ll go live. He’ll come there and you can kick his ass.”
Cronus looked like he was fighting a battle with himself. It was clear he hated this plan already, but he didn’t disagree. “The second he shows up, Hyperion, you zap Maisey back here. Then return and help me imprison him.”
Hyperion nodded. “You have my word.”
Dammit, I wanted to make sure Cronus was going to be okay, and part of me wanted to see Zeus get his ass kicked. Still, I got it. It was probably best for the weak human to stay back once the action started.
Cronus distracted me with his strong hands, pulling me against him. He leaned down and I had to go up on my toes so our lips could meet. The kiss stole my fucking breath away and my ability to think. I straight-up forgot about all of my worries, forgot the world was possibly ending, and everything else.
As much as I wished it was different, we couldn’t kiss forever. We were on limited time. As he pulled away, Cronus caressed my face, grumbling, “Put some clothes on before I kill Koios. He’s checked out your tits three times now.”
Koios scoffed. “Not true, brother. Once, max.”
I grinned, slipping into the bathroom to change and get ready for some Zeus trapping. I didn’t have many clothes to choose from, but skinny jeans, a black shirt, and boots worked for most things. Hair in a braid, and I was ready.
When I came out, I saw Cronus place a hand on Panacea’s shoulder. “Will he be okay?”
She was still waving her crystal wand up and down Koios’ body, but she nodded. “I’ll get him patched up, no worries.”
“We must hurry. Okeanos can’t hold War for too long,” Hyperion warned.
Cronus said nothing but I could see his brain working, thinking of how he would contain War without using me. I stepped up into his arms. “We’ll figure it out. But remember Clotho said we need to stick together. Now, let’s go save your ex-wife from your psychotic son.”
#BestGirlfriendEver #ModernFamily
A slow grin pulled at his lips as he pressed his palm to my back and pulled me flush against him. “Then round three,” he whispered in my ear and we blinked away.
When we landed, I spun in a full circle, nearly getting dizzy from the effect. “Whoa. The Grand Canyon?”
Cronus nodded. “You need to lure him on the InstaBook. This is a nice wide space for me to rip him limb from limb.”
Hyperion, who had just popped in behind us, sighed. “I think you mean imprison him,” he corrected.
Cronus shrugged, but didn’t confirm anything.
I looked at the lingering tourists milling about the hiking path, thinking that maybe this was too well known a spot for a god throwdown. I mean, surely they didn’t want it on the local news tonight?
Hyperion waved me off when I questioned the canyon being suitable. “I’ll take care of the people.”
He started to walk in their direction, so I pulled out my phone, going live. We had no time to waste, and I wasn’t even sure how good my cell coverage would be here. Thankfully it looked like enough to go live.
Waiting for it to load, I took a few deep breaths, plastering on my “social media” face. “Hey, guys, Mais here. Guess what…?” I flashed the camera to Cronus, who blinked at it, expression unchanging. “Remember that hottie from Greece?”
The comments came flying in.
‘Holy shit he’s back!’
‘Have his babies!’
‘Make him take off his shirt!’
‘Whoa I dig the black streaks.’
I hadn’t even realized that my braid had fallen over my shoulder, streaks visible to them all.
Stepping up next to Cronus, I turned the front-facing selfie cam on, showing the beautiful canyon in the background. “He took me to the Grand Canyon!” I leaned into Cronus, who wasn’t even looking at the camera; he was watching the tree line like a hawk.
‘Aweee, Marry him.’
‘Holy shit how tall is he?’
‘Click my profile for an amazing business opportunity.’
I scowled at the asshole trying to poach my followers.
“If this video gets ten thousand shares, I’ll make him take his shirt off.” I winked.
I’d been so engrossed in my phone that I didn’t even realize Zeus was here until Cronus tore away from me and started running.
“Okay, well … bye! Share and like.”
I ended the live stream and looked around for Hyperion, remembering our promise to Cronus that I would leave right away.
Uhhh … Hyperion?
He was nowhere to be seen.
My gaze returned to the blur of my Titan just in time to see him smash into Zeus. A shockwave blasted outward from their bodies, causing a few bushes to flatten and for me to fall backward on my ass.
Okay, time to scram.
My half human ass wasn’t going to fare well this close to the fight.
A scream shattered across the desert landscape, and the hairs on my arms stood straight up.
Rhea.
I crouched, shuffling in the direction I thought that scream had come from. My legs chose that moment to go weak again. I had to do this weird duck run to keep them moving. Breaking through a thick row of trees, I skidded to a stop when I reached the Titaness. She was pinned down by Apollo and Athena, the blondes holding her with a feral look in their eyes and blades at her throat.
“Whoa.” I held my hands up. When they saw me, they pushed the blade tighter, drawing blood on her neck.
“Don’t step closer,” Athena hissed.
I froze where I was and met Rhea’s gaze. She had some kind of shackles around her wrists that glowed blue. I was guessing they made her powerless; otherwise, these two would be fucking popsicles right now.
“Where’s Hyperion?” I asked, panicked now that Zeus had brought friends and we’d basically come alone.
At that thought, the sky overhead darkened black and thunder started to roll in.
Apollo pulled his blade from Rhea’s neck and pointed it at me. “You don’t ask questions. This is all your fault.”
He stepped toward me and I stepped back, hands up in a defensive gesture. “She’s your fucking grandma! Or aunt! Or some shit. How fucked up can you be? Let her go.” I was shouting, trying to distract them from the fact that I was lowering myself to the ground.
It didn’t work.
He stopped and looked at me. “What are you doing?”
Fuck. Reaching down I grabbed a handful of sand and threw it in his face as he lunged for me. I’d seen that move in a Karate Kid movie or something and always wanted to try it.
And what do you know … it worked.
#EducatedAF #SeeMovieKnowledgeIsUsefulYouSnobbyEnglishLitTeacher
He coughed up a cloud of dirt and rubbed at his eyes, a roar shaking his chest.
“You idiot! They’ll kill me—” Rhea yelled just as Athena moved to swipe the blade across her
throat.
The second I saw her elbow move, I snapped. With a battle cry, I felt all four sins swirling up inside of me, rising with my rage, making my whole face flush with heat as darkness danced across my vision.
“Holy fuck,” I heard Athena whisper.
Those were the only words she got out before an inky black tornado jumped out of my chest and slammed into her, knocking her backward. Rhea leapt to her feet, looking at the blackness in shock and then back to me. For the smallest moment, I felt … at peace. Those sins no longer inside of me, I could breathe again, but the tornado was circling back, and I knew I had to contain it or we’d have a real shitshow on our hands.
Apollo stood, his eyes red-rimmed, and I craned my neck to gaze at him. “Do you think it’s smart to fuck with the chick that carries four sins inside her body?” I growled. If there were a competition in shit talking, I’d do pretty decent.
Apollo looked at his sister, who seemed to be knocked unconscious—maybe dead, who knew—and Rhea standing, staring at the swirling tornado. Her hands were still cuffed but her legs were working.
“Maisey,” she warned.
I’d lost my train of thought and now the blackness was cutting through the ground and edging closer to the Titaness.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. Moving toward the darkness, the necklace at my throat pulsed with heat as I slammed into the black force and it funneled into the portal at my throat. The second the sins were back inside of me, nausea crept over my body and my legs went weak again. Shaking like a leaf, I had to put my arms out to steady myself.
Rhea was at my side in the same instance, her glare on Apollo. “Tell us where you put Hyperion and Maisey won’t kill you.”
Right now Maisey could barely hold on to the contents of her empty stomach, but sure, I could fit a murder in too. He sighed, looking at my necklace, then back to his sister. Still unmoving.
“He’s in the trunk of a green Subaru Outback. We got the drop on him, but I doubt he’ll be out for long.”
Rhea frowned down at me. “Sub-aru? Do you know what that is?”
I nodded, gingerly getting to my feet.
“Go home and take your fucking sister with you!” Rhea snapped, in her usual style. “This isn’t your fight.”
Apollo glared, but with another cautious glance at me, he wasted no time hauling Athena up and disappearing.