APOLLO

  What did I just do?

  No, it’s her fault, she kissed me first. He grabbed me and…

  I fell into the river and stayed in the cold water for hours. I could not forget how cold she felt towards me, and how demanding she was when she grabbed my clothing.

  And her lips, her skin….It tasted so sweet, that I wanted to feed from it forever.

  But her gaze is what shocked me. There was no fear, no weakness behind it. She was the one in control. She was exquisite. It felt as if she was a piece of beautiful music, grasping me, making me move however her rhythm chooses.

  ‘’Was that enough?’’ Artemis' voice asked right behind me and my fingers touched my lips.

  ‘’You need to stop this madness’’Scolded Artemis.’’If you keep going like this…’’

  I knew what I was doing. Even with that sharp pain in my chest, I was aware of it. And yet I wished for one more kiss of hers, one more touch, a glare of her face, anything for her and that would satisfy me.

  ‘’Apollo’’ She tried to wake me from my thoughts.

  I let out a cold laugh and stood up. ‘’I just wanted to try something’’ I turned back to her and her ears flipped.

  ‘’For what?’’ she narrowed and I grabbed her by the arms.

  ‘’To see if she fell, and I was right.’’

  She had this dense look again.’’She fell for you?’’It almost sounded like an insult.

  ‘’Deeply, down on her knees, she was.’’Another lie but this time she ignored it and jumped away.

  ‘’It was Ares' idea wasn’t it?’’A glare came from her and I looked away. Unfortunately, she was not wrong. This stupid snake of a man did me dirty.

  ‘’If it works, I feel sorry for her’’She whispered and moved near the trees.

  Why could she feel sorry for her? Because just today she tried to protect her? Maybe she felt like a protector again.

  I was about to follow my sister back until my eyes found a charming girl with long raven hair watching me from afar.

  ‘’Are you not coming?’’ Asked Artemis but I was long gone far from her.

  The woman waved at me with the most flirtatious smile right before my hands found her throat.

  ‘’Brother come now’’Hermes gasped.

  ‘’I told you to not interfere with my business’’I growled and Hermes grabbed my wrist and without any struggle, he pushed me away.

  ‘’And I told you, not everything is about you’’His from returning to normal.’’But I suppose you don’t want to learn what I found about her…’’

  He knew how to win my attention well. And that made him gain a grin upon his face.

  ‘’Are you going to tell me?’’I asked him and he waited a few seconds before he replied with a simple.

  ‘’Meh.’’

  I frowned and still waited for him to say his prize.

  ‘’What shall I ask, what shall…’’ my brother adored playing with my patience and when the time was right, he revealed his eyes under the blindfold.

  ‘’How about…’’He flew at my side.’’Tomorrow I’ll be Paris.’’

  I let out a scoff.’’You cannot pull it off’’I admitted.’’She will know that it’s not me.’’

  His brow arched as his form turned to my disguise and he pulled a childish move.

  ‘’Look at me I am Paris, I am a charming healer who is trying to help you but I want you dead because that's the only way my dad would love me.’’

  Stay calm Apollo. Stay calm.

  That gave him more ideas as he whispered down to my ear.’’And every love of mine was destroyed because of me. I wondered if that’s why my mommy was afraid of…’’

  That was it and my hand transported a bright yellow bow. My fingers traced between and moving back, a white arrow and shot it right at Hermes’s head. Or so I thought as it only scratched the left part of his face, letting ichor drop on the grass.

  ‘’Don’t you dare.’’I could not handle my rage from those words that he spoke. Not when he was wearing that face.

  No reaction came from him as he turned to normal once more.

  ‘’Give me the wool’’ He announced.

  I tried to relax but it wasn’t easy. Give it to for what? Maybe I did overuse it, maybe Themis found me and was ready to strike me. But I had no time. I had a week. And it was not enough for either me or…

  Why was I thinking of her?

  Finding all the information about her, using it against her, and…it was so close.

  ‘’All yours’’I told him and he seemed grateful for it. But I hated what he did, how he tried to trick me and beat it at me. Of course, he would.

  ‘’She will find out sooner or later, you know that correct?’’He asked me.

  I knew when and how. If that's another trick of his, I wasn’t ready to fall for it.

  ‘’Just spit it out, tell me what you know.’’

  And with another laugh, he showed me everything.

  The first thing that I saw was a heavy old hag with a curved smile on her face. The bright temple of Apollo was my and her home as she was telling me stories of a kingdom that it was long gone.

  The music was beautiful. I could still listen to it.

  She always told me. Even when she died, that was her last sentence. I cried for hours until the arch-priest of the temple took me away from her. How could she leave me all alone? But even when the coins were placed in her body for the lord of messengers to take her, I found a glimpse of a bright statue. He would never leave, would he?

  The arch-priest was a strict man, punishing the wrong and encouraging the right. I suppose I was always wrong and causing trouble then as every day there were my cheeks all flushed and red. But I did respect him. I respected the arch-priest serving the bright god that I loved so much. I was always telling him what I was doing daily, hoping he would be the one to listen.

  A night arrived where fire and wrath won. Children and priests did not escape. I was still praying for him to appear. I was praying in secret while the arch-priest was being slaughtered.

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  I was praying when they attacked me.

  And yet I got out in shackles and with scars on my face.

  Why did those people leave me to the monsters?

  But my hope for him never stopped, I knew

  There were two people of course that kept that wrath at peace. Two siblings one with a loud mouth and the other was a brute that cared too much for the weak. Maybe that was why he was close to me. Maybe I should have been weaker for people to stay with me. His kisses were nothing special though, mostly an itchy face. Maybe I could just stay there. However the people there were violent, wild dogs, hungry for more meat. And their leader had plans for me. What if I was given to their god? He will surely repay them. They dragged me, they kept my friends away from me even if they tried to stop the entire insanity of the plan. But I never stopped praying. I never stopped praying for help. Even when they laughed, I never stopped. I never stopped until the archpriest whispered in my ear. No one will come. No one will save us.

  And rage fired on my soul as the blade was about to fall on my heart and I pushed the man right to the fire with oil falling to the floor and a blaze was created.

  None would come. No one will save me.

  I will kill you. I mouthed

  Wait…what am I doing?

  My lungs were being filled with water and yet the fire was not stopping. The pleading for help was not stopping. And yet I felt so distant with that body.

  ‘’I will kill you’’Her voice spat.

  ‘’Oracle’’ I rushed to her and cupped her face to look at me. Blinded by rage the only thing she would mouth was this.

  I will kill you. I will kill you.

  ‘’Oracle please’’

  It was so hard to breathe. ‘’Please oracle stop this.’’

  And then, her eye met mine. She looked so young there. As if that was the moment her innocence was ripped right from her body. And with a black blade, she aimed at my throat with her lips moving once more. ‘’I will make sure, you are dead’’

  I gasped for air as I was getting pulled from the water.

  ‘’Apollo?’’Artemis panicked. ‘’Apollo.’’ Her voice shouted.

  ‘’What happened to him?’’Was that Ars’ voice? My eyes snapped and moving my upper body I could see my two siblings and Aphrodite staring at me concerned.

  I wanted to explain the truth to them so much but I couldn’t.

  So I rushed away, turned into a raven, and tried to fly back to the temple.

  How could I be so foolish?

  I found her sleeping down on one of my statues, her body trembling as she had placed now the milk skin on her wounded arm. Even with a coat, her body was shaking, her color turning less and less slowly as her voice was an entire mumble.

  She was in the center of the flames, she was the beginning of a wrath. She was there, because of…

  I simply stared at her in my natural form before grabbing her tight and walking her right back to her bed. Even then, with more warmth the woman crawled and hugged herself, refusing to watch me back.

  ‘’Why’’I asked.’’You were supposed to be a mere mortal, an ant why are you…’’

  I could not bear it. Not that pain, not again.

  And there was that laughter. Hermes appeared from the window with a wide smile, wearing a golden wool around his neck.

  The only way I could buy more time with her was now on his hands.

  ‘’Did you like what you see?’’

  I did not answer that and just simply looked at her colors getting drained slowly. I tried to reach my hand at her, thinking that I could heal her. And the sword found my throat, my hands, my heart.

  A thousand needles of pain shot to every part of my body.

  I just wanted to heal her, I had to heal someone.

  ‘’Slow down brother’’Hermes moved to my side and touched my hand, pulling me away from her.

  What was that need, that pain?

  ‘’She is just a woman,brother’’Hermes reminded me.

  ‘’You don’t understand, I saw her pain her anger I….it’s my fault.’’

  As soon as I said that Hermes let out a heavy bark.’’Bravo, you figured it out.’’

  What was he talking about?

  ‘’You think this woman is the only one who suffered all those years?’’His smile drew wider with his body popping eyes second after second.’’You think none else got that anger after you and those idiots got banished?’’

  ‘’It was your fault, you gave the idea’’

  ‘’What about before Troy?’’He shouted.’’You believe that you lose people because they love you too little? No, they suffer because you do not care about anyone but yourself-’’

  My body reacted fast as my hand was ready to hit Hermes’ helmet.

  But he reacted faster as his eyes fell back to the woman.’’Not here’’He whispered and with a flip of a coin we were both transported to the sky. I could not transform. Why I could not transform?

  ‘’You dare try to attack me? Herme shouted as he grabbed me by my clothes and tried to lift me closer to the sky.

  ‘’You become too prideful’’I smirked at him. ‘’Like ‘Father’’’

  His smile twitched as he punched my face and finally threw me down.

  Why couldn't I transform?

  Bow… Bow...

  My fingers were snatched open as my bow appeared ready to shoot him again. And this time, when the arrow was formed, when I aimed right at my brother’s head, I did not miss. His smile faded when heavy ichor dripped right from his brow. That was it, wasn’t it? He will finally leave me alone.

  And then, his fingers flipped one more coin.

  This time, I ended up cold to the grass as he was right on top of me, his fingers grasping my throat. At a different time, it would have been me on top, me having control.

  ‘’You are weak,’’He almost spat.’’Your wants and needs make you simply, a weak god.’’ A laugh. ‘’No wonder you were so easy to ca-’’

  His voice stopped. There was no sound, no melody coming from his throat. And I just wanted it to be more silent. I never wanted to listen to those words of his again. His annoying, pitchy all mighty voice. I wanted him to suffer, to rot in silence.

  ‘’You were the one to rat me out, you sent me to trial’’ I shouted as I stood on my own two feet, pushing my cowardly brother to the ground.

  I wanted his voice to explode, his tongue to be cut by thin air, I wanted his eyes to pop like berries.

  ‘’You were laughing when ‘Father’...’’ My lips broke as I tried to speak those cursed words.

  Do you love your father?

  We are Olympians. Love is not what mortals believe to be. Not for us, not for me.

  ‘’It’s…’’Hermes’ lips forced a tone. ‘’Your… fault…’’

  ‘’My fault for what? Everything the fates wrote it, I simply foretell it.’’

  ‘’Prevent it.’’He barked with his helmet falling from his head.

  Just shut up, I want you dead, dead and gone.

  ‘’Enough’’A hand shackled my wrist turning back, I could see Artemis’ doe eyes wide open. Why was she like this? She would never stop me, not like this. Why was she looking all so afraid? And why was I so angry?

  One deep breath. I just needed one deep breath before my entire body simply relaxed.

  ‘’If I am selfish, what are you?’’I asked Hermes shakily and stepped away from him.

  As he could finally speak, he replied with endless coughs until his voice returned properly.

  ‘’I am simply doing my part’’He muttered and another glare hit me.’’What will you do?’’A laugh as he put his helmet back on his head.’’Only a week, no wool, that woman is still running free…’’ His lips popped.’’But her time is running out, correct? You can see it ‘’

  He was right. I could just sleep for a week and wait for her to perish. Then everything will return to normal. I would wait a few more years and…

  That image of her, flames dancing around her, rage incarnated in her voice. Hatred. How much more?

  I had to do something. If her fate is sealed then I just have to buy more time. I needed more…

  I turned back to my sister and she instantly realized what I was going to ask.

  She shook her head and covered my mouth.’’No, enough, unfortunately’’She narrowed to Hermes’ side.’’He is right. You need to relax.’’

  But I could not. I simply couldn’t.

  ‘’Where is she?’’I asked her and her ears dropped down.

  ‘’She never stays at one place’’She admitted. ‘’She just comes when I need her and…’’

  Was this another lie? Was she trying to defend her? No, my sister would never do that. She was no fool. But I had to take one more sleep and I turned to Hermes. The only one who would actually know.

  One more deal with him.