From Titans (Book 4) (25 page)

“
Zara, thank you.” I
wasn
’
t sure why I had said that, but I knew she had a hand in my
fast healing.

“
Thank me later. On the
count of three, this barrier will be down. We need to go help the
others. One…”

Sky and I exchanged loving glances at each
other.

“
Two
…”

“
I love you,” I
mouthed.

“
I love you, too,” she
mouthed back.

“
Stay beside me so I know
you
’
re safe, okay?”

“
I
’
ll do my best. But do you
need to rest?”

“
No. I
’
ve rested far too
long. I
’
ll explain later.
”

I wasn
’
t going to take it
easy when everyone else was in danger. I had no time for self-pity.
My muscles throbbed, and I felt a little disorientated, but I would
snap out of it when the adrenaline kicked in.

We ducked when a boulder
big enough to crush the three of us came straight at us and bounced
away. Thankfully, Zara hadn
’
t dropped the barrier.

“
Three.”

Now I understood why
everything sounded muffled. The shield also blocked sounds. The
blast of thunder and lightning from Zeus zapped me awake. Nick and
Everett fought beside Zeus, while Noah and Amanda held up their
daggers next to Poseidon. I smiled to see my family, and I
couldn
’
t wait to kick some ass right beside them. Determination and
strength flooded through me.

“
Ready?” Zara
asked.

Sky and I nodded.

“
We
’
re waiting for Hermes
and Tara. I can
’
t contact Tara…”

I had no idea what she said next. Sky and I
took off.

Chapter
22

Skylar

I gaped. It was the first
time I
’
d set my eyes on Cronus. The famous Cronus. The legendary
Cronus. The huge…humongous beast with the face of an ordinary man.
He wasn
’
t the only giant there. There were six of them. My courage
drained for a second, until a body flew across the arena from one
end to the other side, knocking down walls. Then something
registered in my brain.
Mason!

“
That
’
s Mason,”
Nick gasped.

“
He just got whipped by
Cronus.” Noah pointed out the obvious.

“
Skylar and I will go help
him. The rest of you stop Cronus,” Zara directed.

Those words were the only
thing I heard before I took off running. My heart danced and at the
same time thundered in agony. I didn
’
t know what condition I would
find him in, and I didn
’
t know if Eris had altered his
mind. I pushed those worries away to focus on Mason.

We found Mason through the broken wall that
surrounded us like a small cave. He was unconscious but fortunately
not dead. His body took a toll from being slammed through the
structures. I was afraid to touch him for fear he had broken bones
and I would make it worse. But Zara knew what to do. She placed her
fingers on his wrist and leaned closer to his face.

“
We must hurry. His heart
is weak.” Zara reached inside the bag tied around her waist, pulled
out a clear crystal, and placed it over his heart. “Make sure it
stays on him until he awakes. Meanwhile, I
’
ll protect this area as long
as I can.”

My eyes were rooted to
Mason
’
s face. I gently placed my hand over his cheek. “Mason,” I
whimpered. “Please, wake up. I need you so much and your family
needs you too. You can
’t
leave us. We’
re supposed to get married
and live a long life together.” My eyes pooled with tears. “The
dogs miss you too.”

Time seemed to inch past,
and the longer it took, the more agitated I became. “This
isn
’
t working,” I snapped. “Can
’
t you heal him faster? Why
isn
’
t he waking up?” I threw Zara questions before she even had a
chance to answer, but she didn
’
t need to.
Mason
’
s eyes fluttered open to stare at me. Could he not recognize
me? That was what I feared most.

“
Mason?” I
couldn
’
t breathe. I couldn
’
t move.

The ground shook and
lightning flashed everywhere, but I didn
’
t care. I dismissed all
that. My only focus was Mason. Waiting…
Waiting
…
Waiting
… until he
whispered, “Sky?”

I closed my eyes and let the tears fall. A
few dripped on his cheek. My heart soared, and I thanked the world
my Mason not only was alive, but recognized me.

“
Ready?” Zara
asked.

Mason and I nodded.

“
We
’
re waiting for Hermes
and Tara. I can
’
t contact Tara.” Zara
scowled.

I had no idea what she said next. Mason and
I took off to guard Nick and Everett.

“
It
’
s so good to see you,
Mace the Ace.” Nick
’
s hand sizzled with light,
sending a blast to Cronus that seemed to sting him rather than do
any damage. “It
’
s about time you woke up.” Though
Nick teased, I could hear the relief and happiness in his tone and
Everett
’
s too.

“
I was going to go over
there and kick your ass. Sleep while we get our asses kicked, why
don
’
t you?” Everett said and ducked an incoming rock.

Mason smiled. “Yeah, I missed you too.”

“
Mason is mine.” Someone
came out of the shadow behind a boulder.

I turned, surprised to see someone our size,
shirtless and all muscles.

“
You again.” Mason pointed
at him. “You
’
re standing. I
’
m going to help you
get back down on your knees.”

“
You need to have more
respect for your elders, Mason. I
’
m Oceanus. If you
didn
’
t know my name, now you do. I
’
m going to kill you today.” His
eyes darkened, sparkling with electricity.

“
You
’
re so little.” Nick
snorted. “What happened to you? Are you the runt of the
family?”

Oceanus raised his hand.
Energy blasted and Nick darted across. Then Oceanus homed in on
Mason and shifted his hand to him, but this time,
Oceanus
’
s body hurled to the opposite side of Nick.

“
You need to move faster,
grandpa.” Mason
’
s eyes brightened, surging with
energy. It trailed down his body, out of his fingertip, and around
his body, illuminating him. He was beautiful and
dangerous.

Oceanus got right back up, shook his head as
if to dust off dirt, and flashed an evil grin. Then he came at
Mason like a bull.

“
Why
can
’
t you just stay down?” Mason
’
s power bolted out, buzzing the
energy around Oceanus, and tossed him against the wall on the other
side. His body burst through and was buried under the rubble. It
would hold him for the time being.

Everyone ran in circles within the arena,
dodging lightning produced by Zeus and Mason.

“
Hyperion. Stop,” Hades
demanded. “Join our side and stop Cronus.”

Hyperion stomped like a
spoiled brat. “You banished me to Tartarus. I
’
ll never trust you.”
He swatted his giant hand to knock anyone in his way.

“
Noah!” Amanda shouted in
horror. Noah got caught in Hyperion
’s rampage. Hyperion’
s hand
knocked Noah aside. “You
’
re going to get it, you giant
piece of shit.”

Noah collided against one of the Titans and
dropped to the ground. Amanda was right by his side.

“
Theia, Coeus,
Themis,
stop this nonsense,” Zeus roared,
floating at their eye level. “History will repeat itself.
You
’
re going to lose again.”

Coeus swung an arm at
Zeus. He missed and his fist collided with Theia
’
s face. The huff of
her growl sent Zeus tumbling in air.

Ares and Athena sliced
their swords at a female titan
’
s ankle, and Hades climbed on top
of the same titan
’
s head and lit her hair on
fire.

“
Phoebe.
That
’
s what you get for siding with Cronus,” Zeus
roared.

Phoebe screeched in pain as fire streamed
out of her hair, producing unwanted ashes and flames. It flared
when she rammed her head against the structure, causing debris and
more chaos. Dodging their humongous steps and trying to fight back
exhausted me.

A whistle from Ares caught
Theia
’
s attention. Then, bam! Athena
’
s shield flew like a saucer and
hit her smack on the eye. She cried in pain, covering the hurt eye.
Ares took the opportunity and hit Theia
’
s other eye with his shield.
Blinded, Theia howled in agony. Ares and Athena, joined by Everett,
jabbed and poked her with their swords. Theia dropped to her knees,
causing the ground to rumble. I
’
d thought one of the Titans would
come to her aid, but they didn
’
t.

I gasped when Cronus grabbed Poseidon in the
palm of his hand. “Let him go,” I spat, sending shocks toward him.
Unfortunately, he only jerked and cursed, but his grip on Poseidon
concerned me deeply. Then, to my horror, he opened his mouth and
swallowed Poseidon.

“
No!” Zeus bellowed in
grief. His shout echoed through the arena, bouncing off the wall so
loudly I had to cover my ears.

Thunder boomed and
lightning flashed, coming down at Cronus, but Cronus caught the
lightning with his hand. How was that possible? He froze it into
ice before it had a chance to hit him. Zeus
’
s eyes grew in terror. He
raised his staff, sending more lightning to flash faster and
faster. Cronus froze every one of them.

The shock of seeing
Poseidon eaten alive made me wary, and it did the same for the
others as we all adjusted to the horror and reality that Poseidon
was gone. My concern died quickly, knowing Poseidon still could be
saved. They just had to beat Cronus and have him regurgitate
Poseidon. But the thought of Poseidon inside
Cronus
’
s body sickened me. I hoped he wasn
’
t
suffering.