From Titans (Book 4) (5 page)

Sarah,
Athena
’s descendant; Aaron,
Apollo’
s descendant; and Colin,
Ares
’
s descendant, stepped forward with smiles and
waves.

Persephone smiled. Her
braided hair dangled over one shoulder, and her long dress flowed
with the breeze. She jumped into Hades
’
s arms.

Noah and Amanda had officially become a
couple. They had announced it when Amanda told us she was moving to
New Olympus. Amanda had a rough past, and I was happy things were
finally going her way.

“
We have a meeting with
the Oracles,” Zeus said.

“
Yes, we know.”
Noah smiled.
“Please, follow me.”

We followed Noah while the others left to
attend their duties. Apparently, they were not invited to the
meeting.

The last time I had been
there, we celebrated our victory over
Hephaestus.
As we passed the long
walkway to the castle, it reminded me of the time Mason had lit up
all the trees, making the New Olympus night more enchanting. Zara
had caught us red handed and lightly scolded us for showing
off.

The giant double door opened as if it sensed
our presence. Light penetrated the crystal castle, providing a warm
illuminating glow. Noah and Amanda led us to the meeting room. We
took our seats and waited for the Oracles. As I learned, the
Oracles liked to be the last ones at the meeting and had to make
grand appearances.

Three women dressed in
magically fairy-like dresses, with glitter on their gowns, hair,
and faces, glided toward the meeting table. They sat on thrones I
hadn
’
t seen the last time I
’
d been there. Each white,
pristine throne, made from marble, had been decorated with swirls
and intricate designs.

Out of respect, we stood.

“
Good afternoon,
everyone,” Zara said. Being the eldest, she conducted the meeting
and always spoke first, while Tara and Cara radiated warm smiles
and spoke when asked for their opinion. “Thank you for coming.
Please, have a seat.”

“
Since
you
’
ve called the meeting, I can only conclude you have good news
for us,” Hades said, his tone sounding hopeful.

Zara gingerly smoothed a hand over her red
hair as if to buy some time. “I have both good and bad news.”

Mom placed her hand on my shoulder. She must
have seen me stiffen and sit up straighter.

Zara paused to gape at
Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. “You
’
re wearing human clothes.
It
’
s
very fitting.” Her lips slightly curled. Was that a
smile?

“
We
’
re trying.” Zeus
arched his eyebrows.

“
What
’
s the news?” my father
asked, bringing us back to our purpose there.

Zara
inhaled.
“My people from New Olympus have
been scouting everywhere, on Earth and in godly realms. As you
already know, when Mount Hem crumbled under
Hephaestus
’
s
evil,
there was motivation behind it. Hephaestus made sure to
continuously give us grief should he fail. Destroying Mount Hem
caused a ripple effect to neighboring Mount Othrys, where the
battle took place between the Titans and gods, right where the
Titans had been imprisoned in the underworld, Tartarus. The damage
freed Cronus and who knows how many others.”

Nick curled his fingers into a tight ball.
“Zara, we already know this.”

One thing about Zara, she enjoyed telling
stories before the punch line. She glared at Nick and continued.
“Eris, goddess of chaos, has joined Cronus. Cronus has not given us
demands, but Eris has.”

“
What is she demanding
from us?” Poseidon leaned forward with his elbows on the
table.

Again, she ignored the question. “Mason is
well.”

As if there were finally air in the room,
everyone sighed with relief.

“
Where is he?” Everett
asked softly, concern in his tone. “Why aren
’
t they letting him go?
Obviously this is about Cronus and his revenge on his children.” He
glanced at Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. “What do they want with
Mason?”

“
I
don’
t know, but we
’
ll find out soon.” Zara
answered calmly, but from her creased brows, she was getting
annoyed. “I have something to show you. When Zeus sent Hermes to
search for Mason, word got around. Eris approached
Hermes.”

“
Where is Hermes? Why
hasn
’
t he informed me of this?” Zeus growled, his ocean-blue eyes
darkening in disapproval.

“
Because I stopped him,”
Zara said.

“
Why would you do such a
thing? Hermes is under my authority, not yours.” He slammed the
table with his hand.

“
Zeus, anger
won
’
t get you anywhere. Calm down.”

“
Calm down?” He huffed.
“Remember who you are talking to, Zara. So where is he?”

Poseidon
’
s hand on Zeus
’
s shoulder seemed to
tame his rage. Zeus
’
s shoulders relaxed
somewhat.

Zara stood, ruffled her dress, and took
several steps down from her throne. “Please, allow me to explain. I
stopped Hermes from going to you so I could examine the
authenticity of this ridiculous invitation. At first I thought it
was a trap, but the rumor is spreading.” She rolled her eyes. “Eris
started it first, and there is evidence this party will take
place.”

“
What invitation?” I
gulped. My stomach twisted in knots. “
I don’
t doubt she started the
rumors.”

“
My child,” the Oracle
said. “I
’
m sure Mason is not himself. I want to warn you,
you
’
re not going to like what you see.”

“
Please, Zara,” my mother
begged, holding my hand. “My daughter is strong.
We
’
re all supporting her. Let
’
s see so we can make a decision.
We
’
ve been waiting so long for any news about
Mason
’
s whereabouts.”

Zara nodded and clapped her hands twice. The
door swung open, and Hermes walked in. No wings fluttered out of
his hat or shoes, except for his blond hair peeking out. Instead of
going to Zara, he glanced around as if to find someone. Finally he
went straight to Zeus.

Hermes dropped to one knee
and dipped his head low. “I didn
’
t recognize you in human clothes.
I apologize for not reporting to you first, but Zara detained me.
It was out of my hands.”

Zeus frowned. “Next time, you come to me
first.”

“
Yes, my king.”

“
You
’
re excused. Get up and
show us what you have.”

I thought Hermes held a large map, but when
he placed it down on the table, my breath caught in my throat. I
had to place my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming.

“
What in the hell is
this?” Nick cried out. “Mason wouldn
’
t agree to this.
He
’
s
engaged to Skylar. This is…” He gripped his hair and grunted in
frustration.

Everyone had their opinion. As their voices
echoed around me in shouts, I tuned them out to stare at the
invitation. Gold rimmed the thick parchment and swirly lines curled
at the bottom. Like Zara said, it was an invitation to a party. An
engagement party for Mason and Eris.

The urge to rip up the invitation came fast
and strong, but I strained to control my emotions. My muscles
tensed, and every single fiber in me yearned to zap Eris extra
crispy. Every second that passed, my mind battled the raw anger
growing. One hand sparked with electricity, and the other blazed
with flames. The ground underneath me tilted and the invitation
blurred out of focus. Voices vibrated through my mind, faintly
audible.

“
We have to go,” Nick
stated.

“
We have to prepare
ourselves. We could be walking into a trap,” Zara said.

“
We
’
re not going. We
can
’
t give her the satisfaction of thinking she bested us all,”
Zeus countered fiercely.

“
Don
’
t be ridiculous,
brother,” Hades retorted, draping his arm around
Persephone.

“
Cronus could be waiting
for us to take his revenge,” Poseidon added.

“
Then let him,” my mom
roared. “I have his sickle, the one he used to defeat his own
father, Ouranus. And this time, I
’
ll end him for good.”

Then
everyone
’
s shouts blended into one as the walls closed in on
me.

“
I
’
m going. No one is going to
stop me,” Amanda muttered.

“
Me too,” Everett said
sternly.

The voices became nothing but murmurs lost
in my head. As the room began to spin, white dots flashed before my
eyes. Icy chills rushed through me, and everything went dark.

Chapter
6

Mason

“
You did what?” I bellowed
as I paced within my jail. If I walked forever, I would still end
up at the same place I started.

“
Let me repeat myself.
Again. I
’
ve sent out our engagement invitation to our guests.” The
nagging voice from nowhere spoke happily.

I growled, wanting to wring her neck. No,
wanting to zap her with my light and fry her to a crisp. Torturing
my enemies was not my forte, but I wanted to cause every possible
bodily harm to my captor.

“
I
’
m already engaged.” I
shuffled my feet, but they made no sound, as if I were walking on
air.

“
You
think
you
’
re engaged to someone else,
but you
’
re now engaged to me.”

“
No. I
didn
’
t ask you to marry me. So, we
’
re not engaged. Let me repeat
myself. I
’
m engaged to Skylar.” I laughed, not because it was funny,
but because it was absurd.

“
You can think that all
you want. Your heart may not belong to me, but your body will. You
can
’
t stop me, Mason. I have power over you. You
haven
’
t seen it yet. And when the time comes,
you
’
ll know what I
’
m talking about.”

“
You
’
re crazy!” I shouted,
releasing my anger. Blistering heat rose in every inch of me. My
energy crackled in the palm of my hands. “Let me go. Find someone
crazy enough to fall in love with you.”

“
Don
’
t worry, my love. When
Skylar and your family see how happy we are together,
they
’
ll move on. You
’
ll be forgotten, and
I
’
ll
have you all to myself.”

I dropped to sit on the ground, elbows
propped on crossed legs, and shoved my hands into my face. Her
threat to control me was the most frightening part. She held my
life in her hands. I could do nothing to fight her. I would have to
wait it out and fight the battles I could control. Only thinking of
Sky kept me going.

Glancing around the
perimeter of my spotlight, I spotted an empty bowl.
Strange
. I
didn
’
t recall eating the applesauce. Was it even what she said? My
hunger pangs had gone and so had the need to quench my thirst. Had
she fed me while I slept? Impossible. I would
’
ve felt it. I
would
’
ve woken up. And I still had no knowledge of her identity and
what power she possessed.