My head was pounding.
I didn’t want to open my eyes. Lying still would work just fine for me. Whatever I was laying on, while uncomfortable, was cool and helped ease the aches I was feeling. Every now and then I would hear voices, but I couldn’t understand anything they were saying.
What day was it? I couldn’t even remember. Had I gone back to Vegas? It was a little unclear. I knew as soon as I opened my eyes and got up I would remember things better. However, I wasn’t ready to face the fact that my boyfriend and roommates had been lying to me, basically, the entire time I knew them. Who did that?
Hours, maybe days, passed and I didn’t move or open my eyes. I didn’t have to worry about anything in my bubble.
“Karly?” The voice was far away and fuzzy, but I could understand it. “Karly, are you okay? Are you awake?”
It was time to go back to the real world. Back to school—back to work—back to figuring out what I was supposed to do now.
“Yeah,” I mumbled softly. “What time is it? I know I’ve been lying here for a while.”
“Karly,” the voice said hesitantly. “You’ve been bleeding. Are you okay?”
My eyes snapped open.
“What?” I choked out. My throat felt like sandpaper had been ripped through it. My entire body felt like it had been beaten and then tossed onto the floor I lay on now. I noticed my cut and bloodied arms, several pieces of broken mirror lodged in them. Chains held me loosely in place, and I slowly eased my sore muscles into a sitting position, my head screaming in protest.
“Is your head alright?” the voice asked again.
I surveyed the room. It was oval shaped and made entirely of marble. Greek-style pillars stood every couple of feet, holding up the ceiling painted like a cloudless sky. I imagined it looked magnificent when it wasn’t torn apart.
The marble was cracked in several places, and what looked like blood stains covered the floor. One of the pillars was broken and laying in pieces on the ground. To my right I found a huge throne, the likes of which I’d never seen. It seemed to flow effortlessly from the floor of the same marble. The bottom was in the form of clouds and the back rose upward shaped like several lightning bolts. There was hardly any space between it and the end of the oval.
“Karly?”
I looked to my left and saw a woman who had clearly been beaten, chained to one of the pillars. Her brown hair was ratted and had gore in it. She was wearing a simple white robe, stained and torn in several places. Her expression was one of concern.
I suddenly remembered she’d been asking about my head and tentatively reached a hand up, chains rattling, to feel it. When I reached the back I winced, feeling the cut and filth that had dried into my hair.
“It hurts,” I croaked. “My throat does too. What happened? I can’t remember anything.”
“It’s okay. Give it a couple of minutes.” She smiled at me and nodded reassuringly.
“Who are you?”
“Nike,” she said. “But you probably know me better as Niki, if I remember correctly. I think that’s the name Zeus and I decided to use while I was in Vegas.”
“Niki! Oh my gosh, are you okay?” I was shocked at her appearance. I thought Zeus had made her up as part of the joke, but it was painfully obvious that she had been in a lot of trouble. “What happened to you—“I sucked a breath in as memories started to come back.
“I went to San Francisco,” I started slowly. “I got a hotel room for the night and then . . .” I started to cry. “It was all real? Everything he said? It was the truth?”
Nike nodded sadly. “I’m so sorry you had to find out like that Karly. I know Zeus very well. I’m sure he’d wanted to tell you at the right time.”
“What’s going to happen now?” I asked fearfully. “Is Kronos here? I thought he was going to kill me. Why didn’t he?”
“He will in good time,” a voice sneered from behind me. I knew that voice.
“Hera.”
“Why, yes! I guess I’m not just a liar trying to scare you off, huh?” She looked down her nose at me, a manic smile on her face. She wore armor like I’d never seen before; something fit for a queen. Its brassy color caught the light well, showing off her curves. While she was obviously well protected, there were several scuff marks and dents in the intricate design. It was apparent she had been part of whatever battle had happened in this room.
“What do you want, Hera?” Nike growled. “You have no business here.”
“Actually, I do.” She laughed and walked over to Nike. She grabbed the chains, which held the Goddess captive, and gave them a sharp tug, causing Nike to cry out in pain.
“Stop it!” I cried, pulling against my own chains in an attempt to get out and help my new friend.
“I will do whatever I want, and you can’t stop me!” Hera’s voice cracked through the room like metal meeting metal. “You are going to die, you little tramp. Do you understand that? Kronos is going to come in here and cut your heart out in front of the conquered Gods. There’s nothing you or anyone else can do about it.”
“Don’t listen to her, Karly. She’s just trying to scare you,” Nike gasped.
“Am I?” Hera feigned surprise. “We shall see, I guess. I’m off to tell our new King that his guest of honor is awake now.” She sneered at us again and left, her boots clicking on the floor as she went.
“Was she telling the truth?” I whispered once she was gone.
Nike didn’t answer.
I fell silent, thinking over the things that had happened to me. Zeus would be furious when he found out; that was certain. If I hadn’t left without telling anyone, maybe I wouldn’t have been in this situation. He was sure to yell at me, if I was still alive.
I wanted to hate him when he’d told me who he really was. I’d even managed to convince myself I didn’t love him. It was a lie, though. A million lifetimes could pass me by, and I would still love him.
“Nike?” I asked after a few moments. “Why does Kronos want to kill me?”
She remained silent, looking at the floor.
“Please,” I said softly. “I think I deserve to know.”
“Karly.” She returned her gaze to me, her eyes tired and a frown on her lips. “Zeus can’t come back until he truly falls in love with someone who loves him back. It’s clear he loves you. Most of us, if not all the Gods, have been watching him. We needed him to come back and fight for us—we wanted him to fall in love fast. That’s why I was coming to him. I’m the Goddess of victory. With me at his side, there was no chance he would fail. But I was captured before I made it, and Kronos used me to conquer Olympus.
“Luckily, Zeus managed to fall in love without my help. I’m very happy about that actually. If there hadn’t been the threat of war, I would have left him alone to figure it out himself. He needed to learn what love really was.
“You, on the other hand, were very cautious. We could tell he was frustrated at first and ready to give up. But then he decided you were worth it—that he wanted you. We saw how you fell in love with him—don’t deny it—but you didn’t even know it yourself yet.
“Kronos wants you dead because you love Zeus. He thinks that if your heart is no longer beating, you can no longer love him, and Zeus will never be able to come home. He is trying to permanently exile him and strip him of his powers.” She shifted from one foot to another, wincing as the chains dug into her.
“I do love him,” I confirmed. “I thought he was lying before, and I told him I didn’t, but I do. I love him more than I can even understand. I don’t know if saying it now will help or if it’s too late, but I do.”
Nike nodded her head sadly and gave me a weak smile.
“Only time will tell.”
I pulled at my shackles again, trying to free at least one hand to fight back with. I knew I couldn’t do much for anyone, much less myself—in fact, I was positive I wasn’t going to make it out alive—but I was in love, and that was goi
ng to enable Zeus to save everyone. If I could survive long enough for him to realize he was no longer banished, then maybe he could defeat his father and regain his kingdom.
A small whimper escaped my lips as I pulled on my bindings again. Blood seeped from my wrists onto the marble beneath me. The more effort I used, the more my previous wounds split open again. Finally, armed with as much courage as I could muster, I pulled a shard of glass out of my right forearm that had been keeping me from really working against my shackles. The pain was so excruciating, I left the rest to spare myself the agony of removing them. Blood cascaded onto the floor while I cried. Applying as much pressure as possible, I coached myself through the pain, keeping my greater mission in mind. At least my head had stopped bleeding—dizziness was around every corner and blood loss was not helping the matter.
The sound of chains scraping down the halls had been going on for a few minutes now, a never-ending parade of defeat echoing through the massive room.
“Keep moving dogs!” a loud voice barked.
Still, the sounds continued at the same pace, a protest to the wearer’s captor.
“They’re bringing in the other Gods,” Nike explained from her still-chained-up position.
A few moments later, her statement proved true.
Some of them I recognized, probably because they had specific characteristics I’d learned about in school. I sucked in a breath when I saw the strange angel man from my dream. He made eye contact with me and frowned. I knew then that he had been trying to warn me, to get me to leave before I was caught. I mouthed a silent thank you and smiled weakly.
“Who is that?” I asked Nike as the man continued to his designated spot.
“Morpheus, God of dreams,” she whispered back.
Before I could reply, the last two chained Gods entered, and I was shocked again to discover that one of them was the man from the beach who had helped me when I was younger. They were placed slightly in front of the rest of the Gods, in their own set of chains. I remembered that while Zeus was King of all the Gods, he had two brothers who were also kings. There was only one logical conclusion—Hades and Poseidon had been captured as well.
Though captured and chained together, the beaten gods all looked strong willed and determined. Each wore armor specific to themselves, none of which appeared shiny and new. Their presence in the broken room added another chapter to the carnage they had been through. Blood flowed freely from several, if not all of them. Some had sported a severe limp as they were paraded about the room. I didn’t know if Gods could die, but it was plain they could be injured.
Hera entered, along with a few Gods I didn’t recognize. Disgustingly triumphant, they stared down at their fellow deities, a few of them stopping to spit in the faces of their defeated brethren before proceeding to the opposite side of the throne. Silence filled the room as the two sides glared at each other, and I wondered who would break first from the increasing tension.
“He swallowed you whole, Hera! Did you forget that?” Hades spat out first.
“Brother,” Poseidon warned.
“No! I want her to explain why she helped the beast who swallowed us all! Why she went against the man who freed us from that! I want to know why she felt compelled to punish us even after her complaints against Zeus were dealt with justly!”
“There is no need for that, my son,” Kronos smirked as he entered the room.
His suit had been replaced with majestic armor of his own—completely black and form fitting, leaving virtually no weak spots.
“I’m not your son,” Hades spat back.
“We’ll see. You might decide otherwise soon enough.”
With a snap of his fingers, my bindings dissolved. A guard who had entered unnoticed behind me, grabbed my arm and hauled me to my feet, dragging me in front of the throne. Sucking in a sharp breath, I pushed down a scream as the wounds he touched reopened.
“For those of you who are unaware,” Kronos began while loosening the ties on his gauntlets and removing them. “This is Karly Rawlins. She is the mortal Zeus has fallen in love with. We cannot allow them to be together, can we?” He tossed his gloves onto the throne and smiled devilishly as his supporters cheered.
As he removed a piece from around his waist, visibly confidant no one would attack him, he continued, “I have brought Karly here to die. I want everyone to know there is no chance of Zeus coming back.” He spat out the name as if it were a swear word, and my insides churned.
“You are all going to watch her die. And then you will swear fidelity to me or you will die as she did.” Hera held a long box toward him, and he pulled out a shiny, silver dagger.
“This has been dipped in water from the River Styx. I’m sure you’re aware it’s fatal to any God it stabs. Now, let’s begin!”
Kronos walked over to me and grabbed one arm.
“You’re too late,” I said, loud enough for everyone to hear. “I already love him. He can come back whenever he wants.” I prayed that was true.
“You can’t love with a broken heart,” he sneered. “And I’m going to stab yours clean through.”
“You can’t kill love,” I shot back. “It lives forever, long after the people who experienced it are forgotten.” I winced as he tightened his grip and jerked me closer.
“We’ll have to see about that then, won’t we?” His whisper sent chills down my spine and bile to my throat.
“We won’t swear fidelity,” Poseidon said commandingly. “And you can only kill so many of us before you have no one to command.”
“We shall see,” Kronos laughed, turning to look at him. “I plan on obliterating this mortal world anyway, leaving no one to worship you, your powers fading into oblivion. You will beg to be my loyal subjects just to stay alive.”
“You can’t kill all those people,” I said in horror, my hand grasping the one he had tightened around my arm.
“Watch me,” he hissed, turning back to me and ripping another piece of glass from my shoulder. I cried out as fresh blood ran down my arm, the laughter of my enemies ringing in my ears.
Before I could move to fight back, the knife raised high into the air and I froze, new chains magically appearing and holding me in place.
This was it. I was going to die. I would never be able to tell my parents or friends goodbye. I’d never finish school and follow my dreams of being an artist. And I would never be able to tell Zeus I loved him. I’d never get to see his face when I told him I loved him so much it hurt to breathe.
The dagger descended, and I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping it would be over quickly and Zeus would arrive in time to save the others. Time stood still as I waited for death, the air crackling with electricity. I imagined it was the end as my hair stood on end and a warm wave overtook me. A loud rumbling, like thunder, filled my ears, making it hard to hear anything else. I felt something hit my feet, and my eyes popped open, looking for the cause.
The knife lay on the ground, free of blood. I looked up at Kronos, but his eyes were locked on the other side of the room, fury radiating from every part of him. I turned my head to see what was happening.
The crowd had parted the best it could, considering the chains. There, lightning bolts in hand, stood a man.
Zeus.
Chapter Twenty-Two