CHAPTER 14
The time had come. He’d waited a millennium for destiny to converge on this moment, this lifetime, and now the future of the entire world rested squarely on his shoulders. He’d learned much since the last time he’d faced his father. He’d tasted the humility of being forgotten, written into fiction like Homer’s Iliad or transformed into a glowing cartoon on the big screen while the muses sang about Hercules.
But this time there would be no theatrics—no thunderbolts, no cyclops, no Olympians coming to his aid. The fate of the world would not be fought on a public stage. Not this time. But before the showdown, he had one last thing to do.
Zack knocked on the door.
Nate, the police detective and Guardian of the Muse of Tragic Poetry, opened the door with his gun drawn.
Zack lifted his hands and allowed his mortal disguise to fade. The glow of his Olympian skin reflected in the mortal’s wide eyes.
Nate’s jaw went slack. “You really are Zeus.”
He nodded. “Yes. And my father will be here soon. Go collect the children and the others. Take them to the theater. My mother is waiting for you there.” Zeus clasped Nate’s shoulder. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you and the others sooner. I’ve waited too many lifetimes for this moment; there is much at stake. I couldn’t risk revealing myself too soon.”
Nate holstered his weapon, the shock of meeting a god fading from his eyes. He cleared his throat. “Just tell me what to do to protect my family.”
Zeus lowered his hand and kept his voice hushed. “There’s no way to stop Kronos. Tartarus will no longer hold him, and unlike Philyra or Iapetus, my father can manipulate time itself. There is no sneak attack, no physical way to kill him. He is a force of nature.”
Nate cursed under his breath. “You’re not inspiring much hope.”
“No.” Zeus shook his head. “The last time the Olympians faced the Titans, the entire world was nearly destroyed. I plan to save it once more, but it won’t be through killing or trapping my father.”
The detective frowned. “You’re talking in riddles again.”
Melanie came up behind her husband, wonder on her face. “Okay, I knew you were Zeus but…you really are Zeus. The God of Thunder is on my welcome mat.”
Zeus chuckled. “Go, children. If I’m successful, we can celebrate at the theater opening.”
“And if you’re not?” Nate asked, lifting a brow.
“There won’t be any humans left to attend.”
Trinity’s legs trembled as she supported Mikolas’s weight, her heart pounding like a drum in her ears. He and Reed were trying to hit Iapetus with a boulder, hoping it might knock the Titan’s head free of his shoulders, but all she could think about was dragging Mikolas over to Cooper and having him heal Mikolas next. But what if Mikolas was too weak now to handle the surge of Apollo’s power?
Erica came around to the other side of Mikolas, wrapping her arm around his waist and bearing some of the weight. She looked over at Trinity, tears in her eyes. “I love you, Trin. If this is it, I’m glad we’re together.”
“This isn’t the end.” Trinity gritted her teeth. “This asshole is not going to keep us from opening our theater and kissing our future children. We are not dying today.” She glared at the Titan, then took a slow breath, pulling air deep into her diaphragm. She braced her legs against the ground and let out a deafening, high-pitched note that carried all her fear, pain, and rage.
For a split second, Iapetus stopped his forward progress. Blood was dripping from his forehead, his skin having been torn open by the rocks Reed had been launching in his direction.
Mikolas grunted to Reed. “Get…Cooper’s…scalpel.” He coughed. “Take his…head off.”
Reed glanced at the paramedic working on Mason, and his jaw clenched. Sweat soaked through Reed’s shirt as he focused his power, and then Cooper’s medic kit fell over and the contents dumped out onto the ground. Almost faster than Trinity could see it, the sharp blade shot through the air and sliced open Iapetus’s neck. Blood spewed down the Titan’s broad chest, but he didn’t fall.
The sick monster just laughed. “You mortals merely delay your inevitable destruction.”
He dropped his spear, and Trinity nudged Mikolas. “The spear.” She looked from the Titan’s weapon when Mikolas didn’t respond. His eyes were closed and his head had lolled forward, but his hand was still clamped tightly on Reed’s shoulder, determined until the end.
This was not going to be the end. No fucking way.
“Reed!” She raised her voice a notch. “The spear! Mortals can’t touch it with our hands, but you don’t have to hold it…Use it!”
Reed’s entire body tensed visibly, and the legendary weapon rose from the dirt and turned on its master. The spearhead pierced the Titan’s wounded neck, straight through. Iapetus gurgled, his head cocking back exposing his severed spinal cord as he collapsed to the ground.
Trinity’s stomach roiled at the carnage, but it had worked. It was over.
Reed spun around, blood trickling from both his nostrils. “We…we did it.”
His elated expression darkened, and Trinity followed his gaze to Mikolas. His hand that had been on Reed’s shoulder through the battle now dangled at his side. Lifeless.
“Cooper! I need you!” Trinity shouted, praying to the gods that his healing power would still work, even with Iapetus gone. “Now!”
Reed quickly helped Erica lower Mikolas to the ground. Trinity’s legs were rubbery as she stumbled over to where Cooper, Lia, and Clio worked on Mason. Mason was a man again, but the gaping hole in his abdomen was far from healed.
“Mikolas needs help.” Watery tears welled up in Trinity’s eyes, obstructing her vision.
“I’m losing Mason. I need to summon Apollo.” He looked over at Reed and Erica with Mikolas. “Can they bring Mikolas over here?”
Trinity shook her head. “He’s too weak. Iapetus did something to him. He needs you, too. He’s…”
Cooper scooped up his bag. “Keep pressure on the wound,” he instructed Clio and Lia. “I’ll try to patch Mikolas up enough to help us save Mason.”
Clio nodded, but the pain in her eyes made it clear she knew the love of her life was dying. Gods, Trinity couldn’t face losing anyone else. She ran back to Mikolas and dropped to her knees beside him. She took his hand, holding it tight. “Hang on. Please.”
He winced, and a weak moan escaped him.
Cooper pulled out his scissors and cut Mikolas’s shirt up the middle to get to the wound in his shoulder. Trinity’s eyes widened. The blade of the spear had sliced right through the handprint from Rhea’s blessing. Could that have cursed the gift from the goddess?
“Is this from the Piercer’s spear?” Cooper asked.
Trinity nodded, biting back tears. “Yes. It got him in the leg, too, but Mikolas said it healed. Why isn’t this one healing?”
Cooper shook his head, meeting her eyes. “This is just like the wound on Callie’s foot. His life is draining out.”
“We have to stop it.”
“Dammit,” Cooper cursed under his breath. “No human medicine is going to do that.”
Mikolas squeezed her hand, and Trinity leaned down close to him. His hand was cold. Too cold. “I’m here,” she said softly.
He blinked, staring up at her. “We need Apollo. He’s the only one who can heal the spear’s cut.”
“You’re too weak.” Trinity shook her head. “Summoning him knocked you out when you were healthy.”
“No choice.” He winced. “Help me touch Cooper.”
Lia came over and knelt beside Trinity. Her eyed were red and swollen. “We have to try, Trin. It’s our only hope to save them both.”
Trinity shrugged off her comfort. “No. We’ll find another way.”
Mikolas whispered, “Stin kardiá mou…You are in my heart, my soul.” He swallowed, wincing again. “We have to try. If I start to fade away, sing to me. Your spirit will call to mine.”
Trinity shook her head. “You don’t know if that will work. No. Please.”
“We don’t know it won’t.” He closed his eyes. “We have to try.”
Cooper reached over and took Mikolas’s other hand. “I’m ready when you are.”
Trinity sobbed. “Please don’t. I can’t lose you.”
“You won’t. I’ll find my way back.” He clasped Cooper’s hand but looked deep into her eyes. “Sing.”
Trinity’s pulse surged. How could she sing when her world was crumbling before her eyes?
Erica crouched beside her, swiping a tear from her cheek before she wrapped her arm around Trinity’s shoulders. “Your song. Now. You can do this, Trin.”
Her song. The song of her soul.
She closed her eyes, her voice cracking on the first few words as she began. But gradually, her tone strengthened as light flashed on the other side of her eyelids. Apollo’s light. Cooper and Mikolas had summoned the God of the Sun. It was happening.
“Regrets are all I have left,
“But now you’re here,
“And I want to let go.
“Don’t make me hate you,
“Don’t hurt me more.
“Don’t lie to me,
“I’ve been in love before.”
She hadn’t written the second verse yet, but somehow the words and melody flowed from her heart directly to the universe, to the gods.
“You taught me to trust,
“Your patience was my gift,
“And if you leave me now,
“Nothing on Earth will fill that rift.
“But I can’t hate you,
“And I won’t ever hurt you,
“Because you’ve shown me,
“I’ve never been in love before.
“Until now, in your arms,
“I found my home.
“I found my love,
“When I found you.”
As her voice faded out, she opened her eyes, terrified of what she might see.
Mikolas looked like hell, but he smiled up at her and whispered, “I’m not leaving you, Trin. You brought me home, too.”