Chapter 31
"A vestal priestess," Ares said as he laid down the book in front of Hayden and Nora in his and Clare's office. "The original demigods. Or demi titans, I guess."
"Demi titans are born only as females," Tobias continued. "After the fall of our father, Zeus had Hestia round up all the demi titans and keep them in her temples. Once the Roman came around and changed all of our names, Hestia became Vesta and the priestesses became the Vestals."
"So..." Nora's quivering hand reached out and touched the old text in front of her. "I have titan blood?"
Tobias nodded.
"What does that mean?"
"No a whole lot," Ares shrugged. "Demi titans used to be stronger than demigods. Some even believe witches came from offsprings of the original Vestals. But after centuries of mixing with other blood, the vestals' strength and magic vanished."
"But they're not useless," Kiara said from where she sat in an armchair.
Her knees were pulled up to her chest and her wild air flew around her face. Hayden hated the way those gold eyes watched Nora. If it weren't for Killian sitting beside the psychopath on guard, Hayden would have pulled Nora out of the room.
"No," Tobias shook his head. "They're definitely not useless."
"What do you mean?" Hayden looked at the god.
Tobias sighed, "Even though Vestals no longer have any powers or strength, they are of titan blood."
"So?" Nora arched her brow. "What does that mean?"
"It means....you have no soul," Tobias hesitated.
"Excuse me?" Nora's eyes widened. "What?"
"All that you are now, is all that you will ever be," Ares continued. "There is no afterlife for you or rebirth."
Nora felt her insides turn to ice and her knees started to ache. There was a pounding in her head and the pressure was starting to pulse behind her eyes.
"And all this," Kiara gestured with her hand. "Makes you the perfect clay doll."
"Clay doll?" Clare spoke up for the first time since they had come into the office.
"Without a soul, her body is free for anyone to inhabit," Kiara smiled. "For a new soul or for....."
"Magic," Clare's eyes narrowed.
"Precisely," Kiara's smile grew wider.
"That's why you are here," Clare's jaw tensed. "You want Nora's body."
"It would be a nice change," Kiara smiled. "Kiara is driving me insane. I hate bodies with a soul. They're so attached to things."
"I have a soul," Nora suddenly spoke up. "I am not a clay doll. I think, I feel, I love. I have emotions and memories."
"That's just your conscience," Tobias said.
"I....what?" Nora shook her head in confusion.
"Think of it this way," Ares looked around the room for a pen. "A soul is like a pen mark. The writing is hard, next to impossible, to remove from a paper. All of their memories, the essence of who they are, are tied to the soul. But for a vestal, it's not a pen mark. It's more like a pencil mark. It's there....but once you erase it, it's gone forever...."
Hayden's hand balled into a fist in his hand. His eyes were lowered, scanning the pages as his ears listened to all the conversation around the room. His heart was racing so fast he feared he might miss out on something important.
