The Stars Are Burning [PAUSED]

9. The Olympians

THE TOPPLING OF the second most important structure in Olympus had garnered a small crowd of immortals, who had all hiked up the mountain to see the wrecked pavilion. One of the women, who turned out to be Hestia, goddess of the home and hearth, stood in front of the crowd, explaining what little she knew about the collapse.

As the crowd began to scatter, A tall woman parted the crowd, walking to Hestia. She had short curls that reached the nape of her neck, secured with a thick golden circlet. The dark purple column dress swished as she walked up the final steps and stopped, surveying the ruins.

"My people," she called out to the crowd with the power of a monarch, "Olympus will be safe from harm. Go home. We will notify you when we uncover the details of the collapse."

The crowd made their way down the steps almost immediately.

"Who is she?" Fletcher whispered to Cassian, tilting her head in the direction of the woman, who was now conversing quietly with Hestia.

He kept his eyes on the newcomer. "Queen Hera of Olympus, second only to Zeus, king of the gods."

Once the people were gone, everyone who was in the pavilion before the collapse went over to the queen, including Fletcher, who struggled to walk on grass in her heels. They stood in front of Hestia and Hera. Cassian and Cassandra bowed their head in respect, and Fletcher followed.

"Thank you, Sins. Mortal." Hera observed the small group with a hint of concern in her eyes. "Are you all unhurt?"

The group nodded in unison. "The rumbles came early, so we had time to get out." The woman who was talking to Hestia before said.

"That's good, Demeter," Hera said. She turned to Fletcher, who was directly in front of her. The queen of the gods took a step forward. She smelled like pomegranates. "And who are you?"

"I'm Fletcher Cheung. Athena said that I was the replacement of one of the Seven Deadly Sins who died." Fletcher tried her best to appear brave in front of the goddess, wringing her hands behind her back.

"Which one?" Hera cocked a single brow.

Fletcher shook her head. "I don't know."

"It's either Envy, Pride or Lust." Athena sighed, moving closer to Fletcher.

"William, Jade, and Isabis," Hera said and pursed her lips. "That girl will struggle to perform any of their roles. She's only, what, seventeen?"

Fletcher opened her mouth indignantly then decided not to rebut the goddess. She imagined Hera pointing a finger at her face, turning her into a sloth just like Athena had done to Cassian.

"What, mortal? You're like a little goldfish." Hera said with a slight smirk. "If you want to say something, do."

Fletcher shook her head. "Nevermind." She slunk back to stand beside Cassian, the only person she thought she could trust. Could she? Could anyone?

Hera shifted her gaze back to the group. "Unfortunately, my husband Zeus is unable to make it to the meeting. He, however, expresses his concern for the current situation involving the Sins, as well as the falling of the Great Pavilion."

Athena straightened her back, addressing the queen of the gods. "Hera, formidable ally from the Trojan War, I am asking for your permission on the behalf of my father Zeus to grant the permission to lead a task force to locate the source of the pavilion's collapse, as well as the missing Deadly Sins."

Hera paused for a second before answering. "I trust you, Athena. I hope you find out what's happening to Olympus and our sacred Deadly Sins."

"I do too," Athena said.

"However," Hera added with an afterthought, "I request that you take Apollo with you."

"Apollo? Why?" Demeter stepped forward, resting a hand on the queen's arm.

Hera said something under her breath and Demeter nodded reluctantly.

"Queen Hera, I..." Athena tried to speak up, but Hera cut her off by narrowing her eyes in the goddess' direction. Fletcher was both scared and vaccinated by the goddess' power. She wanted to take it from her and wield it like a sword.

"This is not up for discussion," Hera said firmly.

Fletcher turned to look at the god that Hera was so adamant to include in Athena's task force. Apollo made boredom look like an art form with his raised dark blonde eyebrow and the way he looked at the queen of the gods like she was like any other mortal — like how he looked at Fletcher back when they were still at the pavilion. His bronzed face betrayed no emotion as Hestia brought Hera over to the pavilion to examine the wreckage, leaving the rest of the immortals to stand around awkwardly.

"What?" Apollo snapped at Fletcher, who stared at him for too long. Fletcher refused to drop her gaze at the sun god, whose sky blue eyes flashed with a hint of curiosity.

Cassian moved to stand closer to Fletcher.

Apollo smirked and turned to Athena. "Fletcher Cheung from New York, huh. She's your special guest?"

Athena nodded, just as Cassandra's voice rang in Fletcher's head. Don't let him know that you're the next Sin.

Fletcher almost jumped up when she heard Cassandra's voice. She recollected herself and turned her head towards Cassandra abruptly, who glanced at her sternly in return.

Don't let him know. Cassandra repeated.

Fletcher nodded once, bending her neck only slightly.

"Wait, Apollo," Athena was saying to Apollo, "Where's Demeter?"

"She probably got bored and left," Apollo answered.

"Bored?" Cassandra harrumphed. "One of the most important buildings in Olympus came crashing down just a while ago. She wouldn't be bored."

Apollo rolled his eyes and grinned. "Athena, you're too into politics to care about pop culture, but you invited Fletcher Cheung to come to Olympus. She's a minor celebrity back there, and now she, a mortal, is on Olympus. Who cares about a stupid pavilion when we have one of the most famous New Yorker teens right in front of our eyes?"

"Are you out of your mind? You're practically turning into Dionysius. You used to spend so much time here. You know the pavilion's significance." Athena replied.

"Let's go," Cassian whispered into Fletcher's ear, grabbing her wrist and pulling her away from the small group. Fletcher stumbled after him, turning around to look at the group as she followed. Apollo had a strange look on his face as the three gods slowly disappeared from view.

"What are you doing?" Fletcher hissed as they went around the ruins. Cassian dragged her down the stairs, away from everyone else.

Cassian didn't answer, pressing her forward until they made it down the long flight of stairs. It was only when they were finally on the bottom step that he released Fletcher from his grip.

"You're glowing, Fletcher," Cassian said. "And this isn't a compliment."

Fletcher peered at him. "What?" She held up her hand, noticing thin, barely noticeable lines of pulsing white light on the back of her hands that stretched up to her arms like veins of silver.

"What the hell is that?" Fletcher gasped, turning to Cassian almost accusingly. "What happened?"

Cassian shook his head and ran his fingers through his blond curls. "I'll tell you everything I know when we get back to my place. It's not safe here."

"No!" Fletcher exclaimed, her voice raising an octave. "My skin is glowing like an LED lamp. How can I go to school like this?" She brandished her barely-glowing hand at Cassian. "Look at me!"

"Shhh..." Cassian took her raised hand and lowered it down gently without letting go. His voice softened. "Once we get back to my place, we'll sort things out. I promise. I'm just as worried as you are."

Fletcher could feel his hand trembling around hers and she reached up to his wrist reassuringly.

"Okay," Fletcher sighed. "Let's get out of this place."