Drowning in the Siren's Song

Chapter 31

Apollo was hot. 

Like, blistering, blindingly hot. Another step forward and Percy was sure that his hair would be singed. Fortunately, he was pretty far from him, but Zoe seemed to have worse luck. Apollo had decided to land right next to her, giving Zoe the exclusive front seat to his godly entry in full force.

They were in a relatively open space but it felt crowded now that there was the literally god of the sun and a big, loud, and very red car blasting music all over the place. It was already flashy enough but then Apollo took of his sunglasses and hopped out, flicking a finger to silence his 'chariot'. 

Percy blinked twice and looked around just to confirm that he wasn't hallucinating. Seeing a variety of expressions from shock to disgust, he nodded to himself and turned forward again, coincidently meeting Apollo's eyes. 

He reflexively took a step back, taken aback by the intensity of his eyes. Like molten gold, they shone with an unnatural light, too flashy to match the serious expression on his face. Percy shivered under his burning stare, unable to break eye contact. 

For a spilt second, it was as if time stood still but Apollo blinked, and the weight vanished. When his eyes opened, they were no longer gold but a clear blue and his expression was replaced by a wide grin of pearly whites with dimples studded in each cheek.

He was handsome, with an air of arrogance surrounding him. He looked to be about 20ish but nothing like his twin. He was Artemis's opposite in any and every way possible. 

"Artemis, my darling little sister!" His perfectly curled blond hair bounced lightly with every step as he strode to Artemis who crossed her arms with a expression of sour disdain. He swung an arm around her shoulders, only to meet empty air. 

"I'm older, you idiot." She glared at him, having conveniently teleported away. "And don't touch me." 

Apollo laughed loudly, a melodious sound which was pleasing to the ears. But it seemed like the hunters didn't share his opinion. Zoe, Naomi, Phoebe collectively sneered while Celyn looked embarrassed at her father's behavior. Meanwhile, Corey appeared to look like she was watching her favorite movie. 

"I've missed you too, 'little' sister." He smiled once more, snapping his fingers sharply (again) which resulted in the disappearance of the sleek red car he'd come in. "So how are you beautiful ladies doing?" He fixed his eyes on where the hunters were, particularly Zoe. 

She ignored him, of course, staring right ahead as if he were no more than a passing breeze. Not affected in the slightest, he flitted from here to there, chatting and flirting with the girls one-sidedly, much to Artemis's growing annoyance. Percy just tried to blend in the crowd, not knowing what to do, severely baffled but entertained. 

Keria, too, must've smelt the drama because she came soon with a flutter of black feathers, landing on his arm. She pulled a strand of his hair as a greeting and proceeded to enjoy Artemis's unusually expressive face. 

"What do you want?" Artemis finally snapped, her cheeks as flushed as her hair. Her silver eyes contrasted strongly against Apollo's golden hair, but the bickering and teasing made them look more and more like siblings. 

"Hmm.. what do I want?" Apollo repeated the question with a glimmer in his eyes and a growing smirk. "That's a great question. Almost makes it seem like you're willing to do anything I want." He teased, dodging quickly when Artemis aimed a jab at his side. 

"For starters I'd like it if you finally admitted that I'm older. Your heart will feel lighter after you stop lying." He winked before transporting, narrowly avoiding the knife that was thrown at him. 

He reappeared right next to Percy, shocking him beyond words and making Keria squawk loudly in alarm. She took off, settling onto a tree but kept a watchful eye on him. At that moment, Percy too wished he had wings so that even he could escape so easily. 

Unfortunately, reality was different. He had no wings. He was forced to stand in place as Apollo swung an arm around him and squeezed lightly, the heat from his hand a bit too hot for him. 

"Hey Artemis," He called out, "let me borrow the little guy for a bit." 

And with the simple warning, Percy felt himself disintegrate. 

***

Hey guys, I'm back!

Well, only for a little while, but Ima try to update as much as possible while I can. 

Another good thing is that I took this time to carefully figure out what I'm going to do with this book, and boy, it's gonna be gooood. A lot of exciting things are gonna happen and I'm very excited to write it out. 

But thanks for sticking around, and sorry for the inconsistent updates! 

~Nutan