TAMING APOLLO | completed

48. return of the sun god

48. return of the sun god

G A Y L E

I'd been sitting in silence for hours, sobbing at the prospect that these may be my last days.

Sacrifice myself?

Those words ring on in my head like a gong. It hurts to think about it, but what am I to do? It's all I can think about.

I attempt for the umpteenth time to wipe my tears, but another trail follows after them, making my attempt futile.

I finally decide to head up to the room Persephone assigned me, pushing my chair back so that I can get out of this death trap of a dress she had fitted on me.

A figure looms at the door and I stammer backwards, the thought that somebody might be here to end my life comes and goes in split second when I realize who it is.

It's Adonis, arms crossed over his chest with the same nonchalance in his eyes as last time.

I can't help but roll my eyes. "You frightened me." I state, using the backs of my hands to try and hide any evidence of my tears, but my face is so hot that I fear it's too late.

"You've been crying." He retorts, tilting his head confusedly.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be out killing puppies and stealing the joy of children?" I retort between sniffles, clearing my throat.

He only chuckles at my words, shaking his head. "Plenty of time for that later." He replies, pulling out a chair besides me and sitting down.

He lifts his hand, conjuring a bottle of whiskey. He then pulls out two glasses from the table and pours, sliding the second one in my direction.

I don't hesitate, taking it and downing the entire cup in one go. The liquid burns my throat but that feeling is insignificant compared to everything else.

Adonis watches me, a flash of curiosity in his eyes as he arches a brow, seemingly the closest to showing emotion he can get. "Wanna talk about it?" I don't know what I expected him to say, but it most certainly wasn't that.

I turn to him, eyes wide in shock. "Wanna talk to the world's biggest asshole about my problems? I'll pass."

He rolls his eyes. "I wasn't that rude. Come on, world's biggest asshole? No, I'd say probably about... world's fifth biggest asshole."

I can't help but crack a smile at his words, wiping off the last of my tears. "How about... third and a half?" I ask him and he grins, fully showcasing his beauty for the first time.

"Third and a half it is. So... you wanna tell the world's third and a half biggest asshole why you were crying just now?" The smile on my face begins to fade at his words, and so does his when he notices mine.

The room is engulfed by silence for a few minutes as I try to corral together the right words to explain it to him. "I'm going to die soon." Saying it out loud feels so surreal, so detached. It's almost like I'm talking about someone else.

There's a split second where shock flashes through his onyx eyes, but it's gone without a trace before I can fully register it. "Been there, done that, got the t-shirt." He replies, downing some whiskey.

My eyes widen at his retort. "You've died?"

He nods. "Mauled to death by a wild boar. Wasn't pretty." The way he speaks about dying like it's nothing is almost comical.

"But- but how come you're here? Living, breathing, talking to me? Are you a ghost?" I ask him, scanning him to see any traces of him looking like a ghost.