The Eye of The Storm - 1. Rememberance

CHAPTER 13 Changing winds

I lean against a wall crying with my face buried in my knees. It wasn't enough I had to feel the pain of being so close, yet so far from the answer I seek; I also had to witness the worried and disappointed look on my friend's faces. I did all I could to turn them against me.

"I'm such an idiot." I sigh as I wipe my tears. "They will never forgive me."

Someone hands me a handkerchief. I raise my head and meet June's bottle green eyes. I hug her with all my strength.

"Are you okay?" the daughter of Hypnos asks. "You've heard it, right?"

"More than I've wished I had."

"We can't deny that this was...unusual."

Aristoniki is resting her back against the doorframe. I quickly scour the room and see that Noah and Magnus are also there: one on the bed facing me and the other standing behind June.

"You managed to resist it." Noah says with a sweet tone, standing up and coming closer to me. "I've never heard of such a thing before. I didn't think it was possible, until you..."

"I'm sorry." I mutter. "I don't know why, but I felt like I had to know sooner where I truly belong. Doing these, I've risked all uselessly: my life, your life, the quest we're in. all this for a vision which turned out to be fake."

"It's alright, Alison." Magnus says. "We all know what you're going through."

"It's not easy trying to find a place to belong." Aristoniki continues. "We understand why you did this and we are here to support you. We're here for you, Alison."

All my friends give me the warmest hug ever. I hug them back as tears flood my eyes once more.

* * *

After a lengthy and exhausting journey, we finally reach Arcadia. The first think I do after we arrive is take a long nap together with June. So, just to be clear, it seems that I have bonded with June Embers over sleep: she being constantly sleepy fits perfectly with me being permanently tired. Whenever I slept or just snoozed off for a couple of seconds, I've always felt a warm presence, like some sort of guardian angel, keeping me safe. When nightmares plagued my mind, June seemed to give off some kind of calm aura to calm me down. So, sleeping with June around became for me some kind of girls' night out.

When I woke up, I felt the warm rays of the sun against my skin like I've never felt them before. We had decided last night to camp in the meadows, deep within the wilderness of Arcadia. The embers of last night's campfire were long quenched. I stand up and stretch. The others seem to be discussing in a far away corner, as not to disturb my slumber. I approach them slowly to see what's going on.

"I think it's because we're so close to her she is sending you these visions to guide you." Enzo shrugs. "That was all?"

"Yes." June shakes her head disappointed.

"Is everything alright?"

"Hi, Alison!" Noah says cheerfully. "We have good news: we might know where the titaness might be found."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Aristoniki intervenes. "Thanks to our miraculous trump card: Embers!"

I look at June in disbelief.

"How?"

"I had a dream last night where I was in some kind of cave." The daughter of Hypnos explains. "I was with a beautiful woman with long and luscious white hair. She looked pale, as if she was struggling to stand. She knew my name and welcomed me in what she called her domain. She told me she's too weak to reach out and she fears the wrath of the gods. She wished me luck; that's when I woke up. I was immediately hit by the smell of peons."