Kronos (Book Two)

Ambush

Ephesus

Orion and Helena watch on with heavy hearts. Her rocky feet refuse to budge from lying down. A heavy blanket wrapped around her couldn't give her the warmth she needed.

Withered flowers decorate the space near her head. Her pupils fixate on the statue in front of her. Puffy cheeks accompany her lifeless mud-brown eyes from the loss of her sister. Her wails lifted past the ceiling leaving her almost voiceless.

For Echo, those days felt like going through Tartarus. Helena walks over and wraps her arms around her. The mountain nymph gives her a gentle embrace, knowing how much the mortal missed her adoptive mother and someone else she hadn't met before.

Her heart torn to pieces and not knowing the second reason why. She reached out to the servants of Aphrodite who gave her a terrible answer. Her true love on Ithaca perished along with Artemis. His soul along with Artemis never made it to the Underworld.

Damian of Ithaca. The father of Damos.

Despite her vow of chastity, it weighed her heart down to her stomach. What could have been was lost forever. The nymph's rocky hands gently caress her porcelain face.

"I'm so sorry", her raspy voice comes out.

Helena stays quiet. She couldn't cry any more tears. Orion nuzzles his face against them to comfort his beloved's loved ones. To share in their mutual pain.

Footsteps approach them. The sunlight reflects off the robe pin of a dog's head.

"Helena, Hippolyta, a daughter of Ares, wants to speak with you. It's to.....capture the one responsible."

Her broken heart rattles her to stand up and walk with the servant. Her feet stop from feeling mountainous aura from behind her. Echo's eyes almost turn black, wanting vengeance. Orion bleats at Helena to let them join the conversation.

Her flaring amethysts tell them to come with her. Echo withdraws her aura to avoid scaring the others. The servant leads them to the meeting room. The beautiful, muscular woman stands up while gripping her belt. The giant stag and the nymph take her off guard, but she doesn't question it.

She bows to Helena to show her condolences. Artemis' daughter returns the favor.

"Let's not waste any time. I and the Amazons suspect that Takashi Watanabe is being helped by Medea of Colchis."

A gasp leaves Helena's lips. She tries to reason why she of all people would help a murderer.

Hippolyta sighs. "I know. But her past is enough proof to know where her character lies. I felt her deception when we talked."

"Where are they now?"

The Queen of the Amazons manifests a red wisp in her hands. From the inside of the dragon's chariot, they see the duo riding in the sky over the northeastern part of Lycia.

Helena and Echo see his face. Anger and conflicting emotions battle in their hearts and minds. They toss away the conflicting emotions to focus on grabbing him to bring Artemis and the others back.

Takashi feels something and turns to find nothing behind him. Thanks to his weakened state, he doesn't notice the miniscule red wisp hiding on the crimson interior.

Hippolyta offers her hand to shake with Helena. She doesn't hesitate to join their alliance. They discuss their plan....

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Medea's chariot flies the long, northeastern route to avoid the large blanket of water separating them from Eleusis.

In the span of five hours, her ride took them over the lands of Lycia, Caria, and Ionia before passing over the fallen kingdom of Troy.

Taki closed his eyes. The faces of Briseis, Avgi, Paris, and Helen haunted his mind. He imagined them screaming from the unraveling of his resets.

He swallows it down to mix with his buried guilt. With Demeter's help, he could possibly end the loop.

Medea's grumbling stomach has them land near Dardanus. A city located near the river of Propontis. Across from the river lies the wide expanding kingdom of Thrace, a place devoted to the fallen Ares.