The Five Demigods Who Saved Olympus | Book 1, 2, & 3

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Once they made it to land, Noelle patted the heads of each sailfish as a way of saying 'thanks'; not only for taking them but also for finding a place close enough to their destination. They began the rest of their journey on foot to Athens, Greece. Noelle was stuck in her mind, trying to think up a plan. She didn't think they'd be able to just walk in there. She knew they needed to think up something but she just didn't know what.

"What are we going to do when we get there?" Amara asked Nolle, catching up to pace with her.

"I don't know." Noelle admitted.

"What if it's already happened? What if Cronus has already done it?" Donovan asked.

"I don't know." Noelle answered once more.

"If he has, how are we going to save them?" Zander asked.

"I don't know!" Noelle finally snapped, spinning around to face everyone. They all stopped dead in their tracks. Zander was confused by her outburst. Amara could see the stress in her eyes. Donovan instantly felt terrible for pushing her to snap. And Heath just wanted to hold her close and let her know everything would be alright.

"I'm sorry." Noelle said, putting her face into her hands. Amara quickly ran up to her and wrapped her arms around her. The others gathered around and waited for Noelle to say something. Amara pulled away and rested her hands on Noelle's shoulders.

"I'm sorry. I'm just so stressed and I'm scared of letting you all down again." Noelle admitted, tearing away at her fingernails.

"Noelle, you haven't let us down." Zander said, making his way over and wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"What happened in Nova Scotia was completely understandable." Zander said.

"But, I let him get away." Noelle said in a small voice.

"You were in pain, you couldn't handle it anymore." Donovan said.

So then, I'm weak.

Noelle thought, making her feel even worse. Tears pooled in her eyes.

"It doesn't make you weak. You're not a full Goddess, Noelle. Neither is Amara. And we three aren't Gods. We're part human. And as humans, we have our weaknesses. There are some things that our parents do that we'll never be able to do. And that doesn't make us weak." Heath explained. Noelle dropped her head low, not feeling any better. Zander realized he wasn't helping, so he moved away, but not before patting Noelle on the back. Heath walked over and lifted her chin up, then brushed a fallen hair out of her face, and rested his gloved hand there.

"You're one of the strongest people I know, Noelle. And I don't just mean your powers." Heath said. Noelle leaned into Heath's hand, feeling comfort from his touch.

"Noelle, when you really think about it, you've done the most out of all of us." Amara said.

"You think?" Noelle asked.

"Are you kidding me? You've been leading us every step of the way. We're all here now because of your leadership, Noelle." Zander said.

"And you know what? I'm honored to have you as my leader and as my friend." Zander said.

"Me too." Donovan said.

"Me three!" Amara exclaimed, raising her hand, and making Noelle smile.

"No more tears, Noelle." Heath said, brushing his thumb over her cheek.

"Let's go kill this son of a bitch before Christmas." Heath said, making Noelle laugh. He took hold of the hand Noelle had been chipping away at her nails in his and began walking side by side with her. They traveled for just a few minutes to Athens, Greece. They ran up the steps of the Parthenon. Once they walked inside, they spotted the 12-foot-tall statue of Athena. They all stared up at it in amazement. Noelle paid close attention to the details of the statue. She spotted something shiny and red on the middle of Athena's chest. She grabbed ahold of Zanders' hair and pulled his head down to her height.