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

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Heath couldn't believe it. He shook his head as his forehead remained resting atop Noelle's. He tried to ignore the cold feeling of her skin touching his. He tried to ignore the fact that he could no longer hear Noelle breathing underneath him.

"She's gone." Heath whispered to himself like he was trying to convince himself that it was true. Amara, Zander, and Donovan walked over. Donovan placed his hand on Heath's back.

"Come on. Don't just sit here. We need to take care of her body." Donovan said, slowly pulling Hades Bident from her chest. Heath didn't react, he remained rubbing circles with the pad of his thumb on her cheek.

"Come on." Donovan repeated as his voice broke a little. Amara let out a pained cry, dropping to her knees. She brought Noelle's hand up to her and held it to her face.

"She's so cold? Why is she so cold?" Amara asked in between breaths. Zander watched Amara sobbing loudly on the floor. The scene before him made him want to cry, but he wouldn't. Not while he was in front of people, at least. Zeus turned to the Olympians who all watched the Demigods crying for their dead friend. He watched the pained expression on the faces of the Olympians, wondering why they all looked so sad.

"Stop your crying." Zeus said, though none of them had started crying yet.

"We all knew something like this was bound to happen. So, stop it." Zeus spat.

"What matters is that we're safe. All of us." Zeus continued. Poseidon fought back the lump in his throat. He quickly turned away, not wanting to see his daughter's lifeless body anymore. Hestia however, broke down. She wailed before bringing her hand up to cover the noise she emitted.

"You didn't even know her. None of you did." Zeus said harshly.

"She raised her, Zeus." Demeter argued.

"She raised her since her mother's death." Demeter continued.

"And she is my daughter!" Poseidon yelled, finally turning back to Zeus, his voice echoing throughout the room. Zander, Amara, and Donovan turned their attention away to see what the commotion was, but Heath remained with his eyes on Noelle.

"You've brought this upon yourself! You risked her own life the moment you stepped into the mortal world and followed her around like a lost dog! And you also risked the rest of us! Your family! Your own blood!" Zeus shouted.

"She was my blood too!" Poseidon cried out. His face had turned red, and angry tears fell down his cheeks. Zeus stopped, feeling the slightest hint of remorse inside of him, a feeling he didn't get very often. Donovan turned back to Heath, patting him lightly.

"Come on man, let's go. I can find a nice place to put her, with all different kinds of flowers, alright? We'll give her somewhere nice to lay." Donovan said, trying to get Heath to stand up, but Heath turned back and shoved him away, making Donovan stumble.

"I'm not leaving her. Not yet. Just give me more time." Heath said, resting his forehead back onto hers.

"Let's just give him another minute or two." Zander said, leading Donovan and Amara away from Heath, but not before using two fingers to shut Noelle's eyelids. He couldn't stand to see them open like that anymore.

"I don't know what's with all of the dramatics. Really, I don't." Hades said, sighing afterward.

"You are heartless, Hades." Demeter said, shaking her head.

"What? How? I mean, you all act as if Heath can't do something to help her." Hades said. All of the Olympians turned back to Hades.

"What are you talking about?" Hestia asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"My son fell in love." Hades said. "He fell in love with Noelle." Hades continued.

"Get on with it, brother." Poseidon said, tired of Hade's typical behavior; never getting to the point. He didn't want to hear any of it, especially at this moment.

"My son is the Prince of the Underworld. Therefore, he's in charge of the souls down there." Hades finally said. Poseidon then realized what he meant. He walked over to Hades, grabbed him by the collar, and lifted him off of the ground.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Poseidon asked.

"I thought you all would know." Hades innocently said, a mischievous smile played on his face. Poseidon dropped him, then fixed the collar of his button-down.

"Go teach him how." Poseidon said.

"I'm afraid I can't. He must learn for himself." Hades stated.

"If he waits too long, her soul will be lost forever." Poseidon said. Hades shrugged, making Poseidon lift him off of the ground again, this time with his hand wrapped around his throat. His fingers wrapped around him like a boa constrictor. Hades had full faith that his son would resurrect the girl he loved before time ran out. Meanwhile, Heath continued to whisper things to himself.

"It's my fault. It's all my fault. You'd still be here if I had protected you like I said I would." Heath said, sniffling. "You are the most undeserving of death. I'm sorry. You meant everything to me, Noelle. My world had always been dark and cold. But, when you opened up to me and I learned the things I had longed to know about you, you lit it up and made it warm. Now it's back to feeling cold." Heath whispered.

"Please, just come back to me." Heath finally said. Hades looked around, hearing clock chimes. and smiled. He knew Heath had finally done it. Noelle opened her eyes and inhaled, feeling the oxygen hitting her lungs. Heath immediately lifted his head up and tore his hands away from her face when he heard the noise.

"Heath?" Noelle said, her voice sounding raspy.

"I can't tell if this is real or not." Heath whispered loud enough for Noelle to hear. He slowly reached out to caress her cheek and found that it was warm once again. He let out a sigh of relief and smiled. Noelle sat up and turned around. Immediately after, she tackled Heath in a hug, wrapping her arms around his neck. Heath wrapped his arms around her middle and buried his face in the crook of her neck. Noelle pulled away to face him. Heath wiped stray tears falling down her cheek before pressing his lips onto hers. Heath then helped Noelle off of the floor and wrapped his arms around her once more. She cried happy tears into his chest as he kissed the top of her head. Once they pulled away, Amara ran over and gave Noelle a big hug.

"You're back!" Amara exclaimed happily. Donovan then wrapped an arm around Noelle, ending the hug shortly after. He gave her a big smile, which she returned. Zander then lifted Noelle off of the ground and twirled her around. She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. He eventually set her down and patted her on the head, this time she didn't slap his hand away. She returned back to her place beside Heath and wrapped her arm around his torso, him doing the same. He leaned down and pressed another kiss on the crown of her head.

I didn't say it before.

Noelle thought, looking up at him.

"You don't have to. I know." Heath whispered in her ear. "I love you." Heath whispered.

"I love you too." Noelle whispered back.

"Noelle?" Hestia's sweet voice rang. Noelle removed her arm from Heath and ran up to Hestia, giving her a big hug. Hestia continued to cry, not wanting to let go of Noelle, but knew she'd have to.

"I'm proud of you, my sweet girl." Hestia said, before pulling away from Noelle. Hades approached his son, giving Heath a proud smile and a long hug neither wanted to end. They were both more than thrilled to see each other for the first time. Athena and Demeter walked up to their children, greeting them for the first time too. Amara and Donovan were slow to accept them but eventually did. Zeus stood idly by, not caring to greet his child. Hestia took notice of this but didn't bother Zeus. She instead walked off to Zander and greeted him. Poseidon placed his hand on the shoulder of Noelle, causing her to flinch. She turned around to face him.

"Noella, I-" Poseidon started, but Noelle stopped him by wrapping her arms around him, which he immediately reciprocated. She didn't say anything. She just stood there in his arms with her eyes shut. Zeus finally approached the group and opened his mouth to speak,

"I'd like a word with you all."