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

ληʹ

Noelle lay in Heath's bed, as she had been for the past few hours. She was still unconscious. Heath continued to grow worried, but Persephone came back every now and then to reassure him that Noelle would be alright. Heath was now leaning back in his chair. He felt sleep overcoming him but remained awake in case Noelle was to wake. When she did, she caught Heath off guard. Noelle brought her hand up to her head, messaging it as best as she could. Her head was pounding. She slowly opened her eyes, feeling annoyed by the light, though it was dim. The only light provided in the room was a few candles. She sat up and made an attempt to get out of bed, but Heath heard her. He stood up and held his hands out to her from going any further.

"Noelle, did you just wake up?" Heath asked.

"Yes, now move." Noelle said groggily. Heath still kept her from walking any further.

"No, you hit the ground hard Noelle, you need to rest." Heath said. Noelle went to push Heath out of the way, but the force she put into the push caused her to feel lightheaded and unable to stand. Just before she could drop to her knees, Heath caught her and put her back on the bed. Persephone had just walked in and rushed to Noelle's side.

"No, no, Phelia. You cannot get out of bed just yet. Here, drink the tonic. It'll help, and soon you will be able to get out of bed." Persephone said.

"Thank you." Noelle said as Persephone handed her the tonic. Noelle was about to drink it when she realized Persephone had said her real name. She slowly lowered the hand the tonic was in and stared at Persephone.

"What'd you call me?" Noelle questioned. Her forehead and nose scrunched up and she tilted her head to the side, waiting for Persephone to answer her.

"Phelia." Persephone said, repeating herself.

"And how do you know that name?" Noelle questioned her once more. Persephone smiled at her and slowly sat down on the bed.

"I apologize, this must be so confusing for you. We've met before." Persephone said.

"Yeah... I don't recall." Noelle said, shaking her head, not believing what Persephone was telling her.

"When you died, you were here in the Underworld. Why don't I show you?" Persephone asked. Noelle felt like she could trust Persephone with what she was about to do, so she nodded. Persephone reached over to Noelle, put her hands on either side of Noelle's head, and shut her eyes. Persephone replayed her own memory, showing it to Noelle. Once the two pulled away, Noelle was in shock. So much so, that she dropped the tonic onto the floor.

"Oh my." Persephone said, leaning down on the floor to pick up the glass the tonic was in.

"I am truly sorry, Phelia. I did not mean to frighten you. Let me go make a new tonic for you." Persephone said, quickly getting up and exiting the room.

"Phelia?" Heath asked, his voice laced with confusion. Noelle shook away the shock she felt and turned to Heath.

"It's my birth name." Noelle said. Heath had always thought Noelle was her birth name. That she was the only Demigod who didn't have her parent's first initials. Heath didn't want to ask her why she hadn't ever told him before, especially during the conversation the group had over two years ago. However, he did wonder about it. Noelle knew but didn't feel like her birth name needed to be a topic of discussion.

"How are you feeling?" Heath asked, realizing he hadn't before.

"My head is pounding. It feels like it's about to come unglued." Noelle groaned as she continued to massage her temples, hoping the pain would leave her.

"The tonic will help with that. The water will as well." Heath said, pointing to the water. Noelle quickly turned and spotted the water. She picked it up and gulped down the entire glass.