Chapter Twenty-Six:
A Worried Father's Warning.
— Know what it is to grow beneath
her sky, her punishing cold; To
slowly learn of her ancient misery !
Don't let anyone take advantage of your heart.
It was the best advice a father could give his daughter, but there was only so much he could do from a far and as a god. Colette Victoire wished she would've known what she did then. If she had, she would've guarded her heart from all the people around her. She would've never given Luke Castellan the liberty of shattering her heart after she'd only just begun to repair it. There was a constant clench in the workings of her jaw, a glare in her eyes to match it. Everyone had noticed her change — it wasn't subtle, she hadn't planned for it to be — and she was glad. She wanted the world to know that she was no longer one for loving; It was not a part of her nature anymore. She refused to. After her brother had betrayed her — tore her heart into shreds — in a way she could've ever imagined, she wanted to be guarded from all harm.
She sat in her bed of Cabin Seven, the bottom bunk that she shared with her little sister, staring at the wooden wall across from her. She twisted the rings on her fingers as she waited for the rest of her siblings to trickle in.
Right before they did, she tensed. She could feel the Oracle being put to use. Much like the effects of the previous prophecy's delivery, her eyes turned a milky white. She could hear the hiss of the Delphi's voice, the similarity to a snake made her grimace despite not being in complete control of her body in the moment. The prophecy was spoken, Apollo whispered gently, we'll talk more when you sleep, chérie.
Just like that, her eyes were back to normal, but she knew she must've seemed more tired than she had before. Being so connected to her father's prized possession exhausted her being more than she cared to admit.
Then, her siblings arrived.
Little Kayla looked so exhausted. The poor thing had been doing so much since Tantalus had become the activities director. She was only eleven. It made Colette's blood boil. Who did he think he was? Treating her and her siblings in such a horrid manner simply because of their father — one who hadn't even done anything to him, not really. It was her Aunt Artemis who'd taken up the task of killing Tantalus' daughter, Niobe. Apollo only aided her because she asked for his help. He had nothing against the daughter of a (rightfully) dead king.
Michael and Austin were stumbling, holding onto each other, the eye bags under their eyes growing darker as the days passed.
Lee was the only one who seemed unfazed. They often forgot that he was the best healer. Whenever he was in the infirmary, he was in his element. The use of his healing powers never seemed to drain him the way it did for Michael, Austin, and Colette.
Kayla dropped her body onto Colette's lap. "I'm so tired." She whined, her legs kicking out into the open air ahead of her.
Colette forced a smile as she looked down at her little sister. "Let's brush your teeth and then go to sleep, little one."
"Okay." The youngest of the bunch yawned, resulting in adoring looks thrown her way; She was adorable.
By the time the pair walked out of the bathroom, Kayla was clinging onto Colette like a Koala, nearly snoring into the crook of the older girl's neck. The boys cooed at the sight, making Colette fight the uptick of her lip. Kayla was the cutest thing to ever grace the Earth in Colette's humble opinion, the apple of her eye. If it wasn't for Kayla, Colette didn't know if she would've treated her brothers well after what happened. It was scary to think about for her, she loved her brothers, but without Kayla, there was no telling how volatile she would've gotten. She wanted to apologize to them, but she hadn't done anything, not really anyway. They'd only get confused, and the explanation wasn't one she was ready to speak about just yet, not to them.
