The Daughter Of Night

Chapter Eighteen - Zeus Leaves Me Alone

Chapter Eighteen - Zeus Leaves Me Alone
Posted: Monday 18th March 2024

Zeus glared at me with hatred in his eyes. He plucked up his master bolt from the floor and strode from the room. I let out a breath I hadn't realised I was holding. Then I was tackled by something, which I quickly realised was Apollo.

He held me to his chest in a bone crushing hug. I wondered if being crushed alive by a god would count as falling in battle, I wasn't sure, but I decided not to test the theory.

"Owch," I managed. Apollo's grip loosened and he held me out at arms length.

"Sorry," he said. He looked me over, "are you okay?"

"Yes I'm fine." I confirmed.

"We're fine too, thanks for asking." I had almost forgotten about the two demigods in the room until the girl spoke.

Apollo and I both looked around to the half-bloods.

"What in Hades just happened?" Will Solace demanded. "Dad, how do you know Ariadne?"

Apollo looked between the two half-bloods, "Will. Kayla." He said. "Oh I am glad the two of you are alive! Well Done for your triumphs in battle. Your brother Micheal will achieve Elysium, I am certain. I will compose a ballad detailing the triumphs of my children in this war."

I realised at this that yes, the war was over. And we had won.

"Don't change the subject!" The girl, Kayla, apparently another child of Apollo, said, "what just happened?"

"Well, I know Ariadne because she is in fact my wife," Apollo said.

"What?" The two half-bloods demanded.

"But she's mortal," Will said.

"Not anymore," Apollo stood tall as he spoke and looked at me, "I suppose the best analogy for what she now is that of a Hunter of Artemis, but Nyx instead of Artemis."

I blinked, I wasn't sure how to feel about the situation. I felt as though my mother had tricked me. I hadn't wanted to serve her, I hardly even liked her, but here I was, sworn to her for all eternity. I hoped she would take a similar approach to having a champion as she took to having a demigod daughter and mostly continue to ignore me, but I had an unnerving feeling in my gut, like she would call in my service when I least wanted.

"You two should get back to camp," Apollo said to his children, "tend to the wounded and honour the dead. I am proud of both of you."

Will and Kayla exchanged a look, but seemed to understand that this was their father dismissing them. They hurried away, leaving Apollo and I alone.

One of Apollo's hands was still on my shoulder and he used it to pull me back into his chest.

"Ri I-."

I cut him off, "I love you." I said.

"What?" He asked. I shifted so that I could see his face.

"I love you," I repeated. The floodgate opened and I couldn't stop talking once I had started, "You don't need to say anything. It doesn't matter to me if you can't say it back, I understand I'm just one of many to you, but I'm always going to love you. I'm immortal now apparently, maybe, maybe we can work, maybe you'll grow to love me the same way that I love you. Maybe-."

Apollo stopped me speaking with a kiss. It was soft at first, but as I reciprocated it grew deeper, more intense than any kiss we had ever shared before. He ran his hands up my back, causing me to shiver and I found my hands grasping onto his hair and neck to help keep me upright.

We broke apart and Apollo pressed his forehead to mine.

"I love you too," Apollo admitted, "I don't think I knew it until I heard you had been wounded by Kronos and were going to die. I don't understand it, but I do love you. You are my happiness, you are my joy. You are what makes the sun set in the evening so that I can return to you."

I laughed and rolled my eyes, "so poetic."

I felt giddy, as if I was floating. I kissed him again, and I forgot all about my uneasiness about my mother, about Zeus' hatred for me, about the pain that had been my world not that long ago. All that mattered was that Apollo and I were together.

*

"What happened?" I said after a long silence. I moved back to look at his face. "After I got stabbed I mean."

Apollo grimaced, "the demigods had just pushed the army back when Kronos got to you. Percy Jackson said you only fell when the sun rose, he said that they thought you were dead, but my cabin took you back to the Empire State Building when they realised you were alive. Your Primordial blood helped keep your soul anchored to your body."

"Then the titans army attacked again the next night and Kronos broke through. We arrived fighting Typhon at the same time, Poseidon bought his forced to aid us and together we were able to defeat him. By the time we got to Olympus, Kronos was defeated."

I blinked at Apollo, amazed at how easily he laid it all out. He made it sound simple, as if it had been nothing, but I was certain that it had been a lot more than nothing. Judging by the number of covered over bodies in the room we were in there had been a lot of loss since I fell.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Makeshift infirmary," Apollo said, "In the foothills of Mount Olympus. We allowed the demigods to treat their wounded here and retrieve their dead. They have moved those who could be moved and are heading back to their camp now, but you couldn't be moved again."

I cast a look around the room, and pulled Apollo towards the door, not wanting to be around all of the dead campers any longer, the air in that room was heavy with death. We emerged onto a street near the elevator of Olympus and Apollo led me towards an observation platform, climbing over rubble of buildings and broken statues until we stood on a platform overlooking the city below.

"You were almost- you almost died," Apollo said.

"Well I didn't," I assured him, "Nyx tricked me."

"Tricked you?" He frowned.

"She got me to agree to serve her without realising what I was signing up for," I said, "I didn't want this."

"Didn't want this?" He repeated, the life seemed to have gone out of his voice and his eyes were full of sadness. With a jolt I realised he thought I didn't want to be alive, to be with him.

"It's not like that!" I assured him, "of course I want to be here, it's just... I didn't want it like this. I never wanted to serve her."

The sadness cleared from Apollo's eyes and he pulled me into his chest again, smoothing my hair down.

"You told me once that the night was unbiased, neutral, never changing," Apollo said, "perhaps Nyx will never call for you, perhaps she just didn't want to see you die."

I said nothing as I breathed against Apollo's chest. I doubted his words, gods never did something for mortals unless there was something in it for them. I thought of the words of the prophecy and wondered if Nyx wanted to see Olympus in ruins as much as Kronos had, perhaps she was just biding her time until I created the weapon that would allow her to destroy Zeus.

I silently vowed to myself that I would never make any weapon that Nyx could use against Olympus. I wouldn't allow her to make me do anything that would harm Apollo.

But deep down I knew two things. The first was that with my pledge made, there was almost nothing I wouldn't do for Nyx. The second was that it was fruitless to try and outrun a prophecy.