Iridescence

Chapter Fifty-Four (Krissy)

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

KRISSY

I was completely freaking out. As everyone stood in stunned silence around Altheos, I could only think about Eliza.

"Where is she?" I demanded. "Where did Apollo take Liz?"

"Home," Artemis replied. "He took her to Mount Olympus."

"Is she dead?" Faith demanded.

"I honestly can't say for sure," Artemis replied sadly. "Kleia did something similar before she died. Her body remained alive for three days, but her brain..." She didn't complete the sentence.

"She's okay," Vanessa said firmly. "She has to be."

"She'll make it," Jenna agreed.

"Emily," I said, "you'd know, right? If Liz was dead, you'd be able to tell."

"I can't feel her, Krissy," Emily said softly. I started to panic more, but Emily continued. "She fried herself, and I can't read her energy. I just don't know for sure either way."

I looked at Hades. "What about you?" I asked.

"I can't feel her right now, either," he admitted.

"I can go to Olympus and check," Poseidon volunteered.

"There's no need for that," Morpheus said suddenly. He motioned toward the end of the hallway.

"Eliza!" Faith cried in relief as we all turned toward her.

"Liz... Oh Gods, don't ever do that again!" I shouted as I ran to her and flung my arms around her.

"Welcome back, Eliza," Artemis said. She hugged her quickly before hugging Apollo, who definitely seemed to need it more.

"Are you alright?" Jenna asked.

"I'm okay," Eliza reassured us. "Zeus stopped me from completely frying myself, and Apollo reversed the damage I'd already done. I don't think I should try any magic for a bit, but I'm going to be fine."

"You met Zeus?" Vanessa asked. "That's so cool."

"He's not that impressive," Hades mumbled.

Emily hugged Eliza tightly. "Thanks for not dying," she said softly. "That would have really sucked."

"I'm so glad you're alright, Eliza," Jack said as he hugged her, too. "I just found out I've got a sister. I'd hate to lose you already."

"I'm glad I'm alright, too," Eliza admitted. "I wasn't sure I would be."

"I'm very proud of you girls," Artemis said. "You have surpassed my expectations by far."

"I knew they'd pull it off," Apollo said in a confident tone. "God of Prophecy and all of that."

"Shut up. You were just as worried as I was," Artemis replied with a subtle smile.

I started to relax as I realized we'd done it. Then, I realized we still didn't know that for sure. "Is the traitor dead?" I asked.

Nemesis kicked Altheos as hard as she could. Nothing happened. "It appears so," she replied.

"He's a tricky one," Hermes reminded her. "Let's check for a pulse." He bent down beside Altheos and did his due diligence before cheerfully proclaiming, "Yep! Dead as dead can be!"

Hades frowned. "Leo Lukas is dead," he said deliberately.

"Yes, Hades, I just established that," Hermes said. "Weren't you listening?"