The Girl in the Woods

Chapter 14

 When I woke up, I was blazing in the circle of Apollo's arms.

I snuggled closer to him, sighing as I inhaled his wonderful scent. It may sound weird, but I could smell him forever. And it was so warm lying next to him. His skin was smooth and hard, and it was like every square inch of him was fired up like a heat lamp. His heat was so bright it was fighting to make its way under my eyelids.

Wait.

I opened my eyes, and was immediately blinded by the blazing sun. The sky above us was deep blue, without a single cloud to mar its surface, and the sun seemed unnaturally big. I looked around in confusion and panic; we were lying in some kind of desert - the ground was flat and cracked, and the dusty landscape went on forever. A dry, weak wind did nothing to abate the heat.

"Apollo - " I turned to him, my hand reaching out to shake him awake, before I recoiled in horror.

It was clear he was dead. His eyes were open; the green was glassy and vacant, and so flat it wasn't natural. That wasn't the worst part. He was shirtless, and deep set cracks riddled his chest and arms and face. His marble pale skin looked dried up and papery, and his hands were curled in stiff claws.

"Apollo." My breathing sped up frantically. "Apollo! Apollo!"

I was sobbing and screaming his name now, my hands on his papery flesh and shaking him like a rag doll. "Apollo! Wake up, damn it! Apollo! APOLLO!"

"Lilah! Lilah darling, I'm here."

My eyes snapped open, and I looked around wildly. I was back in the caverns in the mountain; the ceiling was rocky and roughly carved, and a single lamp bolted into the rock wall was the only offering of dim light. The room I was in was small, clearly some sort of living quarter, with a basin against the wall and a wooden chair beside the rickety bed I was in. My armour had been neatly folded and sat in the chair, looking like an unremarkable pile of leather.  Apollo was kneeling next to me, his eyes wide and concerned and his lip pouting in worry. He was clearly alive; the Apollo of the desert had been a terrible dream.

"Oh Apollo!" I threw my arms around his neck and buried my face in his chest.

"There now." He soothed, his arms going around me. "Everything's alright; I'm here now."

When most of my trembling had abated, I peeked up at him. His face was still as flawless and beautiful as it always was, and his emerald eyes looked back at me with concern. "Bad dream?"

I nodded.

Without a word, he gently climbed into the narrow bed with me. I snuggled even closer to him. His hand stroked my hair softly.

"Whatever happened in it isn't reality, Lilah." He told me quietly. "This here - right now - this is real, and it always will be."

I thought at first he meant just this moment, but then I realized he meant what was between us. "Can I ask you something, Apollo?"

"Anything."

I propped myself up on my elbow so I could see his face. "What happens when I die? Like, when I grow old and get sick or something? I can't live forever like you."

Apollo's face was carefully smooth, but I saw something that almost looked like panic flit into his eyes before leaving again. "I haven't really thought about it..."

"That's a lie." I said flatly.

He sighed and reached up to touch my temple. For the first time, I realized that there was a bandage there from where I'd hit my head. "You know me too well. Yes, I've thought about it. Many times."