Ambrosia

Ch.10: A Strix Wants my Blood

"Really Apollo?! A cup?! This will helps us defeat Asteria?!" My voice raises in anger.

"Whoa. Calm down, Am. Yes, it will help you defeat her." He says.

"How?! Huh?!" I ask.

"You'll see when the time's right."

I groan at his vague answer. Theo whips me around and I stare right into his eyes. He motions for me to inhale then exhale. I close my eyes, then do as told. When I open my eyes, I see him just staring at me.

"You good now?" he asks.

"Yeah..." I mumble.

"You're a feisty one, aren't you? It's cute when you get angry!" Apollo smiles a charming smile.

I just stare at him. He winks at me and my face flushes. Why does a simple action like that make my heart go wild?

"You should get going now, you're running out of time." He says seriously.

"How much time?" Jack steps forward.

"Three days."

"Three days?! We've not been told we have a deadline!" Dianthe grumbles.

"Well, now you've been informed. By the way, your ship was stolen. Luckily, I stole your belongings back." He snaps his fingers and our bags appear at our feet, "I am also able to bring you back to the mainland but not any further."

My attention diverts to the four mares. Everyone grabs their personal luggages.

"Do you mind doing us one more favor?" I ask them, putting on my backpack.

Oh yes, ma'am! They neigh.

"Will you take us as far east as you can, please?"

Of course! They say in unison.

"We have a ride at least into France from Spain." I inform the others.

"Alright. Let's start going then since we apparently only have three days!" Theo glares at Apollo as he gets back on his horse.

"Wait, Ambrosia!" Apollo says, "Before I poof you away."

I turn to look at him just as I was about to get back on Xanthos. Apollo walks up to me, then smiles. That smile still gets to me after all the times I get mad at him.

"Here... I thought you might need these." He snaps his fingers and a supply of arrows appear in his hand.

"Thanks, but I already an endless supply of arrows already." I try to be sweet about it.

"These aren't ordinary arrows. These are called sonic arrows. Designed by me, of course, the god of music. When the arrow flies through the air a loud sound wave hits the target and in special cases, kills them. Usually, it will distract them enough for you to actually kill them. It momentarily deafens them. It comes in handy often." He smiles.

This makes me smile back and I hug him. He stands there in shock, then hugs back. I pull away and smile, grabbing the quiver and slinging the strap onto my shoulder. Getting back on Xanthos, I look down at the Apollo.

"Thank you." I say, bowing my head slightly.

"Anything for you." He smiles.

Before I can say anything else, he disappears. As I turn to look at Dianthe, I notice the four of us are back in Barcelona. I sigh, then toss Dianthe the cup. She catches it, raising an eyebrow at me.

"But-" she starts.

"I trust you. Keep it safe for me, please. Apparently, it's going to help us defeat Asteria so be careful with it." I nod at her.