Forever Luna

perception

noun ~ the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses

POLLUX

Apollo's heart continued to beat in Phoenix's hand two more times. Its final, faltering twitches between blood-slick fingers made everyone quiet.

Phoenix had been quick; quicker than Apollo could register. He had moved with a fluidity I'd never seen in a man so large, but to be able to puncture bone and tissue from such proximity... His strength was undeniable, and everyone here knew it now.

I stared at the pooling blood, not out of fascination, but because I couldn't look at Apollo. His body lay crumpled at Phoenix's feet, his chest torn open and his vacant eyes fixed upon the sky. He was dead. I could see that; smell it. The thick scent of his blood coated every breath I dragged into my lungs.

Yet some part of me still waited for him to move.

Apollo had survived every consequence meant for him. He had slipped through the cracks of history, leaving everyone else to suffer in his place. Even with his ribs exposed and his heart removed, I expected his fingers to curl into the mud as he prepared himself to fight back.

Expected those dead eyes to find me and blame me for his demise.

A sudden growl caught my attention, and I turned to the dark wolf that prowled closer. Cors strolled several feet away, bloodied and deadly. His gaze dropped to the heart Phoenix held towards him, a sharpness in his gaze that made me hold my breath.

No words passed between them, but I doubted they needed to speak.

I had not witnessed what Apollo had done to Cors all those years ago, but I had understood enough from Nova. He had cut out Cors's tongue and fed it to a wolf, taking the man's voice and then punishing him for his silence.

Now Apollo's heart rested in the palm of the grandson who had killed him, and for one moment, I thought he would turn away. But instead, with the ease of tossing a tennis ball, he threw the heart towards the wolf.

The heart was gone in a matter of sharp chomps from a beast that tried and failed to save his family. He swallowed slowly, deliberately, his eyes fixed upon Apollo's lifeless body. Blood dripped from his maw, and my stomach churned at the unpleasant sight.

But something inside me did loosen because Apollo was dead. Truly dead and not just a figment of my imagination. It had been me, myself, and I for a long time, and even now, as my strength grew with the fresh blood that healed me, I still felt like I was back in that cage.

My breath shuddered out of me, taking what remained of my strength with it. My knees buckled beneath me, but an arm caught me around the waist.

"Easy," Charlie grunted.

Charlie.

I sagged against him before remembering that he had shifted back only moments ago. He was completely naked, much like Phoenix, and I averted my eyes with a grunt.

"Do you own underwear?"

Charlie blinked down at me, streaked with blood and dirt. "What?"

His voice was raspy from lack of use, and I had a hard time reeling in the sudden flare of my gift. It had been mute for so long, trapped behind a spell that Apollo's death had broken. The witch who cursed me had slowly given me my sight and instincts, and now he was gone, she left me completely.

That only made me think it was a debt rather than a need.

"You could have found trousers before touching me." I muttered.