Truth [Book Three in Fake Series]

Part Seventeen:

Part Seventeen:

Alex started moving towards the crown. She could feel the power radiating off it; an unspoken feeling that seemed to pull her closer.

"Silena, guard the door." Alex heard herself say, as though she were in another world.

"Why?" Silena questioned. Alex felt a bit bad for making her do it, but the guilt was instantly replaced by a thirst of greed for the crown. It was drawing her closer by the second...

"I don't want any monsters sneaking up on me while I look at this thing." Alex replied.

"Okay then," Silena turned and walked off. Ethan came up next to Alex as they approached the crown.

"Should we touch it?" Ethan asked, eagerly reaching out his hand.

"No," Alex pushed Ethan's outstretched arm down. "We shouldn't. Not now, at least. We need to analyse it. Think of a plan."

"Pick it up and see what happens?" He suggested.

Alex sighed. A thought suddenly came to her mind. The answer to the riddle was 'a god'. Surely, the crown would have something to do with a god? That was when Alex noticed it. On the stone pedestal was another engraving.

Beware the secrets of the crown. The truth lies within it, but only the cursed girl can pick it up and harness it's powers before the others.

"The truth?" Alex wondered aloud. "Cursed girl? The others?"

"That has to mean you." Ethan said. There was silence for a moment as Alex thought over what he just said. Was she the cursed girl? No, it couldn't be, and yet it also could at the same time.

Alex observed the crown. She took a step towards it and reached out. The object seemed to hum with power as she picked it up in her hands. It was extremely light - like holding a feather. She edged her face away from it like she was holding a bomb or a loaded weapon.

Nothing happened.

It was as though Ethan was expecting an explosion too, because when Alex turned to face him, he had his hands over his eyes like he was shielding his face from bright sunlight. "What are you doing?" She asked.

Slowly, Ethan pulled his hands away from his face. He looked at the crown in awe. "Sorry," he whispered. Then, louder, "go on, put it on."

"I don't know," Alex started, turning the crown over in her hands. It was made of the purest of gold and was etched with patterns and beautiful jewels probably worth more than all of the weapons at Camp Half-Blood combined.

"Do it,"

Alex took a deep breath in. It felt like she was trying to resist some big temptation. She could put the crown on if she wanted to, but...

"Alright," Alex carefully position the crown on her head. It fitted her head perfectly. "I - I -" Alex felt something overcome her. She doubled over in pain.

Her forehead pounded. She screamed an ear-splitting scream that shook the cave walls. The pain was intense, and it felt as though it would never go away.

"What's going on?" Silena's voice came from far away, and a spilt second before it happened, Alex knew what was going on.

"Silena, run!" She cried. The cave walls shook, though Alex wasn't screaming anymore. As she looked up, she flexed her fingers. Her body felt different now - she felt powerful, as though she could scale a mountain or swim across the ocean without breaking a sweat.

Alex stretched her hand up and a dome came over her and Ethan. It was as clear as glass but something told Alex that it wasn't glass. Alex looked up at the cave entrance where Silena was still standing just as the cave collapsed.