Forsaken Deity

Chapter 26

Thea woke to an empty bed and her first thought was what to have for breakfast before reality snapped back into place, destroying any appetite she may have had.

Her stomach churned as she stared at the ceiling, body tingling with nerves as she thought about the day to come. Voices drifted from downstairs and the laid back tone that reached her ears filled her with envy. This wasn't the Gods’ first battle. It probably wasn't even the biggest, and she wished she had their experience and obvious nonchalance. These nerves had to be a first battle thing, surely. She’d seen a battle through Lissandre’s eyes but Lissandre had had no fear. It could have been because she had held more confidence in her abilities than Thea did at this moment. Closing her eyes, she sent a silent prayer inward to the recesses of her soul that were Lissandre; please lend me your strength. She prayed Lissandre would lend her anything to stop her body feeling as though it was about to explode into a thousand tiny balls of fear. Even sitting up seemed like an effort at this point and she had yet to get out of bed.

The door opened and Artemis strode in, wearing a black vest and matching pants. Her boots stopped just below her knees, her bow already strapped to her back. She held a similar outfit in her hand and shut the door with a slam. “Up and at ‘em champ. Today's the big day.”

“Is it too late to call in sick?” she asked feebly and shrunk back from the look of disgust on Artemis' face.

“Don't decide to lose your spine now, Thea, or I’ll have to beat some courage into you.”

Sitting on the edge of the bed, she caught the clothes thrown at her. “How are you guys so calm? Aren't you nervous at all?”

“More excited than nervous. Can't wait to kick some Titan ass. I haven't had a real challenge in years; this should be a good day. Hephaestus isn’t coming, Zeus seems to think we won’t need him which is good. More titan bashing for me.”

“Right,” Thea whispered. “I forgot; you like all this stuff.”

Artemis sat beside her. “Look, it's all right to be nervous. You're a mortal about to fight a God’s battle. Anyone in your shoes would be wetting their pants right now, but not you. You know what needs to be done and trust me when I say in this battle, there are seven Gods who you can classify as downright scary. Of those seven, five are on our side. You've got nothing to worry about. Just do what you have to do. It's not just Hermes who has your back today —it's all of us.”

Thea squeezed the clothes in her hands, feeling strangely inspired. “You know, I think that's the nicest thing I've ever heard you say.”

Artemis scowled and stood up. “Well don't expect me to repeat it again. The next time you talk about being scared or nervous, I'll beat it out of you. Are we clear?”

“Crystal,” she smiled.

Artemis pulled Thea to her feet and motioned to the clothes. “Hurry up and undress. I'll help you put this on. Leather can be a bitch to get on sometimes — even soft leather such as this.”

“Do I have to wear leather?”

“This outfit was made from Leviathans. It’s damn near impenetrable so don’t complain.”

She looked at the leather closely. “Do I want to know what a Leviathan is?”

“Probably not.”

The leather felt soft against her skin as she pulled the clothes on. The leather seemed to meld to her body shape. Once Artemis had finished tying the final straps together, Thea stared at herself in the mirror. A strange warrior woman stared back at her wearing a brown vest, similar to Artemis', and matching brown leggings. Her brown hair was piled on top of her head, held together with a piece of leather. Her necklace rested against her chest, shining in the sun coming through the window, and she touched it briefly. Green eyes stared back at her, fear and uncertainty lying below the surface.