How to Be a God [ManXMan]

Chapter Twenty-Four: Faerie - Part 1

~Chapter Twenty-Four: Faerie~

"Are you okay?"

Feeling groggy, I force myself to look away from my feet to meet Atlas' stare as he moves to stand practically toe-to-toe with me, practically radiating concern. Fighting off a yawn and struggling to keep my eyes open, I offer him a small shrug in reply. Though I feel relieved to see him again – which is weird, considering how much time I spent hating him – his timing could not be worse. With my magic on the mend, I feel utterly exhausted.

"What do you need?" I ask, though it turns into a mumbled slur as my eyes attempt to drift shut. It is not fair that I am technically asleep and yet still feel so tired.

"Cronus told me what happened. How are you?" Atlas asks, kneeling down in front of the couch I am sitting on. When did I take a seat? "Are you somewhere safe?"

It is tempting to just allow myself to nod off, but the genuine concern on Atlas' face has me forcing out an answer to his questions. "'M okay," is all that escapes on my first attempt. After a second, I force myself to stop slumping and clear my throat in an effort to make my words clearer. "Staying with Gwyn. Did you know he has a castle?"

That last part was not supposed to come out of my mouth, but I feel like I have – what did Jessica call it? – a lack of mental filtering. It reminds me of the time Ullr's siblings challenged me to a drinking contest. And it seems Atlas is thinking the same thing. "Are you drunk?" He asks, cupping my face between his large hands while his worry fades into bemused adoration.

"Sleepy," I correct, allowing him to gently rub my cheek bones with his thumbs. If he continues to do that, though, I fear I may fall asleep.

Atlas chuckles, still rubbing my cheek with his right thumb, but his other hand moves up to slide his fingers through my hair. "We can talk another time, then. Sleep now; Hypnos will guard your dreams," the Titan says, and who am I to refuse such an appealing order?

- - - - - - -

"They burnt down the Draíocht Forest?"

Though my snarled question had clearly been rhetorical, Gwyn still feels the need to reply with, "I do believe I just said that."

Rolling my eyes, I lean back in my chair, my mostly-eaten breakfast long forgotten. The ritual, which took place in one of the castle rooms more closely connected to Annwn, was completed the night of my arrival, but two days have passed and I have yet to be allowed to leave. Normally, I would fight him on it, but my uncle has been catching me up on what I have missed over the past thousand years while I have been recovering, telling me things about our pantheon that Ullr likely does not even know.

Besides, even if Gwyn was not giving me information, I had been unable to do anything more than lie on the ground and groan after the ritual was completed, which is probably why Loki wanted me to trust whoever I went to for help. After sleeping for a few hours and eating a large breakfast, I once again was able to walk, but my body would grow tired if I went too far and my magic was so weak I could barely summon a spark. A brownie, who has extremely limited magic, would have been able beat me in a battle, meaning that fighting any Greek gods would be out of the question. So, even if Gwyn was oblivious enough of my health – or lack therefore of – to allowed me to leave, I would have remained.

However, the more I slept, ate, and meditated in areas of high magic, the healthier I became and the more magic returned to me. Gwyn and I both agreed – though his agreement was rather begrudging – that I would be fine to leave tomorrow morning if my speedy recovery continues. My magic is strong enough for pranks now, which means it is strong enough for my protection, even if that just means teleporting away from danger. My uncle would have liked me to wait another week to recover completely, but since every day in Faerie is ten days in the mortal realm, I have already been gone over twenty days. By tomorrow, it will have been a whole month.