Dungeon of Torment

6. Sun, Moon and Stars

Hyperion woke that morning, his heart hammering in his chest. He'd had the dream again – the dream of Nailah calling his name. The sun was hesitantly rising as Hyperion strode quietly through the palace, his bare feet silent against the slate flooring. He stopped outside Nailah's room. The gauzy drapes swayed in the breeze and through them, he could see Nailah - fast asleep on her fourposter bed. Her stomach was glowing, his child's light shining through her skin now.

She sighed in her sleep, turning her head. Hyperion's breath caught. He was filled once again with the feeling that had enveloped him in his dream. He needed to care for her.

"Hyperion."

He gasped, reaching out he had to lean against the wall. In her sleep, she'd murmured his name. "Hyperion." Did she dream of him too? He stepped into her room and stood at the foot of her bed.

"Nailah," he called softly. Still fast asleep, Nailah's lips pulled up into a contented smile.

              Breakfast that morning was uncomfortable. Nailah had woken to find her torso glowing, and rather than being thrilled – she'd started screaming.

"You need to eat," Hyperion urged, his tone gentle. He'd cut up everything on her plate for her, since she couldn't do it herself, with only one hand. Nailah glared sullenly at her plate. "I can have my cook prepare something else if you fancy?"

She shook her head. Stress was churning through her system, setting her teeth on edge.

Hyperion sat back in his chair, deciding to drop the matter of persuading her to eat for now.

"Where would you like to go today?" He asked instead, smiling benevolently. "We can go explore the city."

Nailah fixed him with an unflinching stare. Was this for her sake? Or did he have a motive she didn't yet understand? Distrust, verging on paranoia, rested like thick oil over the grey waters of her mind.

"Why am I here?"

The titan's smile wavered.

             Azuros was a beautiful city, at least on the surface level. They walked along cobbled streets, the river running either side of them. Fairy lights ran between the lamp posts and Hyperion told her that they were turned on at night. Also hanging from above were golden flags with Uranus' Sigel carefully embroidered to be looking down at them. No barriers blocked them from the river instead, steps led down – encouraging swimmers. River traffic consisted only of occasionally gondolas, gliding silently on the turquoise waters.

The neighbourhoods main square was looked down upon by the statue of a woman. Fresh flowers had been laid at her feet and Hyperion craned his neck to gaze up at the statues face, his jaw pulsating.

"Who is she?" Nailah asked, unable to see a sign.

"Gaia," Hyperion's glow faded so that Nailah was able to look at him over the top of her sunglasses. "My mother," he explained.

"What happened to her?"

Hyperion looked off into the distance, his thoughts on another place - at another time.
"She died."

"How?"

"In the initial fighting when we landed on this world."

Nailah's eyes widened in surprise. Humans had killed a Titan? She'd never heard about that before. Nailah's heart quickened pace as her mind charged ahead with ideas.

They turned their back on the statue, to look out at the view of the sprawling city from this higher vantage point. "Azuros is named after a legendary city from our home planet," Hyperion explained – changing the topic. "Apparently, it really used to exist a thousand years ago. Though this look is based on an artist's imagination. The elders, my father mainly, worried that over the generations we'll lose our heritage. He wanted us to remember the classic dreams of Azuros and its people, our people. That's why he built a city based on Titan stories."

Nailah stared out at the emerald spires.

"Is there a public library?"

Hyperion nodded.

"I think I'd like to learn more about - your people."

He smiled happily, his handsome face radiating an aura of peaceful tranquillity.

"I think I'd like that too."

               Nailah did set upon industriously reading translated Titan books and eventually, she came upon what she wanted. Information on Tartarus.

**

Adrenaline coursed through Nailah's system as she stood on the balcony, looking out over the city. She had a plan, a purpose.

"Nailah," Hyperion called as he approached her from behind. "What are you doing?"

She shrugged to indicate that she was doing nothing.

"Come with me."

Hyperion led her through the palace and into the newly created nursery. A crib took up the centre of the room with a colourful mobile hanging down over it. The walls and furniture had been painted and Nailah turned on the spot, noticing the repeated design.

"Sun, moon and stars..." drawn in different ways, with different colours but recognisable. Craning her neck, she saw the sun - painted to take over the ceiling.

"Do you like it?" Hyperion asked, looking nervous. Nailah nodded, resting a hand on her glowing midriff. He smiled in relief.

"Nailah, I want you to be happy here," he reached out and nudged her sunglasses further up her nose – to protect her eyes, "both of you."

Nailah swallowed nervously. Happy? In a world that belonged to Titans. Hyperion retracted his hand, studying Nailah's blank expression as her mental shutters slammed down – shutting him out.

"I can give you anything you desire." Hyperion meant this sincerely but Nailah heard it differently. She heard it as a trick, the claims of a genie that fails to mention the price of three wishes. She was a human carrying a half-human child. She was breaking apart at the seams, her previous life in ruins. He moved away from her, retreating across the room (just as she was retreating within herself from him). His hands gripped on the edge of the crib. "Trust me." He pleaded.

Nailah's stoic mask chipped, ever so slightly. He was asking her to be happy. But being happy now, meant that she needed to turn her back on everything. On every suffering human. On every imprisoned friend. "Face a new dawn with me. A new life, together." Say my name like you do in my dreams, his eyes beseeched her.

For the first time since escaping the firing squad, Nailah felt something. A raw and burning emotion that blasted through her numbed state. Anger. This, this wasn't what she'd been fighting for. Defeating the Titans, that was her mission. Having a half-Titan baby was never part of her dream. Her gaze flickered to the crib. That wasn't the future of a warrior.

             That night, Nailah viewed her reflection in the mirror. Her dark gaze ran over the stump of her missing arm, the permanent disjoint of her nose and the thin scar that clipped her lower lip. Her expression grew fierce.

"I lost my life, when the rebellion was exposed." She spoke to the mirror, her jaw jutting out as the fire rekindled in her eyes. For a short while, she'd lost herself - to grief and fear. But now, she remembered. "I'm Nailah, and I have a heart of steel." A hand had been unconsciously resting on her stomach, now she let it fall to her side. "And this time, I have a weapon I never had before." A Titan baby.