TAMING APOLLO | completed

40. awakening

40. awakening

G A Y L E

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"SO, LET ME get this straight," Kako sighs, treading face first through the complex labyrinth that is Cyrene's mind. "You're going through all of this trouble to save your evil doppelgänger so that she can live happily ever after with the love of your life – even after she's spent these last couple of weeks terrorizing you?" She says, an incredulous expression etches onto her majestic facial features.

I stumble behind her as she screeches to a halt and kicks the garden snake that has slithered onto our path out of the way.

Her words register in my mind and I nod begrudgingly. "I mean... when you put it like that..."

She scoffs, rolling her bright blue eyes. "You're a damn better person than I am, Lovegrove, because if that were me?" She chuckles maliciously, the tone of her voice completing the hidden meaning behind the vicious laugh.

"It's not that simple." I explain with a sigh, feeling a sharp pain in my chest at the thought of Apollo being reunited with his fated love and not needing me anymore. "They belong together. Without her, he'll never be able to access his full power. He needs her, the same way she needs him." Focusing my gaze on a stray sunflower next to our path that somehow reminds me of Apollo, I sigh. "He loves her." I realise, shaking my head at the gut-wrenching pain those three words bring upon me.

"Oh." Kako's voice is only an echo in the back of my mind as thoughts of Apollo engulf me. "Is that what he told you? You know, when you confessed your undying love for him?" We stop, and I glance up to meet Kako's hypnotizing gaze. I can feel tears brimming in my eyes as she arches a brow at me.

"Well... I haven't exactly told him... and I wouldn't say undying love, okay? It's more of a potent absence of dislike. – and there's no point telling him anyway, because even if he did somehow feel the same, he needs Cyrene, the badass medieval princess and not Gayle, the college dropout who smashed a vase against his head the first time we met."

Kako crosses her arms over her chest, realization washing over her face as she shakes her head at me.

"You don't even realise how awesome you are, do you? You literally just stabbed Epiales with a freaking katana that you can magically summon in times of need. Are you kidding me? Look, you may be a college dropout with no future in the modern world and your eyes are kinda far apart, but you're a sword-wielding badass... and all that coming from the Mormo? That's the ultimate seal of approval."

My heart feels heavy, suddenly I'm overwhelmed with gratitude for this chick sent here by Hecate who was ultimately a bitch to me when we met but sent me this angel and has redeemed herself.

An angel who devours children in her spare time... but an angel nevertheless.

I pull her into a hug, wrapping my arms around her tightly and squeezing as tears brim at my eyes. I feel her body stiffen but completely ignore it anyway. She smells like a fireplace mixed with the pungent smell of blood.

She makes zero movements, not even to wrap her arms around me. Once I've released her, she has this awkward look on her face and her cheeks have blushed crimson.

"We're here!" She clears her throat, turning away from me and motioning her hands towards the giant castle situated before her.