TAMING APOLLO | completed

04. let me explain...

G A Y L E

04. let me explain...

"THIS CYRENE CHICK... she's supposed to be you?"

I can practically hear the skepticism in Thalia's voice. The way she says it makes it sound ridiculous and I instantly regret telling her my story upon waking up.

Apollo, on the other hand is just sat there with his mouth slightly agape and his bright, silver eyes widened in shock.

Thalia and I pulled out chairs in front of him so I could tell them both what happened to me on my trip down the rabbit hole.

"You realise how ridiculous this all sounds right?" Thalia is shaking her head at me judgmentally at the moment and I scowl at her.

"Well, then how do you explain the earthquake? This dude randomly appearing naked on my bed?" I try to reason with her but by the dubiousness swirling in her brown chocolate eyes, she's not convinced.

"He could have been hiding there all along? I don't know, but there's always a reasonable scientific explanation for everything." She squeals skittishly.

I arch a brow at her. "Why are you so dead-set on shutting this down? I remember everything, it couldn't have been a dream."

"Shut up."

"All of this is real," I announce this loudly before turning to Apollo, who's gaze hasn't wavered from me, not even for the slightest second.

His eyes are unreadable, but he acknowledges the fact that I've turned to speak to him.

"I saw you die. I saw that mean-looking guy – what's his name, Zeus – I saw him stab you with that arrow! How are you here right now?" I question him, eyes narrowing suspiciously as he shifts uncomfortably on his seat.

"I don't know." He remarks. "Look, one moment I'm frying under the Tartesian sun of torment and the next, I'm on your bed in my tightey whiteys."

My brows furrow as I try to put my thoughts together in order. I'm trying hard not to pass out from all the information my brain is processing at the moment.

"I don't know why I'm here or how I got here. All I know is if I'm out, there's a good chance Zeus and all the Titans are out too. Tartarus has one gate, and one gate only. Once it has been opened, nobody can close it."

Thalia is watching Apollo and I's exchange with widened eyes, she has an incredulous look plastered over her face and her bushy brows are furrowed irritably.

But there's something in her eyes, something one would miss if they didn't know her well enough.

Doubt? Self-consciousness?

"Do you think Ariel or Ares busted you out?"

Apollo stiffens at the mention of my supposed best friend's name, and his lips purse into a straight line.

I can't read what he's thinking, though I wish I could for some reason.

"No. They're not stupid enough to do something like that." He's very dismissive when it comes to bringing Ariel up, like there's old wounds he'd taken all his time in Tartarus to stitch up.

"They may know who brought me back, though, so I see it fit to summon them." He answers confidently.

I nod at him. "But, wait... what are we going to do with Cyrene? How will we get her out of me?"

"Okay, that's enough! What has gotten into you, Gayle? I'm calling White-feather right now!" Thalia hops up from her chair with that dramatic notion, and heads towards the table, where her phone is laying.

"She should leave." Apollo retorts darkly, furrowing his brows at Thalia, who seems offended by his words.

"I'm not going anywhere, you are!"

I sigh, considering that maybe Apollo is right. It took a lot for Ariel to convince me that this was all real, and I don't have a magical transporter device to make it quick.

Thalia gasps. "You're thinking about it! How dare you take this lunatic's side!" She huffs indignantly.

"Oh, now I'm not going anywhere. Who knows what he could do to you when I'm gone? What if he harvests your organs or something? No, sir, I'm staying right here." She speeches dramatically, and Apollo rolls his eyes once she finishes.

She scowls at him.

"Fine, but no calling White Feather. Just give us time to prove that all of this is real, okay?" I plead with her. She's hesitant, but after a minute of tense silence, she relents, nodding cautiously.

"I don't understand why I have to prove anything to this mundane piece of human – " I kick Apollo in the shin before he can finish his sentence and he glowers at me, hissing in pain.

Theres a satisfied grin on Thalia's face after I kick Apollo.

"Good, we're all back on board. Now... how do I extract Cyrene's soul out of my body?" I ask him.

He's quiet for a moment.

"I've heard of a lot of things, Gayle. I've heard of souls reforming, I've heard of souls tearing to pieces and I've heard of souls ceasing to exist all together. I've never heard of more than one soul existing within a single vessel before," my disappointed expression makes him continue to speak.

"But if anybody has a means of finding out how that is possible, it's Psyche, goddess of souls. Once we get in contact with..." his eyes begin to wander halfway through his sentence, and he pauses when he notices the piece of tissue I used to wipe his blood on the floor.

His entire body stiffens as his gaze on it never wavers. "I-is that what I think it is?" He asks and Thalia and I exchange a confused glance before I reply, "the tissue paper I used to wipe your blood? If so, then yes."

The room goes into complete silence before he gulps. "My blood?" He's still looking at it, frowning now.

I nod. "What's wrong?" I ask.

"It's red. The blood is red." He murmurs, his eyes meeting mine again.

"As all blood is." Thalia answers slowly as if it would be hard for him to understand.

"All, but that of a god." He replies and that's when I understand what he's on about.

I remember in the final showdown on Mount Olympus, Ares in a cage, a gold liquid spewing all over his body.

That must be their blood! Ours is red, theirs is gold.

I pick up the crumpled up tissue. Only, his is red.

"I figured out why I can't use my godly powers to get out of these ropes." He sighs.

"I'm not a god anymore."