TAMING APOLLO | completed

07. requiem for the past

G A Y L E

07. requiem for the past

I'VE NEVER REALLY BEEN THE SHARPEST TOOL IN THE SHED, Ariel was always the one to get us out of tricky situations when we were younger.

But now? Now, I'm alone in a group of people, the only representative of myself and I feel so small.

And I have no fucking clue as to what's going on.

My unconscious best friend is passed out on my bed, Artemis thought it would be decent to get her off the floor.

Apollo has been spacing out, his stony glare returning every now and again as he purses his lips.

For some reason, I cannot keep my gaze off of Artemis. She exerts a certain level of power, almost as strong as Ares which draws me to her.

"Caution your mortal, brother. If she continues to stare at me like that, I might just let my beast out of its cage for a little snack." She's not looking at me, but her words make me look away faster than I thought possible.

"Explain yourself. Now." Ares has his jaw clenched as he glares at the goddess, frustratedly brushing his hair back with his fingers.

Artemis sighs, seating herself on my couch rather casually as she rolls her eyes. "A year ago. Some time after you'd been to erase her memory," her eyes dart up to look at me. "Ariel summoned me into her chambers. Of course, I had to oblige. She is after all, our queen." She watches Apollo with her last words, the ghost of a frown on her face at his reaction to them.

His brows are furrowed deep in thought, his fists are clenched and he looks as though he might just explode.

This is awkward.

"You know she's paranoid, Ares. She was never meant for all of this. She's too fragile – "

"Proceed with your story." Ares chides, unwilling to hear anything else she'd like to say.

Her jaw clenches, but she releases it and sighs.

"She told me that she fears her mortal friends may be in danger, that they need protecting. At first I refused but she ordered me to put in guardians for them. So I did as she told me. I recruited some of my very best huntresses to serve as safeguards for the mortals. Thalia had to find a way to linger around Gayle without her knowing that she's being protected. She checks in with me regularly," she's talking too fast, I'm having trouble understanding everything she's saying.

All this time, I've been led to believe that meeting Thalia was by chance, that we'd stumbled upon each other at college and just clicked. I couldn't have been more wrong. It was all premeditated.

A piece of me kind of feels betrayed. Was everything fake? Does she even like me or does she have to pretend so that we can stay close?

"Of course Thalia doesn't know all this. I figured it would make everything easier if she thought she was just a young mortal girl.. she only remembers when I tell her to. If she senses you might be in danger, she transforms into her true form. When she changes, I'm alerted and then I rush to your aid. Like I'm your servant."