Aerith always believed she was an ordinary mortal-clumsy, geeky, and completely out of place in the world. But on the eve of her 18th birthday, she discovers a shocking truth: she's no ordinary girl, but the long-lost daughter of the Fates, destined...
The three gems were all sitting beside my bed. Ruby was knitting. Sapphire was reading a book. Amethyst was scribbling away on a notebook.
I tried to sit up but three pairs of hands pushed me back down. "Please don't get up! We'll call Apollo right away," Amethyst told me. The three of them rushed outside. A few seconds later, the door opened and a face I haven't seen before strolled in.
The first thing I noticed about him was his hair. It was the color of gold. The sunlight hit it and it actually glowed and looked like some sort of halo. The next thing I noticed was his height and build. He was tall and muscular – not as tall and muscular as Hades, though.
"Hi. How are you feeling?" he asked as he took one of the empty seats beside my bed.
I frowned. "I'm feeling good, thanks. What time is it? I should be getting ready for school."
It was his turn to frown. "Uh... Yeah. You should discuss that with Hades. What's the last thing you remember?"
I thought hard about it. At first, I came up with nothing and thought that I might have been in a nap coma. It's that feeling when you sleep in the middle of the day and wake up feeling disoriented and forgetting everything for a moment.
And then it all came crashing back.
I remembered the SUV, the men who tried to grab me, the arrow that shot me, Cerberus rescuing me. Instinctively, my right hand rose and touched my shoulder. I expected blood and pain but there was nothing.
"Any pain there?" he asked. I shook my head. "Good. I'm the best, you know," he said, winking.
"I'm sorry but who are you?" I asked.
"My name is Apollo. I'm the healer of the family. Nice to meet you, little queen," he introduced.
"Uh. Hi," I replied.
"So... You remember everything now? No disorientation there?" he asked as he held up a finger before me and moved it left to right. I followed it with my eyes.
"Yeah. I'm feeling good. Did you heal me? Thank you for that."
"All in a day's work, little queen. I declare you, my patient, good as new," he replied, his chest puffed out with pride.
