Awakening (Book One of the Eklektos Series)

Chapter Nine

The feeling of sunshine on her face, warming her skin, was what pulled Kali back into consciousness. She was still groggy, but the sunlight wouldn't let her roll back over. Blearily, she opened her eyes and froze when she saw who was in the room with her.

"Good morning, Kali."

"Good morning." She almost flinched at how rough her voice sounded in comparison to his. But, she thought, she shouldn't expect any less from the God of Music. A long silence followed, and Kali wondered if her father was as unsure how to act as she was. She glanced down at her hands, clenched in her lap, and conjured a smile. "How can I help you?"

"I was hoping that we may have a chance to speak before you meet with the others." He said, with a serene smile. "I am Apollo." Kali bit her lip but didn't respond, and Apollo watched her carefully before murmuring "I am your father."

Kali averted her gaze from his expectant face and mumbled "I know who you are." She didn't know how she felt about any of this. Didn't know how she was supposed to respond.

"That is a relief. I was uncertain how much your mother would tell you."

"Hades didn't tell you, then." Kali muttered, with a bitter smile.

Apollo's voice was confused and...suspicious? "Hades? You have met?"

"Ares attacked me. Hades intervened." Kali made a valiant effort to look back at him, but his presence almost seared her vision. Nonchalantly, she stated, "When I asked, he told me how to get here."

"It seems I owe him a larger favour than I had intended." He sighed wearily. "No matter, you are safer now."

A small laugh escaped her throat. "Am I?"

"Safer is not the same as safe." He admitted carefully. After a long moment, he tilted his head and said "You are taking this surprisingly well."

"I am very tired." She corrected him. Kali knew that she wasn't exactly handling anything yet; she was just storing it away to deal with later. Rubbing her brow, she groaned "Do you mind if we skip that conversation and get to what I'm meant to tell people? I mean, I'm not overly keen on getting torn apart because of my own ignorance."

Apollo seemed surprised for a moment before his calm smile settled back on his face. "As long as they believe you are my daughter, which you are, there is nothing else to be done. It is not something that the gods look out for as only comes about so rarely." A flicker of unease touched his features and Kali realised that he wasn't very good at hiding his emotions. Something they had in common, apparently. She shook herself out of her thoughts to hear him warn "Avoid spending too much time near Poseidon; he is shrewd and most likely to recognise the sea in your blood. Otherwise, learn what you can."

Absentmindedly, she nodded. "So...what now?"

"You have three hours to yourself. Now that you are awake, you will be called to meet with Zeus and he will expect you at sunrise." He paused to let that sink in, silently noting the panic that flared in her eyes. "The largest building by the lake is known by the demigods as the mess hall. The meeting room is on the first floor. There are stairs on the outside of the building, around the edges. Do not be late." He turned and began to walk to the door.

Kali panicked and called out "Wait! I...what am I supposed to call you?"

He paused mid-step but didn't look back at her. His voice was quiet, unassuming, as he replied "If you feel comfortable, I'd be happy with father. But we can start with Apollo."

More than anything, Kali wanted to run and hug him. She wanted everything to be the way it was supposed to be. She wanted to be able to forgive and forget, and move forward. But she couldn't pretend that she was alright with anything that had happened. No matter his reasons, he had left her. Her mother had lied to her for her entire life. Everything she knew was an illusion. A lie. So, instead of doing what she knew he was hoping for, she mumbled "Thank you, Apollo."