From Titans (Book 4) (32 page)

“
What would you do
differently if I let you out?” I had no intentions of letting her
out of course, but I wanted to know what she would say.

Her eyes sparkled in hope. “I-I would go
back to my place and never bother anyone.”

I nodded, pretending to contemplate. “Hmmm…I
see, but those are just words.”

She placed her hands
flatly against the glass as if she could stop me when I shifted my
body to get up. “
Wait.
I’
ll sign a contract.”

I rubbed my temple and smacked my lips
together. “I recall you signing a contract with me once where you
had to hand Mason to us after I gave you your gold water, but you
never kept your end of the bargain. In fact, I recall you stating
that you lost Mason. That was a lie. You never intended to give me
Mason back.”

Her eyes twitched, and she
pushed out her lips. “That
’
s not true. And besides, you gave
me fake gold water. I knew you would do that, so what is a goddess
to do?” She let out a weak pathetic giggle. “I
can
’
t help who I am.”

“
I had the gold water. I
would
’
ve given you the real one if only you
’
d let Mason go free. In
fact, I would
’
ve given you anything. You have
no idea the heartache you have caused to his family and to the
human beings you
’
ve killed. I know they mean
nothing to you. You
’
re selfish. You
don
’
t care about anything but yourself. You deserve the company
you
’
re with. I would say have a great life, but I know you
won
’
t, so why would I even bother to say it?”

“
Come on, Sky.
It
’
s over. Let
’
s close this ugly chapter in our
life.” Mason helped me up and took me off to the side.

The Titans on the other
hand kept quiet. They watched Eris get down on her knees and beg.
They were not the begging type, but everyone else besides Cronus
huddled toward the back. Zeus might have the biggest ego out of the
Olympian gods, but it couldn
’
t compare to Cronus.

“
Don
’
t think this is the
end, my sons,” Cronus said with his chin up. Hearing his tiny
squeaky voice had us chuckling. “We found a way out of Tartarus,
and we
’
ll do the same here.”

Zeus
’
s shoulders shook with
laughter. “You should hear how you sound. I can
’
t take you seriously.
You
’
re so little.” Then his expression became serious. He pounded
on the clear wall. “I could crush you with one step, but
I
’
m
not you.”

“
Stop mocking me,” Cronus
roared, but it sounded so cartoonish. “When I
’
m released from this
prison, you
’
ll be the first one I kill. I am
your father. Do as I say. I demand this of you. You shall respect
me and obey my wishes.”

Zeus rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You told me that last time. You never kept your
promise anyway, even as a father, for the little time you were. You
are dead to me. I have no father. What father eats their children?
There is one thing I learned from the humans; offspring are the
product of their parents. Teach them love, and then they will know
and show love. Teach them hate, and then they will know and show
hate. You
’
ve only taught me to hate, to revenge, to have a fat ego, and
to kill before getting killed. I
’
ve done so much wrong in the name
of all those ugly things. It would take an eternity for me to make
amends. I never knew I was so much like you until I met Skylar and
observed her interaction with her parents. We may be gods, but we
want the same things as the humans. We want love, we want to be
respected, and we want compassion. So the remainder of your life, I
want you to think about what it is to be a better
being.”

Hades and Poseidon placed
their hands on either side of Zeus
’
s shoulders for support. I felt
the sadness and pain in Zeus
’
s speech. It never occurred to me
that the gods acted out for the things they craved the way humans
did. Eris acted the way she did because she felt alone and
excluded. It was the only way she could get attention.

“
I
don’
t need to think about who I am, Zeus,”
Cronus retorted. “I am god, the only real god there ever will be.
You are nothing to me. The only thing I learn from all of this is
how much I
’
m looking forward to my
revenge.”

“
We only wanted to be
loved, that
’
s all,” Poseidon cut in, twisting
his lips into a frown, and dipped his head in disappointment. “We
could
’
ve been a happy family. We could
’
ve ruled by your side—father
and sons. Our lives would
’
ve been different.”

Cronus smirked and lightly
chuckled in a mocking way. “
I
don’
t think so. Father and sons rule
together? One of you will eventually try to kill me. And love is
only for the weak. It
’
s the reason why it was easy to
eat you alive, and I would do it again if I had the
chance.”

“
You hate us that much
because of a stupid prophecy?” Zeus roared.

Cronus took a step closer,
obviously not intimidated by his size. “Prophecy or not, I
would
’
ve killed you.”

Hades released a long
heavy sigh. “This is so messed up. I
’
m not standing here to hear a
squeaky mouse tell me shit.” Hades opened the door and flicked him.
Cronus flattened against the back wall and then, at a
snail
’
s pace, slowly slid down. When Hades slammed the door, Cronus
plummeted. “There. I feel so much better. Come on. Our job is done
here. Mother needs us.”

Chapter
29

Skylar

The Oracles came out of the room with their
heads down. I had never seen Zara look so drained.

“
Have you taken care of
the prisoners?” Tara asked.

“
Yes,” I replied.
“How
’
s my mom?”

“
We
’
re doing all we can,
but there
’
s no progress,
” Zara
answered. “We
’
re going to have to take the baby
out.”

“
What? Why?” Dad sighed as
he raked his hair back.

“
Her body has been through
too much. Had she been inside her own, she would be fine, but
she
’
s inside a human one. They are too fragile. And the baby has
grown, taking up more of her energy than before. She is too weak to
balance both. That
’
s not all. I
’
m so sorry, but we
have no choice. If the baby stays, Rhea will die.”

“
You
can
’
t help them with magic?” My dad asked in
desperation.

“
Magic is not
working.”

The thought of losing
Mother and the baby gutted me. She would be devastated if she
survived and the baby didn
’
t. When I
’
d first heard Mom was
pregnant, I wasn
’
t happy about it. More so because
the baby was part Hephaestus, and there was no guarantee of the
outcome of the baby
’
s appearance and his or her
personality. Secretly, I didn
’
t want the baby. A part of me had
wished it was dead. Guilt rushed through me. It
wasn
’
t fair of me to pass judgment on a child who
hadn
’
t been born. I wished I could take away all the horrible
thoughts as I recalled Zeus
’
s words.
There is one thing I learned from the humans;
their offspring are the product of their parents. Teach them love,
and then they will know and show love. Teach them hate, and then
they will know and show hate.

Zeus was a terrible
father; thus, Hephaestus wanted revenge. Malicious and evil
didn
’
t come close to describing him. Perhaps if this baby knew
what it meant to love and be loved, he or she would turn out fine.
There were no guarantees in life. We had to count our
blessings.

I got up and stepped between Zara and my
dad. They were speaking near the door, and through that door, my
mother lay helpless and unconscious. If I could be of any use,
there was no way in hell one of them had to die. “I think I can
help.”

“
How?” Dad
asked.

“
I
’
m the giver of life,
aren
’
t I? Give Mom my blood. It
’
s worth a shot. We have to
do something.” I glanced behind me where everyone else sat at the
meeting room.

“
She is the giver of
life.” Mason smiled at me.

Zara nodded.
“You
’
re right. Why didn
’
t I think of that? If it works,
we can do the same for Colin and Aaron. They
’
re not making much
progress.”

“
Whatever you
need.”

Tara took off when she heard me say blood
and came back with a needle. “May I?”

I nodded and closed my eyes and prayed. My
blood was their only chance.

After Tara poked me, she opened the
door.

Dad stuck his hand out, stopping the door
from closing. “I would like to go in.”

“
Mason and me, too,” I
added. Mason had stood next to me with his arms snaked around my
waist the whole time. He didn
’
t say much, but he silently
comforted me.

“
Fine,” Zara said
softly.

I released a long sigh as
I entered. Mom looked so peaceful lying on a bed. A needle jutted
out of her wrist, and the IV bag hung on the monitor. To my utter
surprise, the room had been arranged with modern furniture, with a
cherry wood dresser and desk. It looked similar to
Mom
’
s bedroom. I wanted to embrace her, but I was too afraid to
touch her.

Dad
didn
’
t seem to know what to do either. He began to stroke her
hair. “Hey…you
’
re going to be just fine. Skylar
and I are here. When you wake up, we
’
re going to celebrate our
victory.” Dad kissed Mom tenderly on her cheek.

The sound of someone
clearing their throat startled me. The door wasn
’
t closed. Hades, Zeus,
and Poseidon entered.

“
We would like to be there
for our mother,” Zeus stated. It sounded more like a command, but
he said it with a smile.

Zara waved her hand, as if to hurry them. “I
understand. Come in.”

“
I am in.
I
’
m
not asking for your permission, Zara,” Zeus muttered. Then he
flashed a smile.

I had to give Zeus credit
for trying to change. At least he smiled. Like the saying goes: You
can
’
t teach an old dog a new trick, but you can try. Baby steps.
At least he knew he had to work on his ego. Knowing what needed to
be changed was the first step.

Zara paid no attention to
him. “
We
don’
t have time for speeches.
Let
’
s get it done.”

Tara inserted the needle while Cara locked
her eyes on the monitor, watching the red, green, and yellow move
steadily. It apparently monitored her heartbeat, pulse, and
something else. There was nothing left to do but wait. And wait.
And wait.