I stood straighter. “Well, let’s go wake some dead.”
Hyperion raised an eyebrow. “You sure?”
I nodded. “I helped Cronus do the others. I can help you with these two, and maybe by then we will have a lead on Jealousy.”
Koios looked at Hyperion. “I’ll hold down the fort. Be safe.”
Hyperion reached out and grabbed my arm and then we were gone.
My feet slammed down on green mossy earth as mist fell from the sky.
“Holy shit.” I spun at the sound of roaring water and stared in wonder at a giant waterfall. We were on the bed of a river surrounded by huge trees with moss crawling up the bark. The waterfall before us was perched high up on a hundred-foot cliff. “This is amazing.”
Hyperion grinned. “Okeanos had strict instructions for his final resting place.”
Damn, I wanted to be buried here too. It was so peaceful I almost forgot the world was ending.
Hyperion side-eyed me. “We need to go for a little hike, and I hear you don’t do exercise.”
I snorted. “Cronus is a damn liar. I’m fine to hike, given that it’s at a human pace.” I pulled out my phone and flipped the camera to the front facing. “Just need a quick selfie with this waterfall.”
Hyperion’s lips twitched as he fought a smirk. “Of course.”
I snapped a cute pic but didn’t upload it yet, because I wasn’t stupid and now that I knew Zeus and Cronus were Insta-stalking me I wasn’t posting shit until I was well away from this place.
Hyperion started to walk up the ridge.
“Where are we?” I looked around in awe.
“Issaquah Washington.”
Issa what? Issa amazing whatever it is.
I totally hiked the not-small hill without fainting or puking and only complained like four times, so that was a new record. We were now three-quarters up the way to the top of the fall and the sound of the water was deafening.
“We need to go behind it, into a cave,” Hyperion yelled over the noise.
“Behind the waterfall?” I wasn’t dressed for this shit.
Hyperion nodded. “I would zap us in but it's tricky with small spaces. Might get stuck inside the mountain.”
#WhatTheWhat? #Nope
“Well, we don’t want that.”
I let him grab my hand and lead me to a tiny ledge where my feet could barely grip on as I pulled my arms up to scale the side of the mountain under a freaking waterfall. We passed beneath the sheet of water and I had a moment of extreme clarity. Life could be really beautiful. And I was a small and tiny speck in this huge universe. I wasn’t going to let Cronus or anything get me down anymore. I was going to live for myself. New and improved Maisey. Animal lover, selfie lover, less boy crazy.
Once we reached an opening, Hyperion leapt off the ledge and yanked me inside.
“Well, life with you Titans sure isn’t boring,” I said.
“Hello, Maisey,” a woman said behind me and I leapt halfway out of the cave and nearly fell off the ledge.
One of the Fates was standing right up against the cave wall. Clotho I think it was, old as fuck and staring at me with a starry-eyed gaze.
“Umm … hello, ma’am.” She was old enough to be my great grandmother, and controlled my fate, so I was going to show her some goddamn respect.
Upon seeing her, Hyperion groaned. “What now?”
Clotho reached out her clawed and wrinkled hand. “Her line ends after tomorrow and we can’t see where it goes.”
Hyperion stiffened beside me and I swallowed hard.
“What does that mean?” I looked to Hyperion for answers.
He sighed. “Either you’ve got so many different choices you can’t decide on one or…”
“You die,” Clotho warned, and chills ran the length of my arms.
“Okay, back up. Why don’t you just tell me what I’m doing before my … line ends … and I’ll make sure not to do it…”
Clotho shook her head. “I cannot give such information without risking too much.” She spun on Hyperion. “She needs to stick with Cronus. He is the only one who can protect her. Their … paths…” She slowed and seemed to be reaching for her words more carefully. “Are heavily, heavily intertwined.”
Hyperion shot her a dark stare. “Cronus can’t be around her right now. If you’re not going to give us useful information, then be gone, woman!”
The old woman tightened her fist and suddenly Hyperion gasped, grabbing at his side like he had the world’s worst stitch.
“Listen to me!” the Crone shouted. “I’m telling you. Cronus and Maisey need to stick together. The fate of the world depends on it!”
I blinked at how odd it seemed for an old woman to scream like a banshee.
Hyperion winced. “Okay! I’ll relay the message.”
She released her grip and then took one more look at me. “May the gods have mercy on you, child.”
She poofed out of existence.
#WhatTheActualFuck #CantBreathe #IWantMyMommy
I was unsure when the panic attack started, just that it had. I was hyperventilating and feeling dizzy as the cave spun.
Hyperion reached out awkwardly and patted my back. “Just breathe.”
“I’m gonna die and I’m going to take the whole world with me.” I fought back the tears that wanted to come. My throat felt like it was twice the size, constricting the air I desperately sucked in.
Hyperion shook his head. “The Fates are drama queens. They do this sort of thing often.”
I pinned him with a glare. “Oh yeah? They tell you you’re going to die often?”
He shrugged. “Just the once … before Zeus killed me.”
“Ohmygod!” I started to pace the cave. “Not helping!”
Hyperion planted his feet before me and reached out to grasp my shoulders. “Let’s wake Okeanos and then we will find Cronus. I’ll tell him you need to stick together, okay?”
Relief poured through me and I pretended it
