“Rhea,” I said urgently, nudging her. I was really regretting getting her so hammered; a little help would be appreciated right about now.
Zeus curled his lip at Rhea. “This look is unbecoming of you, Mother.”
The Titaness sneered back. “You dare speak to your mother like that! I birthed you. I protected you.” Icy tendrils leaked from her mouth and her hand came out and clamped down on mine, rooting me to the spot.
Zeus grinned. “You think you can protect her from me? I get what I want, Mother. You should know that by now.”
He reached out to grab my shoulder, seemingly to zap me away with him, but nothing happened.
Zeus grimaced. “You’re too drunk to take her away yourself, but you can block me.”
My eyes flicked to Rhea and I saw alarm there. Fuck. He had been right—she’d tried to zap me away with her and it hadn’t worked … but at least she’d blocked him.
Anger rolled through me as I allowed the sins to bubble to the surface. The world was ending, Cronus had ditched me, and now I was having to entertain his ex-wife. I had enough problems on my plate without fucking Zeus getting in the way.
“Leave.” My voice was low and deadly. Strife had taken over; the tips of my fingers started to turn black, and both Rhea and Zeus yanked their hands back.
Rhea looked horrified, but when I turned to look at Zeus, I saw something else there.
Fascination. Greed. Desire.
“Let’s make a deal,” Zeus purred. If I wasn’t busy hating on him I would have taken a moment to admire the man’s beauty. He had nothing on Cronus, but he was definitely pretty.
“Don’t listen to him.” Rhea stood, swaying a little.
It dawned on me then. “You want the necklace,” I breathed, clutching the pendant at my throat.
He grinned. “With powers like that, who wouldn’t?”
The black tips of my fingers were now smoking. Tendrils of inky black wafted toward the ceiling.
“What would you use these powers for, Zeus? To destroy the fucking world? I can’t let that happen.”
“You know you’ll die, right? Carrying those sins when you’re all but human.” His voice was low and hypnotic. “I have a crone who can transfer the necklace from you to me.”
He held out his hand for me to shake or to zap me away—or both.
My chest was tight at the thought that I might die, but at the same time I couldn’t let Sickness, Strife, and Turmoil fall into his hands. He’d use them to hurt people. He’d take the other sins and use them against humanity.
“Fuck off.” I thrust my hands out; black tendrils shot from them like whips and lashed at his body. Both Rhea’s hands clamped down on my shoulders and everything went black. We were spinning like in a washing machine, with no end in sight.
“Rhea!” I shouted.
“I’m trying!” she cried.
Holy fuck, we were stuck in some in-between. She’d fucking drunk-zapped us and now I’d probably be ripped in two.
After what felt like forever, my feet slammed down on hardwood floor and I leaned forward and vomited. The room spun as nausea rolled into me like crashing waves. My eyes snapped open and I sighed.
I’d just thrown up on my kitchen floor.
Great.
At least Rhea had taken us to my apartment—and I still had all my limbs.
“Clean that mess up and then make me some food,” the drunk bitch ordered, skimming the wall as she walked to my bathroom.
#INeededToGoogleHowToKillATitan
The black tips of my fingers slowly retreated back to their usual tan coloring, and I was relieved that the sins settled inside of me.
Rubbing at my face in desperation, I tried to think. Zeus wanted my necklace…
Tonight had been his way of trying to figure out where I stood, but next time he’d be back with full powers blasting.
Where the fuck was Cronus?
That bastard left me with his ex-wife while his son wanted to rip my head off so he could procure the necklace. Some almost boyfriend he was.
Zeus had said that a crone could take my necklace…
My fingers went to my throat as I thought of being free of the sins that I carried. Did Zeus know I was the box and the necklace was just the conduit? Was there an actual chance I could be freed of my burden at some point? Did I trust anyone else to do the right thing?
So many questions and so few answers. It was making my head spin.
After I cleaned up the mess I’d made, I showered and brushed my teeth. When I came out, Rhea was passed out in my bed with an empty potato chip bag in her lap.
I was not sleeping on the floor in my own house! After three attempts to move her ass onto the floor without waking her, I finally gave up and just snuggled in beside her.
#FuckIt #ModernFamily
As I lay on my back staring at the blue wards that crackled on my ceiling, it reminded me of the man who’d put them there.
I’d never forgive Cronus for leaving me. Even now, sending his ex-wife to deal with me. How fucking dare he? When I finally saw him again, I was going to smack him across the face. That would show him that Maisey Hope Parker was not to be fucked with.
And with that, I fell asleep.
My eyes felt like they were glued shut with some sort of sand-based substance: gritty and painful. A groan escaped as I tried to rub it away, only I missed my face completely and smacked into a soft body that was sprawled next to me.
#Fuck #NotAlone #CreepAlert
Rolling over in one swift movement, I shoved the warm body away, hearing a thump as they hit the ground. When a familiar voice started cursing, relief hit me. Rhea. In my sleepy state I’d forgotten that she had been with me at the party. That after Zeus crashed our Taco Bell session, we’d ended up here.
Finally prying my lids open, I peered
