Iridescence

Chapter Eleven (Apollo)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

APOLLO

I was not okay. Not only had Eliza played a song I hadn't heard in millennia, but I suddenly couldn't stop wondering if the impossible was possible.

Kleia is dead, Apollo, I reminded myself. She has been for millennia. You couldn't save her, but she saved you...

I wanted to scream, or cry, or eat a tub of ice cream, or maybe do all three at the same time. Instead, I found myself lost in a flashback.

The battle against the God of Chaos, Apophis, was in full swing. Many deities had been killed, as had many of our allies. Somehow, he knew our secrets. There was a traitor amongst us.

Altheos had been trusted by all of the Gods. He was the son of Hades and Nemesis, but he'd been raised by Zeus and Hera and was always on the side of Good. He was practically one of my brothers. Even I had no idea he was secretly working with Chaos and trying to destroy us all. Most of us affectionately called him Theos, and we foolishly believed every lie uttered by his charming little tongue. Lying was perhaps his greatest gift, but he also had incredible power within him. His choice to help Chaos had drastically tipped the scales against us.

As more attacks were launched and more deities fell, Kleia took a deep breath and began gathering energy. I knew she was about to cast a powerful spell. She was the daughter of Polyhymnia and Aether, and she was both Muse and Goddess of Air and Light. I knew the kind of immense power she held within her. After all, I was in love with her. I had been for a few years, and dating her brought peace into my life unlike any I'd known before. I fully intended to ask her to be my official consort, but she was still young. Kleia was barely nineteen, which is nothing to an immortal.

As she unleashed her spell, she levitated high into the air. She blessed those of us who needed it, and she blasted Altheos with so much light it made him scream in pain. His power began to fade as her spell temporarily weakened him.

"Kleia!" I shouted, knowing this spell was too powerful for any one entity to cast alone.

She was radiating with power. Her own life force was fueling the spell. I had to stop her. This was too dangerous.

"Kleia, stop! It's too much!" I cried.

"I love you, Apollo," she whispered. The air itself carried her words to me.

"Kleia!" I cried again.

Altheos burst into flames. He screamed but no sound came out. I realized he wasn't getting any air. I was kind of impressed because Kleia was as gentle as they came and would never harm another, yet she was harming him to save the rest of us.

My moment of admiration for my beloved was interrupted as Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon worked together to attack the weakened Altheos. They rarely worked together back then, as Uncle Hades was still splendidly evil and loved proving it, but when it came to battling Chaos, we were all on the same side.

I watched as Hera joined the fight, doing a decent amount of damage to Altheos before Hephaestus stepped in and destroyed his sword. Altheos became enraged, but there wasn't much he could do.

Ares led the charge against Chaos as Athena oversaw the battle against Altheos. I stayed on him since Kleia was still weakening him and I was worried for her safety. Artemis stayed by my side, attacking the minions who came near us and tried to defeat us while we focused on the bigger threat.

Kleia was growing weaker. She was about to pull back when Altheos murdered another of our allies, snapping her neck. He immediately absorbed her powers of creating toxic plants with Earth magic. He sent a sharp vine straight at Artemis, and we all knew the vine would fill her with a poison that could kill even a deity.