Blade's Edge || Deception Book II ||

Chapter 26: In the Ruins of Othrys Pt.II

Luke stepped forwards, around the corner, and I followed a heartbeat later, focusing on keeping my breathing even and my heartbeat calm.

We emerged onto the summit of the mountain and froze. I didn't know where I should look first, at the vortex of ash-grey clouds in the sky hissing with malice, the funnel that speared down to the Earth, or the figure kneeling on the ground in ragged cloth, the weight of the sky on his shoulders.

My eyes were saved from that decision when the Titan raised his head, giving me a full view of his brutal and scarred face, his stone-grey eyes filled with ancient hatred.

I saw Luke tense up from the corner of my eye, but forced my muscles to remain loose, relaxed, and tried to ignore the weight of the weapons on me. No matter my training, without my ability to use my shadows, I'd be dead the moment I drew my sword.

So, I kept myself relaxed, unbothered, my head high, even as Atlas, the Titan of Strength, Bearer of the Heavens, Lieutenant of Kronos, fixed his gaze on me and said, "So, this is the great grand-daughter of my uncle, Koios. He's spoken quite highly of you and it'd be a shame if he had just been blowing his own horn." Atlas smiled cruelly at me. "Show me what you've got. Where is your magic, little one?" 

Maybe I shouldn't have promised Luke to grovel in front of him, the fleeting thought vanishing as a whirlwind of savage delight filled me. I felt a smirk tug at the corner of my lips as I raised my gaze to the titan kneeling before me. 

"If the General wishes me to put on a demonstration, I will happily oblige," I purred, stepping forwards and lifting up a hand, my fingers poised to siphon my magic from the air. "As a daughter of Hecate, this is a prime playground for me." 

"Rianna," Luke interrupted, his voice tense. "Watch your place." 

Atlas chuckled. "No need to control your lieutenant, boy. She's a wild one." He turned to me and said, "Well? Go ahead and show me your magic. And not that one," he added as my fingers curled inwards. "Your shadows." 

My fingers stilled, though my mask didn't slip. "If you will it," I murmured, keeping on beat to the dance. 

Taking a deep breath, I swiped my fingers through the air, silently pulling from the white swaths of mist around me. If it were shadows Atlas wanted to see, it would be shadows he would get. 

Except it wouldn't be, because as far as I was concerned, Rianna Claire was no shadow-walker. Smiling to myself, I flung out my night-kissed magic over the mountain top, a faint ripple the only indication of the illusion I was casting. 

Just breathe, I reminded myself as I felt my heartbeat quicken. Yes, you're planning to fool a Titan. Yes, you'll be dead if he finds out. Solution? Make sure he doesn't. 

I exhaled and I knew that my eyes had started to glow with power and the tendrils of shadow were billowing out from me as Luke made a small noise of shock. Doing my best to ignore him, knowing that there would be hell to come after this, I swept my arm towards the nearest wall of Othrys and sent a black snake slamming into it. 

A white blanket of mist swept over, shrouding the ruins before us in fog, and when it cleared, the entire wall, where crumbling ruins had been, was nothing but dust and ash floating in the wind. 

I spooled my magic back into my body, relaxing my grip on my magic, and turned to face Atlas. Shock and pleasant surprise glimmered in his eyes, though it vanished quickly as he appraised me. 

"Well?" I said, cocking my head at him, though I already knew the answer. "Was my great-grandfather tooting his own horn?" 

"Ho ho," Atlas grinned. "Impressive for a mortal. Koios indeed was not exaggerating this time when he said you'd be valuable."