Blade's Edge || Deception Book II ||

Chapter 44: Betrayal

"Clarianna, you're not human. Like, mortal. Human blood runs in your veins, yes. But that is courtesy of your father."

"I mean . . ."

Athena shook her head. "No. Not in the way that counts."

HUH????? Talk about confused 101. "I don't get it," I said stupidly. "I'm not getting it."

"Expected," Athena muttered. "Alright, fine. I was hoping to give you some background before I told you this, but it is alright. As you know, there was a damper on your power. Which you broke, on the mountain."

"A damper? Who the hell put a damper on my power? Why?"

Athena winced. "Hecate did. And Hades too, actually."

I stared at her. "Why?"

"Do you remember that day when you blasted apart the arena?"

"Yeah," I said. "Of course."

"Do you actually remember? The exact moment when all that power erupted out? The immediate aftermath? Or just the day, but not the incident?"

I mean, I didn't remember everything. It was just one day out of thousands, and that had been thirteen years ago. But I'm pretty sure blowing up an arena would be a memory that stood out. I remembered bawling my eyes out in front of my mother when she'd told me Zeus had called a council and demanded my presence. I remembered that fear when I'd stood before the king of the gods and his brief flash of anger, and while it hadn't lasted, it was still terrifying to a six-year-old. I squeezed my eyes shut. I remembered running excitedly towards the arena that morning because a nymph had told me that Lady Artemis would be there. I remembered Athena demonstrating basic footwork in swordplay. I remembered Hecate teaching me basic spells.

But . . . the memory of the moment my magic had spiralled out of control and blasted out evaded me. There was only a blank hole.

"No," I whispered. "I don't remember."

Athena nodded, sadness glimmering in her eyes. "Your mother and Hades cast a binding spell on your magic. And then wiped your memory of that actual moment. That day, Hecate also started crafting your circlets with Hepheastus's help. She imbued them with a siphoning spell, which provides the pressure caused by the buildup of locked magic in your blood to ease. The day you left Olympus, Hades gave you the rings as a channel to break the seal. If by any chance, the right circumstances arose, they would have allowed you to unlock the spell. Which you did, on the mountain."

I was grateful I was sitting down because if I hadn't, I would have collapsed. I stared blankly at the cobblestone floor, my eyes fixated on the hint of moss creeping through the cracks.

"It's a lot to register," Athena said after a moment of silence. She picked up my weapons and extended her fingers. The rings flew back onto my fingers and the bracelet onto my wrists. Usually, they were a comforting presence, but now, they felt like shackles.

"The council voted about whether or not this should have been kept a secret."

"What did you choose?" I knew it didn't really matter, but at the same time, it did. This was my magic. It was my right. Not even the gods had the right to blind me from a part of myself, even if it was for the 'greater good'."

"To tell you," she said simply. "Although, as you can see, I was not part of the majority."

"So they finally agreed to stop lying to me?" And then, I realized. I stared at her as I recalled the sound barrier she'd put up. "You're going against Zeus' orders, aren't you?"

Athena hesitated, then nodded. "It would not be wise to keep you in the dark."

"Back to me not being a human thing. That, the damper, my missing memory, and being brought to Olympus. It's all connected, right?"

"Memories," Athena corrected with a grimace. "There's been . . . more than a few . . . instances where your mother and Hades intervened, on the order of Zeus."

Ah. So that was why Hades had looked so sorrowful the day he'd given me the rings and bid me good luck on Olympus. And why he made so many exceptions for me. It was guilt over using the river Lethe to wipe my memories. The ones that Zeus had picked and gone through like they didn't all belong to a sentient being, keeping the ones he liked and discarding those he didn't.

"And, well, it's not really my place to tell you, but . . . your father is alive."

The words sank into me, bringing an unfamiliar feeling of numbness sweeping in. So, this was what it was like to feel betrayed by people who you trusted your entire life.

"Hecate told me he'd died. That's why she went to you guys and asked you to take me in."

"No," Athena replied. "When you were three, an accident occurred. Your father was injured, but he is alive. Hecate realized there was a prophecy about you and went to Apollo, but Zeus had decreed that it was to be kept from her, But your mother isn't stupid. She deduced that it had something to do with your life. And, desperate to save you, she pleaded with us to bring you to Olympus. We agreed, without Zeus' permission, but he couldn't do anything when all eleven of us were against him. I guess you grew on him."

"So, to sum it all up, there's a prophecy about me and it's the reason I'm not human, Hades was forced to wipe my memories, my mother was played and was kept in the dark the whole time, there was a damper on my power, placed against my will, and my life is on the line? And you're just telling me this now?"

Athena flinched. I didn't even have it in me to be shocked that she'd flinched. A goddess had flinched, but the ice creeping through me was cloying and making it hard to breathe. I didn't have it in me to give a damn.

"I should have told you sooner," she said. "But-"

"Zeus said no," I finished icily. "And because he said no, everyone's been complacent in letting me live a lie for the past sixteen years."

"Clari-"

"Is that even my real name? No, don't answer that. I don't want to know." I suddenly recalled how I'd thought this would be about Luke and laughed. I stood up. "I was warned, but I guess I was just too blind to see it." I started walking back to the courtyard.

"The Olympians have long been divided," Athena said quietly from behind me. I stopped, though I didn't turn around. "This you know. And I want you to know that Artemis, Apollo, Poseidon, and I were always against keeping both you and your mother in the dark. For what it's worth, so was Hades and Hestia."

"But the majority is the deciding vote, regardless of individual opinions," I said quietly. "And that's what the world sees."

Athena didn't try to stop me as I walked silently through the courtyard, through the hallways, and vanished into the shadow of a wolf statue to reappear outside Artemis's residence. One of her ever-watchful falcons swooped down from the sky and landed on the gates leading to her courtyard and clicked its beak at me. "I know. Tell her that I know everything and I don't blame her, Athena, Apollo, Poseidon, Hades, and Hestia. But they've made their choice, and so I've made mine. Don't come looking for me."

The falcon stared at me with sorrowful eyes and flapped its wings, taking off to the skies with a mournful shriek.

I headed down the paved stone roads of Olympus, the sounds of the party fading away into the background. It was like I was underwater. Faces blurred, sounds faded, and all I knew was one thing.

Luke had been right all along.