Confused by Time (Percy Jackson fanfic) (currently being rewritten)

Chapter 28 - An Old Friend

Krios nodded. "Yes, my Lord. It would be an honour," he said, only just managing to hide his smile.

"I will not tolerate any insubordination, do I make myself clear?" Kronos demanded, clearly not just talking about his orders, but also going behind his back to help the gods.

Iapetus studied him for several moments before slowly nodding. "Crystal clear, My Lord." He took a breath.

"If, and only if, you release the mother of the twins. She has done no harm to you, and only wishes to protect her children. If the twins find out what you've done they will be furious. We will work with you, if you swear on Chaos that you will only kill those that are helping the gods, but those that choose neutrality will be safe and protected."

Kronos' hand clenched and he felt his anger rise, his brothers tensing as they felt it affect them too. "You think you can order me around?" He growled out.

Iapetus looked at him calmly. "I think our request is reasonable. Continue as you are planning and there will be nothing remaining to rule over. That will defeat the purpose of all of this."

To his surprise, Kronos snorted in amusement. "You think I'm going to just kill all of them?" He laughed. "Oh, no. I know that won't help. I will be giving all of them an opportunity to join us. After that, however, all of them are fair game. I will keep the half-bloods that survive around to give us offerings and power whilst the mortals assimilate, and then those that don't submit to our rule will be killed. Those that accept that this is the inevitable future will live."

Iapetus shook his head. "Stop the guard around Victoria Arygris' house, and let her find her children."

"I swear on Chaos, I will be more willing to serve you if you let her go," Krios added.

Kronos tilted his head to the side. "Why are the two of you suddenly so eager to help me?"

"Because I made a mistake on my own," Iapetus said warily.

Kronos' mouth twitched up. "Really?" He asked, a sarcastic bite to his tone. "I wonder what that was."

Iapetus' eyes widened. "You knew?" he asked incredulously, realising that this was what Kronos had meant to talk about all along. And he'd blundered headfirst straight into the trap. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Kronos sighed. "Because, Iapetus, I had hoped that you would own up before too long. Especially after the events today."

"You planned this?" Krios exclaimed. "You planned..." he gestured in Percy's direction, realising even as he did so that Kronos was standing between them. When had he moved?

"No," Kronos said violently. "I never planned for Hyperion to disobey an order. I suspected Iapetus would manage to relay something to the gods. And I had hoped that he would realise his folly before the consequence became apparent."

Iapetus stared at him. "You... you didn't say anything. You had five hours. And you didn't say anything."

"I wanted to know if I could trust you," Kronos said evenly. "Since you didn't tell me what you did, I had decided I couldn't. Not when it comes to matters of Othrys."

"But when it comes to Perseus," Iapetus murmured.

Kronos nodded slightly. "I can trust you to protect him from the Titans and monsters that wish him harm." Iapetus opened his mouth to answer, but Kronos quickly cut him off. "Now, if the two of you would get out of my room that would be appreciated."

Krios immediately slipped out, whilst Iapetus hesitated. Kronos rolled his eyes. "Go, brother. I would not harm the boy after bothering to heal him, would I?"