Forsaken Deity

Chapter 25

“All right, Thea, are you ready?”

She nodded, shifting her stance. “I’m ready.”

“And go!”

Artemis threw a pine cone into the air and Thea created a ball of flame, flinging it upwards. It hit its target, small sparks of flame shooting across the sky. Artemis continued to throw the pine cones in the air, looking bored, and Hermes stood to the side with Apollo, who appeared to be in his element.

“Thea, have you ever wondered what it would be like to be sleep with me? I’ve always wondered about you and your little body – ow!”

Hermes punched him in the stomach. “Too far.”

“Sorry! I’m meant to make her angry, remember?”

Hermes scowled and held his fist at the ready. After explaining everything she knew about Lissandre the day before, Hermes had grown quiet. She had given him time to absorb everything and when he was ready, he simply told her it was in the past and there was no point being angry. Lissandre would always be a sensitive subject between the two of them and she had a feeling he didn’t want to get into an argument with her the day before the big battle. She knew he was still angry but now that he knew the truth, she hoped that in time he would forgive Lissandre.

Apollo’s words rolled against her defences and she remained focused on shooting the pine cones.

“So, Thea,” Apollo started again. “What did you think when you saw me naked? I bet you were pretty impressed, right? These thighs have a way of turning ladies legs to jelly – ow!”

Thea threw a flame ball at him. “Come on, Apollo; that’s not making me angry, it’s only making me nauseous. Pick up your game and do this properly.”

“Right,” he muttered. “I’m not good at making people angry. I’m only good at flirting.”

“You think you’re good at flirting?” Thea muttered to herself.

“Oh, that’s it!” Artemis threw the cones onto the ground and walked over to Apollo. “You throw the cones and I’ll throw out the insults. I am better at it, after all.”

Shoving Apollo towards to the cones, she stood next to Hermes, hands on hips. “All right, begin!”

They started the lesson again and Artemis wasted no time being mean. “We’re not going to save Josh; he’s expendable and we aren’t going to waste our time saving his ass,” she said loudly, getting straight to the point.

The words hit her walls hard but she stayed focused, throwing flames at every cone she saw.

“As soon we get there, Cronos is going to slit his throat and watch you come undone. Then when this is all over, Hermes is going to throw you to the curb and never look back. As if he’d ever be serious about a weakling like you.”

Cracks started forming and she missed two of the three cones thrown.

“Artemis!” she heard Hermes snap.

“Be quiet! It’s for the training,” she murmured before shouting, “He doesn’t really love you; it’s all an act. There’s no way he could ever love you after all the crap Lissandre pulled.”

Not true, not true. She kept repeating the words in her mind as Artemis’ words sent a large crack through her wall. Tears blurred her vision and she threw a wild flame ball. Apollo shouted and she looked over at him. The ball had hit him in the face and he rubbed his cheek.

“Sorry,” she called out hoarsely.

“That’s it — enough!” Hermes started walking over to her but she held her hand up.