DIVINE » l. valdez

pro-tip: hit your parents while they're mortal to avoid immediate incineration

❝it's like how much can you take before you break? ❞

Hina stood up, almost over turning the coffee table in front of her. "So, why not let the future be shapeless? You're only going to change it to suit yourself later!"

"Hina!" Chiron protested, but Apollo had already stood up, his finger hovering inches from Hina's face.

"Do not start this."

"You started it when you decided you were too powerful to be controlled by prophecy! Everything wrong in my life is because of you! You couldn't let go of my mom and now look: she's dead, I've been plagued with death and pain ever since, you refuse to let me die, the Oracle is gone, Gaea almost took over, and you let Leo die!"

Apollo had fire in his eyes, his face turning a scarlet. "That was not my fault! He made the choice! He knew the risks."

In the blink of an eye, Hina flew across the coffee table, her fists barreling towards Apollo. "You let him think he could survive! You took him away!" Each word was punctuated with a firm punch at the former god.

Apollo's arms covered his face, and Meg cheered from somewhere behind Hina. 

Chiron had removed himself from his wheelchair, his hooves stomping loudly against the wooden floors. "Hina Ito, control yourself!"

She was dragged away before she could do anymore. Apollo cautiously poked his head out from under his arms.

Apollo's expression fell. "I am truly sorry, Hina, but it was necessary."

"Necessary?" Hina shouted, this time her hands emitted a bright light, stunning her. She fell numbly to the couch, her eyes glued to her hands as the light faded. "They're not gone..."

Meg popped another cookie into her mouth, crumbs flying out as she spoke, "I don't get it. You love the Oracle, she hates it."

Chiron cleared his throat. "Imagine prophecies are flower seeds. With the right seeds, you can grow any garden you desire. Without seeds, no growth is possible."

Hina hated how eloquent Chiron made prophecies sound. 

"Oh." Meg nodded. "That would suck."

Hina wasn't sure why the plant metaphor stuck with Meg, but she could sense Chiron knew what he was doing. Her heart beat had calmed down significantly, but her hands shook violently.

"Perhaps, you should take a moment to ease your mind. Grab a breath of fresh air and we will meet you at dinner," Chiron suggested, his eyes tired from his never-ending work.

She relented, making her way to side of the Big House. She didn't want to risk straying too far, worried about the missing demigods. Hina let her head rest in her hands, her body overcome with exhaustion. 

Already, the day was less than perfect. She had hoped that with Apollo at camp, she could get some answers, some closure. 

Hina had thought maybe her father would be able to tell her what was happening with her powers, or even if he knew whether Leo was dead dead for certain. But now, she knew without a doubt she was going to be dragged into whatever insane quest Apollo was going on. 

On Delos he had called Hina his greatest creation, yet she felt like the exact opposite. A failure. She was Icarus, and she had flown too close to the sun.

"Gods, why is everything so complicated?"

Never in her life had Hina wished to forget everything more than she had in that moment. She wished she could go to sleep and wake up with no memory of the past year. Or even better, her entire life. Hina wanted to be a normal girl, with a normal life.