Page 169 of Crown of Olympus
As I gritted my teeth and minded my feet, I gripped the hilt with both hands and loosed a battle cry. I swung.
Caelus joined me in the probably suicidal fray, sending violet-hued lightning arcing through the air.
Kronos raised his skeletal sword to deflect my blow. Bone clashed against steel with a hollow thud. Shadow and lightning raced to meet the connection, shooting off inside his bladed limb. The Titan howled as he fought to free himself from my fury, turning his face just in time to catch Velira’s fiery torrent.
His once-handsome face melted, skin dripping from his skull like melted wax to reveal the beast hidden within. Horns flashed briefly before fading, his true form warring to take the lead.
I pressed forward again, feet swift and sure among the debris, tears running freely down my face. The three of us pressed every advantage — strike, fire, lightning, parry, flames, mist — concealing our next move.
Kronos met every blow. Only once did he attempt to manipulate time, raising his hand in that familiar claw-like gesture.
Nightbreaker sang through the fog, her blissfully sharp edge slicing off the appendage. Black blood sizzled to the floor as lightning instantly cauterised the wound.
I knew it would not stop him forever. His gaze promised retribution.
“Find what hides. Cut what binds,”a hauntingly familiar tri-layered voice whispered in my ear.“Even Titans have seams. Make time bleed.”
I startled. Velira covered.
Binds. Hides. Seams…
An idea formed, so wildly unlikely I dared not voice it. I raised Nightbreaker high in the air, whispering to the piece of my magic it held, willing it to blanket the room and reveal what remains hidden from unseeing eyes.
At first, nothing happened. Caelus’ storm still raged, though he kept glancing at me, confused. Velira’s flames still scorched,though the fury behind them was dying. Fingers twitched beneath fallen pillars as gods struggled to pull themselves together again.
Then — a thin veil of night descended, broken only by the quick flashes of red and silver eyes.
“Come on, come on, show yourselves,” I chanted desperately. Pleadingly.
“Come on!” I yelled, knowing this was a last-ditch effort, and that if I failed, we were doomed.
And it was all my fault.
The atrium lit up above my head. Strands of glittering gold appeared in the air, just as they had during the trial. Now I just had to find the right one. If only time were onmyside for once.
I ran my fingers along the lengths, except this time, I could hear every note. An entire string quartet played above my head, but only I seemed able to hear it. See it.
I kept going, desperately seeking that which didn’t belong.
My finger snagged on a hollow note — a lifeless, decaying sound that tarnished the air and soured the entire melody. I looked up to see the blackened string, its frayed end a glowing shade of red.
Kronos.
I raised Nightbreaker, careful to avoid the other threads, and began hacking at the Titan’s fate like a pissed off lumberjack.
“Stop!” he shouted. “Stop and I’ll leave!”
I ignored the lie, and kept cutting, watching strands fray and snap loose under my blade.
“I said stop!” Kronos howled, pain weaving through his gravelly voice.
I was so focused on severing the thread that I missed the threat at my feet — until a sharp, searing pain lodged itself just beneath my collarbone. My left arm gave out instantly. My right managed to hold onto Nightbreaker’s hilt as it fell.
The golden glow above my head faded from view once more.
And that damned bronze dagger was lodged in my flesh, whatever power it still possessed stripping me of any strength I had left.
“He said stop,” Hera sneered, sauntering forward brazenly.
