Page 24 of Crown of Olympus
The sun cast long shadows across the burning sand, but none dared touch Apollo.
“Guess we picked the right direction,” Caelus offered, inanely. I rolled my eyes and shuffled forwards with all the grace of an onocentaur.
My left forearm burned — a souvenir from the amphisbaena. I’d done my best to hide it from Caelus, but the longer we hiked, the more control I lost over my hand.
By the time we reached Apollo’s pillar, my arm was useless. The serpent’s venom had only sprayed my skin, but that had been enough. It seeped into my pores. Slowly and agonisingly, I felt the venom’s burn crawl up my arm, turning my skin to stone.
I had to get home before I was completely encased. Charon would know what to do and where to locate an anti-venom. I was running out of time, though.
We stopped directly before the column of light. It appeared unbreachable, save for the multiple sets of track marks leading through it, suggesting otherwise. Apollo remained still, eyes closed, brows drawn — like he was concentrating with everything he had… or like it was killing him to do so.
Was this his trial, then? Withstanding and maintaining his own power for as long as it took us to find him?
Guilt tickled the back of my neck.
I wished we’d been quicker, that we hadn’t wasted time duelling a mythical creature I hoped never to encounter again. The heat radiating from the pillar felt like a hearth fire — I didn’t even want to imagine the temperature within.
I turned my head, looking up into the silvery eyes of the storm-wielder beside me, his irises reflecting the glow ofApollo’s power. He met my gaze with the same guilt-ridden intensity.
“Together?” he asked softly, his breath brushing across my cheek.
“Together.” I nodded once, ignoring his outstretched fingers.
We each lifted a foot and passed through the resisting wall of light… into agony.
CHAPTER 8
Caelus
Her scream piercedmy ears so keenly, I was convinced I’d end up like Apollo, deaf to the world forever.
And that was a shame, because I’d only just discovered how much I liked the sound of her laughter. Granted, it was short and begrudgingly given — rasping and low, like she rarely used that part of her vocal cords.
I’d have to change that.
The sound coming out of her mouth now, though — that sound filled me with dread. My own pain paled in comparison to the churning in my gut caused by her screams.
The second I’d crossed the tar-like shell of Apollo’s personal prison, fire ravaged my body. From head to toe, I was alight, invisible flames devouring me.
The second we stepped over, following the footprints of those who’d come before us, pain ignited in my veins, and Apollo’s golden eyes snapped open. His gaze flicked between our faces — if he was surprised to see us together, he didn’t show it.
Finally, his eyes locked onto mine resolutely. As unseen fireravaged my body, I clenched my jaw. I was glad Nyssa had ignored my outstretched hand, because I was certain my fingers would have broken hers by now.
Breathe,a deep voice rumbled through my mind.Embrace the flames.
Apollo’s face dripped with sweat, his grimace unmoving, but somehow I knew the voice belonged to the sun god. I’d never heard him speak, nor met any other god who could wield telepathy, but the air of calm in his tone anchored me.
The first inhale was the sharpest. My lungs scorched like I’d breathed in a mouthful of fire, and who knows? Maybe I had. After all, I couldn’t see it.
The second breath came easier. The third barely burned at all.
With each breath, the fiery torment eased. Which, in turn, increased my earlier feeling of dread, because Nyssa was still locked in her own battle.
Her eyes were squeezed shut, her body curled in on itself as she screamed into the scorched air. It was a desperate kind of sound; the kind an adversary makes after being struck down, knowing they’re going to die.
“Nyssa, breathe!” I yelled. Apollo couldn’t physically tell her, and I suspected that his telepathy only worked through direct eye contact.
Her cry stuttered. She gasped breaths of air, fast and hard. It only served to increase the pain, and her screams devoured my eardrums anew.
