A.N: It's taken me way too long to get this chapter up, the Captain had already sent it back to me at the beginning of the week, but I haven't had the time to post it until today. Hope ya'll weren't waiting for too long?
To ShuFly: I like the way you think, maybe I'll add that in somewhere =]
To willaw: Thanks for the support! I like Terri way to much to kill her, so she's staying alive forever! Lol
To Jessica Torres-Robbins: I like to keep ya'll on your toes =] To be honest, I almost killed Terri, but I couldn't do it in the end. Her goodbye scene in chapter 23 was hard to write, made me all kinds of sad.
My super Captain is amazingly awesome as per usual, thank you 2damnpretty2die!
Chapter 25: You Belong To Me
Arizona p.o.v
After the crowning, we had gathered outside in the garden, awaiting Lucia's presence and explanation.
"So what the hell was that about?" Mark's confused voice broke the silence, "Lex's new form and everything, what was that?"
"I don't know Mark. I'm not even sure what's happening anymore." I replied in a quiet voice.
"As Zeus mentioned before, Lexie is the Crown's blood-bonded sister." Lucia's voice suddenly appeared and we turned to see her standing in the doorway.
"'Blood-bonded sister', what's that?" Calliope asked.
"It's a ritual that involves trading blood and life source, it fully binds the two of them together, and they now share power and life."
"'Power and life', what do you mean by that?" Tim asked, intrigued.
"It means that Terri and Lexie are now bonded in a similar way that Aria is bonded to her. They share everything now; thoughts, feelings, power, life and, in a way, authority. Lexie is now a part of Terri, and if Terri were to be killed, then Lexie would die too."
We stared on in shock at the revelation. Why would Terri do that to Lexie?
Lucia looked at me knowingly before continuing. "The 'blood-bond' is the highest honour that the Crown could bestow upon anyone. It signifies trust and belief; that Terri trusts in Lexie with her and her mate's life, and belief that Lexie will always stand by her side against all odds."
"They share thoughts and feelings now? But didn't we already have that? I mean, Lexie felt Terri's pain that day." Teddy exclaimed, "which also reminds me, I was sired by Terri, and Alex was marked, even if temporarily, by Terri. So why didn't we feel anything?"
Lucia stared at us and hesitated before answering, drawing a look of confusion from Tim and I. "Being sired or marked doesn't automatically mean you share the bond with your master. If that were so, then half of the staff at SGMW would have collapsed in pain and shock. Terri has sired and marked many of the nurses at the hospital, but they don't share a bond with her. There is nothing other the fact that 'Terri is the sire' that binds them together. The bond must be built through trust and love."
"But we used to be able to sense her." Teddy whined.
"And that is the key word here: used to. Terri used to be able to trust you, you used to be friends and she used to be able to trust you with her life, but you all left her. You abandoned her and broke the bond."
Teddy instantly quietened down and I could feel the guilt swirling around in me once again.
"What about me?" Tim added quietly, "I didn't leave her, but I wasn't able to sense her either."
"Because she broke your bond." Lucia answered simply and raised her hand when Tim began to protest. "She did it to protect you. You had just recovered and had just woken up from your coma, there was no way you'd be able to handle the sudden on rush of pain and shock."
"Is there any way to get the bond back?" Calliope asked her mother, eyes never leaving mine. She knew that there was nothing I wanted more than to have my best friend back.
"I'm afraid that is up to Terri. The bond cannot be one sided, it's a mutual thing. You both need love and trust in each other, and right now, there is none." I hated how direct Lucia was being, but I knew she wasn't doing it to hurt us; she just wanted to be honest with us.
"There is another thing you must know." Lucia's voice drew my attention again.
"What's that?" I asked.
"It's about your withdrawal from the court, Artemis." I stiffened. "It would seem that the Crown is working on getting that approved, now that she has the authority to do it, it'll most likely be passed by the end of the week." I stared on in shock as gasps sounded from around me.
"W-what?"
"She believes that it is what you want, she could only grant you temporary leave before, but now, she can officially withdraw all of you."
No… No dammit! I had to find Terri, so I turned and ran off without a second thought, ignoring the desperate shouts of 'Arizona!' coming from Calliope.
You can't do this to me Terri!
I ran around the manor, desperately searching for any signs of Terri or Aria, hell, even Lexie would be good right now, but they seemed to be hiding or something. I had tried to sense them out, but came back with nothing.
Lucia really wasn't kidding when she said they had blocked us out was she?
Finally, as I turned a corner, I spotted Lexie with Clio and Thalia.
"Lexie!" She turned immediately at the sound of her name and when she spotted me, her eyes narrowed and hardened instantly. I faltered slightly at the response, but powered on. "Have you seen Terri?"
"Why?" Her answer was a cool as her eyes. What the hell is wrong with her?
"I need to talk to her." I was panting slightly in my rush and desperation. She watched me silently, staring deep into my eyes, as if trying to look into my mind. "Please" I pleaded and her eyes softened slightly.
"She's on the roof." I nodded in thanks and ran off towards the roof. As I neared my destination, I could feel a powerful aura coming from behind the closed door in front of me.
Terri…
I took a deep breath before opening the door and walked through straight away.
She stood there with her back to me, looking out on the land surrounding the manor and the soldiers that were training below.
"Terri…" I started, voice hoarse. She tilted her head slightly, but otherwise gave no other indication as to whether she had heard me or not, but I knew she must have. "I need to talk to you, T." She stiffened slightly at my use of her nickname and my heart sunk.
"Speak." Her voice was cold and commanding, as if I was just another soldier. It broke my heart to see our relationship so broken down. It was all my fault.
I walked forward and stopped right beside her. "Lucia told me about you withdrawing me from the court. Why?"
"Mnemosyne knows better than to reveal any classified information." She berated, "and besides, it was your request, was it not, Artemis?"
I clenched my fists, "I wasn't serious. I take it back. I don't want to withdraw from the court, I want to keep fighting."
She scoffed and finally turned to face me. "You take it back? Do you think that this is a game, Artemis? That you can stop whenever you want and then join back in when you feel like it? This is a matter of life and death; there is no 'take backs' in this."
"I was upset and angry at you-"
"-And that's even more of a reason I can't let you join us. You are too emotional and passionate about everything, but at the same time too hesitant and merciful. They cloud your judgement and it makes you unfit to lead." She interrupted.
"Tim had just died! At least we thought he was dead; and you… You seemed so unaffected and uncaring. You seemed to care more about everyone else than me and Tim, what was I to think?" I screamed.
"You should have trusted me!" She shouted back, and I took a step back at the unexpected outburst. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as she took a deep breath, fighting for composure. "You should have trusted me." She repeated, in a calmer voice.
"And you should have trusted that I had a plan for everything, that I would never let anything happen to Tim, that I would always save my family." I felt tears build in my eyes at the pain in her voice, I felt horrible at the way I had treated her. She was right, I should have trusted her.
"It doesn't matter now." She seemed to have recomposed herself as her voice hardened and returned to the calm and cool persona she possessed before. "I had anticipated this day, I had never expected it to be after a battle when we should have been regrouping, but you've never played by our rules."
"What do you mean by that?" I was angered by the patronising tone she was speaking to me with.
"You've been fighting me since day one Artemis. Since you woke up and found out that you were a vampire, you've been doing everything I said not to. You ran away from us, you refused to feed, you refused to train and you refused to even try to get along with the other vampires at the manor. Then when we got older, you refused to fight, you refused to mark and sire anyone, and you've been going against orders from the King since as long as I can remember, and who gets to repercussions of your insolence? Me. I get punished for not being able to keep you in line, for not being able to control you better. You even refused to fight against Hades, even though I had told you all about his actions, until you finally witnessed one of his strays attack an innocent. You've never trusted or believed anything I've said, so why would this be any different?"
I stared at her in shock and horror. Why had she never told me any of this before? I never knew that she had been punished because of me.
"W-what are you talking about?"
"All those times you skipped training because you were 'sick'? I knew it was because you hadn't fed. And that time you were sent on a mission and failed because there was a child, I cleaned that up for you so you wouldn't be reprimanded, but instead, I got reprimanded for being too 'soft' on you and your damned conscience. And let's not forget the time Tim attacked Elder Francis' son, I know it was because he attacked you first, and you told Tim, who went to get revenge for you. I played along with Tim's story of wanting to show off his powers, but I know what he's like, and more than that I know you."
Tears were falling down my cheeks, "w-why have you never told me this before? I would have-"
"What? You would have what?" She cut me off before I could get another word in. "Terri would never tell you, because she loves you, even if she gets hurt in the process, she will always protect you."
"So let me protect you this time!" I screamed in frustration.
She scoffed again and turned her attention back to the soldiers below. "With what? If your idea of protecting is to throw everything we've done for you back at our faces, then thanks, but no thanks. I already have Ariadne and Alexandra, and I know that I can trust them to have my back."
"Terri…" That hurt me more than words could say, the fact that she no longer trusted me to fight by her side, it hurt so much.
She sighed, "You really want to fight?"
"Yes, without a doubt. I want to fight Hades, to fight Erica. I want to fight for the Kingdom." I replied instantly.
"Then bow." She suddenly turned to face me and her eyes met mine. Her voice was cold and I stared at her in confusion.
"W-what?"
"You heard me Artemis, bow down to me, your leader, the Crown. Bow down and pledge your allegiance to me. Show me how much you trust me." She replied in a mocking tone.
I was horrified by her request. She wants me to submit to her, like a soldier, like an underling, she's never done that to me before. We've always been equals, fought beside each other as partners, but she wants me to pledge to her? She wants to become my… master!
"What? Can't do it? I didn't think so." She let out a chuckle that sounded so fake and forced, I felt my heart clench. "Now, leave me at my peace, Artemis." She turned away from me, but I dropped to my knees, placing a hand over my heart before her attention left me completely.
"I, Artemis Arizona Robbins, hereby pledge my allegiance to the Crown Princess, Invictus Athena Teresa Ryans. I give her my power, my life and my soul to use as she pleases and I vow to fulfil all of her wishes without question or doubt until death." I looked straight into her eyes as I said the last part. "I am yours to own."
There was a flash of emotion in her eyes, but it disappeared before I could fully grasp it, and her eyes turned gold as she raised her right index finger to my forehead. Warmth overtook my entire body and I knew without doubt that she had just marked me. She bent over to whisper into my ear.
"And don't you ever forget that, Artemis. I own you. You belong to me." The cold and emotionless voice sent shivers down my back and I nodded in compliance.
"Yes, master." I replied reluctantly as she stood back up to her full height.
"Now, leave." I wanted to protest, but a tug emanating from my chest stopped me and I left, completely missing the eyes that were watching us.
Aria p.o.v
After the crowning, Terri had taken off straight away as my mother had pulled me away.
"Aria, are you okay?" her voice was filled with concern and I felt anger building up.
"What's it to you?" I replied coldly and felt guilt hit me as she recoiled in shock.
"Ariadne! Of course I care, you're my daughter."
"And Terri is my mate! If you really cared about me at all, then you wouldn't have left Terri, knowing that that would hurt me!" I growled.
"Aria, I made a mistake, but you are still my daughter!" She admonished.
"Whatever, I need to find Terri." I started to walk off, but she pulled me back.
"Athena is dangerous right now, she is not in complete control. It would be in your best interest to stay away from her until she regains that contro-"
"Stop." I demanded, cutting her off. "I know what's happening to Terri, I know better than anyone. But I promised her that I would protect her, and unlike some people, I keep my promises. Besides, I love her and I know that she would never hurt me. Control or not, she could never lay a hand on me!" I glared at my mother; I couldn't believe that she was still trying to keep us apart, after everything that had happened. "And I would appreciate it if you didn't pretend to know more than you think you do. You know nothing of what's happening to Terri or what's happening between the two of us. Even your master, Lady Theia, believes that it would be best if I stayed by her side. Who are you to tell me otherwise?"
"I am your mother!" She replied indignantly.
"And I am a grown woman; and whether you like it or not, Terri and I are mates. We're bonded and nothing can break that. So I would like it if you could accept that, if you can't, then I believe that you are down one daughter." I walked away, leaving my mother huffing and spluttering at my statement.
I didn't want to result to ultimatums, but she was starting to piss me off. She had known that I was destined to become the bride of the crown from the start, and now that I'm fulfilling my destiny, she is completely against it.
I bet she didn't have a problem with it when Toby was the Crown, and he turned out to be a traitor!
I growled under my breath at the thought of Toby and how much he had hurt Terri.
And she doesn't have a problem with Callie and Arizona.
I shook off the thoughts and returned to my task of seeking out Terri. I closed my eyes and picked up her scent above me. The roof? But there was another presence with her. Is that… Arizona… Shit!
Arizona and Terri being alone right now was not the best idea, so I hurried to the rooftop, praying that I wasn't too late.
"You really want to fight?"
I heard Terri's voice as I reached the roof. I had used a different entrance, so they hadn't noticed me yet, being completely absorbed by each other.
"Yes, without a doubt. I want to fight Hades, to fight Erica, I want to fight for the Kingdom." Arizona's voice was filled with determination and I smiled sadly. I decided to remain hidden, waiting to see what would happen.
"Then bow." She had turned to face Arizona, voice cold and I sighed.
"W-what?"
"You heard me Artemis, bow down to me, your leader, the Crown. Bow down and pledge your allegiance to me. Show me how much you trust me." She replied in a mocking tone.
Oh Arizona, why did you have to do this now? Can't you see that she's still hurting? She needs time and space to recover. It's not just your betrayal that plagues her nightmares. Don't you know of the pain and darkness she overcame during her revival. She died, as in 'there was no longer a heartbeat' and 'she's moved on to a better place' kind of died. Not just the faked death Tim went through or the 'recovering the past' kind of revival that you went through. She doesn't need this, not now, Arizona.
"What? Can't do it? I didn't think so." She let out a chuckle that held no amusement. "Now, leave me at my peace Artemis." She turned away, but Arizona suddenly dropped to her knees and placed a hand over her heart, catching both Terri and I off guard. Her head was bowed, so she completely missed the distraught and horrified look on Terri's face.
"I, Artemis Arizona Robbins, hereby pledge my allegiance to the Crown Princess, Invictus Athena Teresa Ryans. I give her my power, my life and my soul to use as she pleases and I vow to fulfil all of her wishes without question or doubt until death." She looked up at Terri, before finishing her oath. "I am yours to own."
There was a flash of emotion in her eyes, and I felt the pain and guilt overcome me immediately.
Oh Terri… Don't do it… don't…
Her eyes turned gold as she raised her right index finger to Arizona's forehead. I caught the brief hesitation in Terri's eyes before she continued. She began to glow a gentle white as Terri's power overtook her body briefly, marking her as 'property' of the Crown. She bent over to whisper into her ear and I barely caught what she had said.
"And don't you ever forget that, Artemis. I own you. You belong to me." The cold and emotionless voice broke my heart, and I watched as Arizona nodded obediently
"Yes, master."
The compliance in Arizona's voice tore at me and I could feel Terri's despair.
"Now, leave." Arizona left reluctantly at Terri's dismissal, completely missing my presence, and when I was finally left alone with Terri, I stepped out from my hiding place.
"Was that necessary?" I asked angrily. Even though I understood that Terri was still hurting, it still angered me to see her blatant display of authority and power over her best friend and cousin.
"I had to do it. She wouldn't leave me alone." Her voice was calm even though I could feel that she was anything but that.
"Couldn't you have just told her to come back later?"
"She wouldn't leave." There was a painful tug in my heart that took me completely off guard.
"Look at me." I walked up to her, as she remained silent and unmoving. "Look at me." I repeated firmly as I grabbed her shoulder and forcefully turned her around. I froze at the unexpected sight. Tears were pouring down her cheeks and my breath caught.
"Oh baby, come here." I pulled her into me and felt her arms come around and grasp onto my back fiercely.
"She won't stop crying, won't stop hurting." She murmured into my shoulder.
"I know, I know." I comforted her. It broke my heart to see her like this, and I could feel my resentment towards Arizona build. Just how much longer is Arizona going to keep hurting you?
"She hates me for doing this, but I need to protect her. She needs me to do what she can't do, and she hates me for it. I don't want her to hate me." She stated in a childlike tone and started to sob into my shoulder. "Don't let her hate me, Ariadne."
I pulled back and tried to catch her eye, but she avoided me. "Look at me." She continued staring at the floor, so I cupped her face in my hands. "Athena, look at me." She reluctantly raised her head and stared at me through her tear filled eyes. "Terri understands."
"No she doesn't. I can feel it." She raised her fist and slammed in against her chest. "She's hurting and she hates me."
I grabbed her fist and pulled it to my chest, cradling it. "She's just upset. She knows that you're doing this to protect Arizona, not just her. She knows that the pledge means that Arizona can no longer disobey you. She's just shocked right now, much like I am, and I bet you are too. I bet you didn't expect Arizona to comply right?" She nodded. "See? It was a risky move, but if I can understand the motivation behind your actions, then I can assure you that Terri does too."
She still looked conflicted, so I leaned in and gave her a brief kiss. "You trust me, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then trust me when I say that Terri doesn't hate you, Athena. She's just confused right now, and when she's fully healed and in control again, she'll understand."
She sighed in defeat and I pulled her into me once again, kissing her forehead lightly. "I love you."
"I love you too." I could feel that she felt slightly better and smiled slightly at the knowledge that I could support her.
"It'll be okay, I promise."
Callie p.o.v
Arizona had run off so suddenly that I couldn't even react, not that it would have done any good, as my mother had called for my attention.
"Calliope?"
"Hm? Yeah?" I answered absentmindedly, still worried about Arizona's sudden departure.
"I need to talk to you about Aria." I snapped my head up to her immediately.
"Aria? What about her, is she okay?" I hadn't had much time to talk to my sister since Terri's death and then subsequent revival.
"She's fine, but I'm worried about her being with Athena." My mother's tone was cryptic and I involuntarily rolled my eyes. Always with the cryptic messages.
"Could you be more specific?"
"I'm worried about her safety, Athena isn't in a very good place right now and she's out of control. I'm worried about how that'll affect her." I contemplated this for a while and saw that my mother did have a point. Terri had been acting weird during the ceremony and in turn so was Aria and Lexie, but I'm sure it was nothing.
"I'm sure it's nothing Mama. Terri loves Aria, I know that for sure, she'd never hurt her." I reassured her.
"That's what Aria said, but she's my daughter, Calliope, and I want nothing but the best for you two. I don't want Aria to have to go through this."
There was a feeling in the back of my mind that I couldn't shake off. "You've talked to Aria already? What did she say?" I thought for a moment before amending my statement, "No, what did you say to her?"
She was silent and I felt my hackles rise. Don't tell me…
"… I… I told her that Athena was dangerous and unpredictable, and that it was in her best interest to stay away from Athena until she regained control. She was rather…upset at me." Her voice was quiet and I sighed deeply at this. Oh Mama, what have you done?
"Mama, you know how Aria feels about Terri, why would you say that? Of course Aria would be 'upset'. You basically told her you're trying to keep her away from her mate, her destined lover and her everything!" I replied in astonishment.
"I don't want Aria to have to go through this." She repeated sadly.
"Mama, look at it from an outsider's point of view. You had no concerns of how it would affect me when Arizona went through her revival, in fact, you pretty much encouraged and started the process. Not to mention you had been preparing me for such a task since you found out about us." My mother was staring at me intently, confused as to why I was bringing it up. "Now let's put ourselves in Aria's shoes. We gave her up to Terri so I could be with Arizona. You were willing to do anything just so I could be a part of Arizona's revival, to 'make up for your sins' or whatever right?" She nodded at me slowly. "Okay, and now Aria's practically going through the same thing, and not only are you not supporting her, you're trying to keep her away from Terri. How do you think Aria would feel?"
"It's not the same thing Calliope!" My mother stated, clearly frustrated.
"Isn't it?" I shot back.
"Of course not, how could you even suggest such a thing?" My mother actually looked offended and I sighed again. I clearly wasn't getting through to her.
"Look, you were the one who was excited over finding out that Aria was destined to be the Bride of the Crown, so you started to prepare her as well, telling us about vampires and everything. You were to one to send the both of us to Seattle to meet with them. You were to one to start the revival, and then Terri forced your hand into giving up Aria to her." I could see her getting angered at all the blame I was placing on her, but that really wasn't the point I was trying to make, so I hurried on. "We all made a mistake when we left her, but you also made your own decision to leave Terri's side. You failed to trust in the person you had vowed to protect, no, not just you, all of us failed Terri and as a result, she died for us. Terri died to protect us, and Aria has been by her side all this time to see what Terri has been through, how much she had suffered. You saw how much it hurt Aria when Terri died, you've seen their devotion to one another. So why is it that you're suddenly so wary of Terri, so disapproving of her?"
I knew that I had rambled on, and probably didn't make any sense, but I had too many thoughts on their current situation and I didn't understand why my mother was suddenly so against them.
"It's not that I don't see their devotion or their love, it's just… Athena-" She was hesitant in her answer and it suddenly clicked.
"That's it isn't it? It's because of Terri. Because Terri is the Crown and not Toby?" I asked incredulously. Was my mother seriously going to suddenly become homophobic? Because that would really not settle down with me.
"No!" She shouted suddenly, drawing stares from the rest of our group who had gathered together to discuss the situation with Lexie's new form and the broken bond between them and Terri. She composed herself immediately and started again in a lower voice. "No, it's not because of Athena… Well, not exactly."
"And that means?" I raised an eyebrow at her.
"The visions I have seen were always with Dionysus as the Crown, but suddenly, Dionysus dies and is revealed to be a traitor and my visions no longer made any sense to me. The Crown in my vision is powerful, intelligent, fearless and a strong leader, but Athena doesn't fit the mold."
"What do you mean? Terri is anything but weak, you've seen her battle against Erica, and she hadn't even been crowned yet. And the fight with Hades, tell me that's not power, because if that isn't, then I don't know what is." I replied, absolutely puzzled. Terri has been nothing but amazing since I'd met her, and sure I've had my reservations about her, but there is no doubt that Terri is a great leader, her saving Arizona's parents by herself prove just that.
"I'm not explaining myself properly." She sighed, irritation displayed all over her face.
"Clearly." I replied immediately.
"I've known Athena since she was a very young child, and she has always been a perfectionist. She has never failed to perform and never failed to obey. She has never complained about any task we placed upon her, nor did she ever protest any punishments we exacted on her." She started to explain with a faraway look.
"So what's the problem? She sounds like the perfect person to me, I'm almost jealous." I joked.
"It makes her unpredictable." I tilted my head in confusion. Well that was unexpected.
"Unpredictable. How?" I asked impatiently and my mother gave me a look that clearly said 'patience Calliope, I'm getting there'.
"It means that we were not able to see her true self, and that she was unwilling to be anything other than the perfect soldier in our presence. And it would seem like she's retained that trait even in adulthood. There are too many sides to her and it's hard to tell which one is the true her."
"So you're saying you're wary of her because none of you can get a good read of her?" I asked in disbelief. All this because Terri is a 'mystery' to them, really?
"It's one of the reasons Zeus adores her so much. She's a wildcard. She'll do exactly what he wants, but she'll play it out in a way that's far beyond our imagination. Take these last few months for example. Zeus had wanted Athena to save Poseidon and Aphrodite, but we had never imagined that she'd lead a direct attack and then confront Hades. Nor had we imagined that she'd plant Apollo as a spy. The result was even better than Zeus had predicted, because we had managed to take out a good portion of Hades' army and injure Styx and Hades in the process. She goes above and beyond, but her methods are questionable. Perhaps there would have been another way that didn't include temporarily breaking the relationship between Apollo and all of us, injuring Apollo or having Artemis feel so betrayed and disgusted that she abandoned her post."
"Okay, I agree with you that Terri's methods are a bit extreme, but she got the job done and more. She got information on Hades' whereabouts, full information of the room and the binding that Arizona's parents were held in and so she was able to take precautions, I mean she saved everyone and made Hades withdraw!"
"But at what cost?" My mother replied solemnly. "She gave her life in the process."
"Yeah, to protect us. She gave Arizona her family back." I shot back.
"But that's not the only reason."
"What do you mean?"
"She gave her life to force Zeus to return." I froze in shock.
"You're lying." She had to be, Terri wouldn't do that.
"Athena knew that we didn't have enough power to do anything other than injure Hades. He has too many tricks up his sleeve to be taken out completely without the King, so Athena has been working to destroy as many of Hades' pawns as possible, to make it easier to us to proceed. But at the end of the day, we still needed the King's power, as powerful as Athena is, she still didn't have full access to the power of the crown, so it wasn't enough."
"What, so she just gave up her life in the hopes that Zeus would return to save her? That's stupid, and Terri isn't stupid enough to take that risk!" I spat back, angered at what she was suggesting.
"No, she wouldn't take that risk. But once the King sensed her life force fade away, he would have to return, otherwise we would be left without a leader. We would become vulnerable and fall to pieces under Hades."
No, no, no! It made sense, but I refused to believe it. Terri knew that her death would destroy Aria, she wouldn't do that to her… Would she?
"Wait, it doesn't make sense. When did Zeus ask Terri to save the Robbins'?" I asked warily.
"The Crown had been tasked with this ever since they went missing. At first, it was Dionysus' mission, but after he died it became Athena's."
"So that means some twenty years ago?"
"No, it was automatically placed onto her, but the King never directly asked her until a few months before his disappearance, 12 years ago."
I smiled, there was still hope for Terri. "Then it definitely doesn't make sense. Tim said that he and Terri had planned for him to become a spy after Toby died, 20 years ago. So there's no way she could have planned for everything to happen if she wasn't given the mission until 8 years later. I mean, I get that Terri's smart and all, but I don't buy it."
She sighed at my naivety. "Calliope," she began slowly, "You have all already been informed of her revival 20 years ago, and during that time, she developed new powers. Through the influence of Master Theia, Athena developed the power of foresight, and the ability to enter one's subconscious minds."
"You're joking…" I stared on in awe as I was struck by the memory of Terri mentioning she had 'seen into Arizona's mind' and the thoughts of her pushing visions into my mind when we were in Miami. She had told me that it was 'something she picked up' from being related to Theia, but it made more sense now.
"I wish I was Calliope, but Athena's ability is far more advanced than my own, having been enhanced by the royal bloodline and her position as the Crown. From what Master Theia has told me, after her first revival, Athena spent many nights perusing through someone else's mind. She spoke to them within their subconscious world, interacted with them on a daily basis and was able to influence certain decisions they made."
"W-who was it?" I was almost afraid to ask, I was even more afraid of the answer.
"Athena never told her, but from what has happened, we can hypothesise that it was most likely… Hades."
No…Fucking…Way!
I stared at her, mouth agape and eyes wide, I was absolutely speechless.
"Do you remember that day in Seattle, when Tim mentioned his plan with Terri and how they had 'swayed' Hades into misinterpreting the prophecy of Artemis and Iphigenia?" I nodded. "It was most likely Athena's influence on Hades. She was still young and had no real control over the power, so she wasn't able to completely control him, and Master Theia mentioned that once Hades finally met Athena face to face, there was no way for her to enter his mind without him recognising her any more."
"Y-you're serious?" I stuttered, still dazed from the revelation.
"I am." My mother looked directly into my eyes, trying to convey her sincerity and honesty.
Before I could utter another word, my eyes suddenly flashed gold as a burning sensation filled my body, starting from my chest and I doubled over at the shock.
"Calliope!" My mother's worried yell drew the attention of my friends and they all came running over to me.
"Cal, are you okay?" came Addie's light voice, filled with concern.
"Cal!" Mark's deep voice echoed in my head. My senses were on overload and I could see, hear, feel, smell, and taste everything around me. My head flew back and I let out a gasp as the sensation suddenly disappeared, falling back into Mark's arms.
"What the hell just happened?" Teddy's voice was frantic, worried that we were under attack.
My mother kneeled beside me and moved my shirt aside to reveal where Arizona's mark was. It felt like it was still burning and was tender when my mother traced her finger over the mark.
"Is that…?" Addie's asked in disbelief.
"Yes, it is the mark of the Crown." My mother answered.
"But how?" Alex asked gruffly, "Terri's not around to mark her." He was the only one to have ever received the mark, so he was confused as to how I had gained it without contact with Terri.
"Because whatever happens to Artemis happens to Calliope."
"You mean?" Mark asked, stunned.
"Athena has marked Artemis."