Chapter 3 – Fire

11 weeks. 11 weeks in this stupid cell and I am starting to lose my mind. I can tell that I am starting to lose my mind, because my thoughts have begun to argue.

I don't know how much more of this I can take, and worse still I don't even know what the titans want from me. But then again, I wasn't sure they actually wanted anything other than to see me suffer. And they were definitely achieving that.

I was finding it harder and harder to cope alone with just my thoughts, especially seen as I knew that Kronos could be 'listening' in at any time. It was especially hard to think of the positive things in my life, when I knew if he heard that they would be used against me.

He'd already done that when he realised I was thinking of camp to keep myself sane. He had quickly told me about as many of the grisly deaths of my camp mates as he could and then explained to me just how many of them had turned.

Not that I blamed them for swearing themselves to Kronos. No, if it avoided this kind of treatment then they were probably smart to take the offer. It wasn't like the gods were coming back any time soon – if at all.

At the same time though, I'd like to think that if he gave me the choice I would refuse. As bad as this was, I didn't think I could ever swear myself to the people who had taken over the world and imprisoned me.

'They aren't exactly doing a bad job of ruling though.' I quickly squashed the thought, no they might not be doing terrible but they were cruel and evil. They had been torturing me for Zeus's sake!

'But you did try to kill him, several times.'

I violently shook my head. What was I doing? He was evil. No one has the right to do this no matter what. He'd won, so he should have just let me go to live my life in peace.

'But would you have though?' I couldn't answer that question. I really didn't know. If I had the chance to, would I have run away and laid low pretending to be a mortal, or would I have continued the fight? I didn't know.

"If you tried to fight, you would've just ended up here anyway." My head whipped up towards the sound of his voice. I wasn't imagining things.

Kronos was leaning casually against the opposite wall of my cell, his golden eyes glittering with mirth. How hadn't I noticed? How long had he been here? What had he heard?

I uncurled myself from where I had been sat and stretched out a little. Trying to prepare myself for whatever was sure to come next.

"K-kronos," I stammered. "How long have, have -" I was cut off as he raised his eyebrow sharply.

"Lord Kron-Kronos." I corrected trying to avoid the punishment I knew I would get if I didn't. "I'm sorry, I didn't, I didn't hear you come in."

"It's quite alright Perseus." He said producing a small chair to sit on. "You weren't meant to." A small smile flickered into life on his face.

I didn't get it. This was new. Never before had he been content to watch me in my cell before without taking action, and now here he was sitting in a chair seemingly waiting. But for what?

I didn't like it.

He was studying me like a bug under a microscope. With the beatings and taunts I knew what to expect. But this was different. How was I supposed to prepare for whatever was going to happen when I didn't know what it was?

I shifted uncomfortably looking around my small dingy cell for any indication of what was going to happen. But there was nothing new. Just the king sat on a chair in jeans and black shirt watching me. He didn't even seem to be armed, but that meant very little when he could summon a weapon with ease.

"Tell me Perseus," he said eventually, a glint in his eye. "How are you feeling?"

Now that really threw me off. How was I feeling? Gods awful, I ached from head to toe and there was a dull throbbing emanating from vaguely everywhere. But he didn't care, I knew that.

"A a little warm, my lord." I eventually told him. It wasn't a lie I was seemingly getting warmer by the minute, sweat pooled on my back. I put that down to nerves. If there was one thing I disliked more than a titan, it was a titan acting odd.

And this was odd.

Kronos nodded slightly and sat back in his chair, he seemed to be making mental notes. But why? What had he done?

That's when I realised, I really was getting warmer with every moment that passed. It was like my blood was being slowly heated over a flame.

I used the wall to push myself to my feet, trying to get more air to my limbs. The titan across from me turned his head slightly. Watching me with true curiosity.

"W-what have you done to me?" I asked, my voice quaking. The heat was starting to get too much, my very blood was burning in my veins.

"I haven't done anything." He stated leisurely, stressing the fact that it wasn't him. But I could see from the smirk that was stretching across his face that he knew what was happening to me, and why.

There was silence for a few moments until I finally let out a low groan, clutching my head. It was too much I couldn't hold it in. The pain was making me feel sick.

"What is happening to me?" I cried out desperately. Distantly I knew I should have been more polite but I was in too much pain to care right now.

"I honestly don't know what is happening to you, this has never happened before. That's why I'm watching." The king answered, finally getting up from the chair and beginning to pace around me in circles, watching intently.

"Tell me Perseus, what is happening?" He finally whispered; his breath felt cold on my skin. He was too close. "Tell me what is happening, and I might decide to help you."

I groaned again, louder this time. I was having to lean against the wall for support, but I managed to splutter; "It it burns. I'm burning."

"I suppose that does make sense actually." Kronos muttered as he walked away from me a bit.

Another wave of heat suddenly hit me, so hot it felt like fire might burst through my skin. Finally, the scream that had been rising within me broke free of my throat as I slid to the floor.

I screamed again and again, writhing in agony on the floor. "Please help me!" I cried out between the screams. "You said you'd help me."

"No, I said I might." Kronos replied condescendingly, he was much closer than I thought he would be.

"Please please I'm-" another scream tore from my throat. I felt like I was disintegrating.

"Oh that is interesting." The king said, actually shocked for once. I peeled my eyes open, I didn't know when I had closed them but apparently I had. Now my eyes were open I could see that pieces of my skin were starting to sizzle and break off. I really was disintegrating.

"Please, please help me." I begged looking at the titan lord. But he didn't seem to care, he was just watching with idle curiosity as I writhed on the floor at his feet.

"Why should I help you?" He asked finally his golden eyes boring into me.

"I I" another agonising scream broke out of me. "I don't want to die!" Tears were streaming freely down my face, tracking lines in the grime that had been there for months. The words shocked even me. For weeks I had known that my only way out of this hell was death. But here… faced with it. I didn't want to die.

"Nobody wants to die." Was all the king said. He was going to leave me. He was going to let me die. My screams mixed with sobs as I pleaded with him to save me.

I didn't want to die. The pain was unbearable. Who knew what the underworld was like now, would I go to Elysium, would death even be an escape from the titans. Probably not.

These thoughts and more flew through my mind but I just kept circling back to the pain. I couldn't take it any more. I was going to die.

After an eternity of burning I felt two strong hands pick me up off the floor and hold me against the wall. What was he doing? I pried my eyes open again watching as a range of emotions flew across the titan lord's face.

"Please." I choked out again.

Apparently, that was the last push he needed as Kronos placed a hand on my forehead and closed his eyes, chanting something under his breath.

Instantly it felt as if I'd been dunked in ice water. The fire in my veins cooled and began to splutter out. It took only a few moments before I could pull my own eyes open again. That was when I realised that Kronos was glowing.

He was still chanting under his breath softly, but his face looked entirely calm as he continued to speak. A powerful godly glow emanating from him.

Finally, his chanting stopped and Kronos opened his eyes again. The golden orbs studied me carefully, as if he was unsure why he had just saved my life. I was his enemy after all.

"How does that feel?" He asked, still not moving away from me.

"G-good, my lord." I answered respectfully, my breath hitching slightly. He studied me carefully again, before shoving off of the wall behind me and returning to his chair. I sagged slightly as he left me to stand alone, I was exhausted.

"What, what happened to me?" I asked, testing my luck. The titan lord chuckled slightly at that.

"Can you not feel the difference?" He asked cryptically, his eyes shining with mirth. I shook my head slightly, unable to meet his eyes again. "Oh, I thought you would." He mused

"What tied you to the mortal world for the Curse Perseus?" He asked, suddenly changing the topic.

I wasn't sure if I should tell him but I didn't see what it mattered now anyway. "Annabeth." I told him cautiously, trying not to cry as I said her name.

He nodded as if he already knew and was simply testing me. "Ok, so what do you think would happen if you lost your mortal anchor?"

That was when I realised. I stumbled back in shock. No. He had to be lying. No.

"Ah I see you've finally caught up." The titan muttered, a crooked smile spread lazily across his face.

I wanted to say he was lying. But I knew that he wasn't. Tears began cascading down my face. I knew I had felt that pain before. It felt like swimming in the Styx before I chose my anchor, the river water burning me from the inside out.

No. I couldn't even tell if I was speaking or not, all I knew was that she was gone and at some point, I had hit the floor – crying. Not only that but I had lost my best defence against Kronos, the Curse of Achilles was gone.

I only realised that Kronos was crouched in front of me when he rested a hand on my cheek. "It's ok." He told me. "You have a new gift now, a new life." Against my will I leaned into his hand, craving any amount of human contact to help ease my pain.

The titan king twisted my head gently so that I was staring up into his golden eyes. "It's ok." He told me again. "You can forget about them all now." My eyebrows scrunched in confusion as I continued to cry. "There is only one way to save someone from certain death," he explained "to make them unable to die."

Shock ran through me like a bolt of electricity, drying my tears instantly. I was too shocked to cry now. "That's right Perseus." The titan cooed, smiling slightly. "You are immortal now. You truly belong here with me. You will never get old or die, you will stay here."

The titan was smiling victoriously, a fresh wave of tears ran down my cheek. Silently the warm hand left my face and Kronos stood up, allowing me to curl in on myself. A ball of misery on the cold stone floor.

He watched me for a few more minutes, glee shining in his merciless golden eyes. He knew he had taken my only escape away from me. He knew exactly what he was doing when he 'saved' me.

Finally, Kronos announced, "I will be back tomorrow." Before leaving through the small door and locking it behind him. Leaving me alone to wallow in my misery.

So... It's been a while. I kind of fell out with writing for a few years there but I am back. I saw a few new comments and you have inspired me to return to this story. Luckily I had a few chapters written but not posted so I know at least where the story was going a little bit. So I will try to post a chapter a week to give myself time to write but hopefully I will continue this story until it is completed. If I am honest I didn't write a plan for more than a few chapters before so this story might go a different direction to whatever it was originally going to be, sorry if the writing style/quality is different its been 4 years.