TAMING APOLLO | completed

49. love in hell

49. love in hell

G A Y L E

"I don't understand. How is that even possible? She can't be my fated love..."

"Apollo. I need you to listen to me. Gayle and Cyrene were interconnected. Their souls were intertwined, so it only makes sense that when Cyrene died, her soul wasn't destroyed... but absorbed."

"Persephone... if I'm – you're saying – you mean to say Gayle absorbed Cyrene's soul?"

"Precisely. We don't know how long it'll take for her to wake up. Remember, kissing your fated love yields different results each time. It honestly depends on the person. Remember how Ariel was passed out for days?"

The other voice sighs in response. "Right. Her mortal body couldn't even handle Ares' power. Remember how Asclepius had to extract some of it from her? Only when she ate an apple from the garden of Hesperides and transformed was she able to tap into her full potential. Do you think it will be like that with Gayle?"

"No one can say for sure," Persephone sighs. "Like I said, it differs from person to person. We'll have to wait for her to wake up."

My eyes slowly flutter open at the sound of voices in the room. My body feels like it's floating on a cloud of daisies as I turn, an attempt to figure out what is going on.

"We don't have time to wait. The blood moon is tomorrow night. If we don't attack now that Ariel and Poseidon have procured the sickle from Tartarus we may never get a chance again."

I want to say something, but my body feels strange. It feels as though it isn't my body. It feels... lighter.

My mind reels at thoughts of what happened. The last thing I remember is kissing Apollo and telling him I love him... so why am I on this bed with Persephone and Apollo in the room?

"She can stay here while the rest of you go up to Mount Olympus to fight. Zagreus and I would be more than happy to accommodate a bit of company during this war."

Those words alone cause my body to jolt up, eyes snapping open and scanning the room.

It's beautiful and dark, decorated by dusty medieval looking furniture.

Apollo stands at the side of my bed, brushing his fingers through his head while Persephone is sat besides him, rubbing her giant pregnant belly.

Both their eyes dart up in surprise. They both seem taken aback by my swift response but I don't care about that right now. All I care about is never leaving Apollo's side again, even if it means I have to follow him to war.

I will.

"Gayle," Apollo rushes to my side, leaning closer as worry begins to flood his eyes. He pressed the back of his hand against my forehead. "How are you feeling?" He says, but I can barely hear him.

A wave of calm washes over me as he leans closer, his natural scent filling me all over again. I can hear his heart beat, which is strange cause he isn't that close but I can hear it.

It's as if it's beating from my very own chest.

I don't question it too much, as my focus has shifted from his heartbeat to his face.