ᴾʰᵒᵇᵒᵖʰᵒᵇⁱᵃ [ᴶᵃˢᵒⁿ ᴳʳᵃᶜᵉ]

αι.

αι. heliophobia - fear of bright light (or the sun)

Aza stepped forward, still holding her sword threateningly in the air. She raised her eyes to Khione's and in a low voice asked, "You did this?" Khione studied Aza, the cold smile remaining on her face. Aza did the best to match and repeated, "You did this? Answer me, goddess, so I can rip you apart. I'm on a tight schedule."

The goddess' smile widened and she purred, "She's not dead, Aza-Everett. She and her Hunters will make fine toys for our wolves. I thought we'd defrost them one at a time and hunt them down for amusement. Let them be the prey for once."

Behind her, the wolves snarled in appreciation. Aza's jaw tightened, and she suddenly began to feel something sneaking by her feet, winding its way up her leg. She looked down, but nothing was there - still, the touch remained. Soft and gentle, like a lover's caress. It felt intimate, like it was meant for Aza - something told her not to panic as it slithered up around her knee and thigh, winding like a snake.

"I think you will be a lovely addition," Khione continued. "The wolves' finale."

"Why wait for later?" Aza questioned. "I'm here right now, aren't I?"

She felt that same small something winding its way towards her neck, tickling her nape. Aza could have sworn something whispered her name just behind her back. The feeling seeped through her scalp, and Aza felt a small tendril reaching towards her mind.

Fire. Pain. Punishment.

It didn't sound like Aza's voice -it was colder and crueler, somehow familiar to her. Something about the small tendril in her mind made Aza feel like she had drunk an espresso shot, and she grew excited as Aza felt the small breeze winding up her leg again, seeping into her skin. When she looked to the snow-goddess, the tendrils sang her name, like a kitten cries for its mother. She felt the fears that crept in the back of the goddesses mind - she had never been able to read a god before.

Before Khione could respond, Hera snarled from her cage, "Traitor! You meddlesome, D-list goddess! You aren't worthy to pour my mine, much less rule the world."

Khione sighed and waved her hand in the air. "Tiresome as ever, Queen Hera. I've been wanting to shut you up for millennia." Ice encased the goddess' cage, sealing the small spaces between the small tendrils. 

Aza felt something something spark up her skin, like she was being shocked - another tendril crept up her leg and wound its way towards the nape of her neck, seeping into her mind. She felt the tendril seep through her scalp.

Loss. Past. Failure. 

This voice was deeper, more authoritative. She could recognize it anywhere, and when Aza turned back to glance at Jason, it sang his name. She had already known his fears, but something about this felt more intimate, like the tendril of fear was some part of himself that he had shared with her, knowingly or not. She felt connected to him, and she felt connected to Khione for the same reasons; the tendrils in her mind that sung their names were parts of them, and somehow Aza had called them to her.

"That's better," Khione purred, turning away from Hera's cage. "Now, demigods, about your death-"

"You're the one who tricked Hera into coming here. You gave Zeus the idea of closing Olympus." Jason accused the snow goddess. The wolves around her snarled and the anemoi thuellai stirred, ready to advance. Death. Lycaon. Silver.

Aza felt her body thrum with power, slowly building as the fears around her intensified, making their way to Aza like a homing missile. No more tendrils crept up her leg; instead, waves of fear hit her like the tide. But she needed more, she wasn't ready yet. Khione held her hand to the wolves, silencing their snarls. "Patience, my loves. If he wants to talk, what does it matter? The sun is setting, and time is on our side. Of course, Jason Grace. Like snow, my voice is quiet and gentle, and very cold. It's easy for me to whisper to the other gods, especially when I am only confirming their own deepest fears. I also whispered in Aeolus' ear that he should issue an order to kill demigods. It is a small service for Gaea, but I'm sure I will be well rewarded when her sons come to power."