Blade's Edge || Deception Book II ||

Chapter 45: The Claraphim Star Pt.I

The shock didn't fully set in until I walked out onto the streets of New York City. If I had to guess, it was around one, maybe two, in the morning. The sudden silence of the city compared to Mount Olympus crashed around me as I stood in front of the glass doors of the Empire State building and watched the lone cars drive by on a normally packed street. I slid to the ground and sat crossed leg on the sidewalk, feeling the silence sink inside me and wash over the numbness. "What am I supposed to do now?"

Avalanche didn't respond, but sat down beside me and pressed her warm body to mine.

My whispered question rang through the air and was quickly swallowed by the city. As I stared out over the street, empty of pedestrians, I thought about how tiny and insignificant each person was in this huge world. All of our problems nothing more than a mere speck of dust. Our lives temporary. And yet, it was a wonder how permanent and massive they felt to us.

The ice inside me shattered and hot, burning pain and anger poured in, bringing with it a river of emotions that I didn't bother to control. Not that I could have, anyway. Not as the full realization of what Athena had told me sank in. For sixteen years, all the Olympians and even my mother had kept information about myself from me. They had no right to do that. None. Who I was hadn't been the growth of my own accord. They'd shaped and moulded me to fit whatever descriptions Zeus had wanted, and I knew it wasn't who I would have been.

"You had no right to do that!" I screamed at the sky, though I knew no one would hear. "No right, do you understand?!"

I clenched my jaw and bowed my head, letting the tears flow in silence.

What was I supposed to do now?

I couldn't go back to Olympus without marching up to Zeus and beating him up. That was plain suicide.

Going back to the ship and having to face Luke wasn't an option either, not when I now knew that he'd been right all along. If I went back, I was scared that I might make a decision that I'd regret. In the heat of the moment, everyone's impulses came out. I needed time to cool my head before facing any choices.

But I couldn't exactly sit here forever.

A sudden gust of wind blew by me, sending an empty plastic Starbucks bottle rolling by. My eyes landed on a flyer that flew by me, locking on the months-old strawberry picking advertisement from August.

I knew where to go. I swiped my eyes and stood up, feeling the roaring anger subside as level-headed determination and purpose pushed it aside.

I should have done this last summer when I was still at camp, I thought. It's time I visited the Oracle.

***

The woods were silent. It was the middle of the night, but not even an owl hoot or the sound of nocturnal animals rustling through the undergrowth could be heard as Avalanche and I climbed the hill to the pine tree, where a huge, scaled beast was curled around the base, watching over the fleece that shimmered silver in the moonlight.

The dragon cracked open a yellow eye.

"Hi," I whispered cautiously. "I don't believe we've ever met, but I'm not a threat."

It huffed a sigh through its nose and closed its eye.

I sighed and beckoned Avalanche to follow and we crossed the boundary, feeling the ripple of magic as we entered camp grounds.

I paused for a moment at the top of the hill, taking in the view of the slumbering cabins, the dark mess hall, the silent arena, and the stillness of the snow that covered the camp. Everything had been so simple back then. But now, even if I could, I wouldn't change a thing. That Clarianna had still been complacent in her bubble, unknown to the outside world. Say what you might, but being with Luke had truly opened my eyes. In both good and bad ways, I supposed.