SANITY; heroes of olympus

04.2

[act four; chapter two     -     for those who hold blood of gold]

Adonis Storm had, well, he had trouble controlling his tears. It was like they hadn't stopped, not since that cavern caved in and blocked any way of getting to his sister. He had watched her fall, watched her release Percy's hand and let go, watched her be the one to sacrifice everything once again.

He didn't want to worry anyone with his silence and his tears, so he stuck to helping the others—consoling them, giving them space, giving hugs and whatever else they might have needed, all so he did not have to worry about himself.

But when he did, he chose to do so by returning to his bedroom that he shared with his twin. It was empty of life, barren—or at least that was how it felt. Without her there, without her presence, her laughter and her smile, without the smell of lavender and strawberries, it felt cold and desolate.

He ran his hands over the bookshelf that Leo had installed for her, filled to the brim with books that told the history of their ancestors, of the people that had come before them...their namesakes.

His fingers feathered over a certain book, one that had been handcrafted by Apollo himself, that contained the entire history of the Storm family and their Fates. Its leather cover was beige, with no writing or sign of ink. But there was a pressing of letters into the cover, underneath the gold chains that kept it locked. Only those with the blood of the prophetic god could open it, but Donnie had never tried to. He had never attempted to open it or look inside, but he knew his sister had, many times, in fact.

He pulled it from the shelf and held it flat in his palm, looking at the letters that had been pressed by metal, no doubt, once the cover was finished.