The Five Demigods Who Saved Olympus | Book 1, 2, & 3

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"Oh, don't be so dramatic. Surely my trident to your abdomen hurt a hell of a lot more than that." Noelle said with her eyes fixated on Heath. He was trying his hardest to forget what Noelle had done. To forget the look of pleasure that went across her face when the trident pierced his skin. Amara stood a little in shock that Noelle had laid her hands on Heath. She surely thought Noelle's old self would've resurfaced when it came to him.

"Perhaps the rest of you would like to feel how it felt for Heath." Noelle said before holding her hand out, her blood-dried Trident coming to her. Zander immediately took a cautious step forward, holding his hand out in front of him.

"Wait, Noelle! We know you, alright? And cursed pomegranate or not, we know you'd try to fight this. Maybe you already did when we didn't know. But, you're strong, Noelle. You've proven to us that you just may be stronger than all of us. I know you can fight whatever may be possessing your mind." Zander asked. Ares groaned, not believing what Zander and Amara believed in the slightest.

"Zander, drop it. It isn't possible!" Ares exclaimed. Amara looked up at Zander, noticing the determination in his eyes.

"Yes, it can be, Ares. Tell me, Noelle, is the pomegranate possessing your mind? Or is somebody else doing this?" Amara asked once more. The two could notice Noelle's slight changes in her facial expression as they used that one word. Amara had her theories. She had bits and pieces, words that slipped from Noelle's mouth that made it seem like not everything she did was entirely of her own doing. And of course, it could've been the pomegranate. But, the more she thought of it, the more unlikely it seemed to her. Nothing had ever been documented about what was going on with Noelle. There weren't any books on it. This meant to her, that what they believed was occurring with Noelle, wasn't possible because it doesn't exist. It wasn't much for her to work with, but it gave her hope that they could have her friend back. And it wasn't until now, when she realized Zander had been reading her exact thoughts since visiting Artemis, that she decided it needed to be acted on.

"Who's in your head?" Amara finally asked, making everyone in the room frown at her with the exception of Zander. Noelle stayed silent for a moment before laughter erupted from her chest.

"Who's in your head?" Noelle asked. Amara frowned before breathing at the shell of her ear.

"Is it me?" Noelle whispered. Amara turned to find Noelle now beside her, making her back away.

"Amara, you okay?" Heath asked as Amara bumped into him. Amara turned to where Noelle stood beside her, not finding her there. She then turned back to where Noelle was before, finding her there instead. She clasped her hands around her back with a sadistic grin plastered on her face. Amara began to breathe heavily, making Heath turn her around to face him.

"What's going on, 'Mara?" Hermes asked, approaching the two of them. Amara slowly turned her head, not finding Noelle there anymore.

"Do you guys see her?" Amara breathed out. They all turned, spotting Noelle in the same place as before.

"Yes." Donovan replied. Amara shook her head as she turned back to Heath.

"I don't." Amara whispered, letting a tear slip from her eye. Amara blinked and opened her eyes to find everyone on the floor, blood pooled around their bodies. She frantically looked around.

"They're not dead. They're not dead!" Amara told herself. She turned only slightly to now see Zander in the air, heading towards Noelle with the lightning rod in his hand. With the wave of Noelle's hand, Zander collapsed to the floor. Blood began spewing from his mouth, making Amara's eyes widen. Glass shattering caught her attention. She looked up to see the window on the ceiling broken as white owls fell through. They hit the ground with a thud, their little bodies breaking from impact. Amara screamed before turning to find Heath's face in front of her, hands gripping her forearms as he shook her.