A Pawn For Time (Daughter of the Olympians #1)

(26) Talks of Fate

•Hera's Point of View•

I made my way to the dining hall for breakfast. I probably looked terrible, but at this point, my appearance didn't matter. A lot was weighing on my mind.

I walked in and took my seat next to Zeus. Hades was here as well. Zeus pardoned him to stay as long as we need him here. Which will most likely be a long time. My husband didn't bother to bless the food, seeing as no one was really in the mood to eat.

I glanced at the chair next to me. It was empty. Katherine still hasn't come back, which worried me. I pray that she's safe.

Zeus shifted in his seat and cleared his throat. "She still hasn't returned?" He said looking at the seat next to me.

Everyone shook their heads. Zeus sighed and slumped in his chair.

"Has anyone heard from her?" I asked hopefully.

"No. I can't find a trace of her anywhere. It's weird. It's as if she fell off the face of the earth." Artemis said. Artemis sent the hunt to look for Katherine last night. I guess they weren't very successful.

"Have you tried a locator spell, Hermes?" Poseidon asked.

Hermes looked up with defeat in his eyes. "Yes, I've tried several times. Like Artemis said, it's like she fell off the face of the earth. She might be cloaking herself. She might not want to be found."

I closed my eyes and put my head in my hands. I know that it's only been one night, but I expected her to be back by now. She couldn't have been that angry at us. Still,  It worries me to think that Hades may be right.

"Let's not give up hope.  Maybe we just need to give her more time." Demeter said. She's always trying to be the peace maker.

I looked up again. Everyone avoided eye contact with Demeter. They all had the expression of yeah right on their faces.

"We should try reaching out to her." My voice echoed through the room.

Hades looked at me like are you serious?, but I didn't care. We had to try. I can't bare the thought of losing Katherine to Kronos or anyone opposing us for that matter.

"She's right, you know. You should listen to your queen." A gravelly voice said from behind me. Everyone stood to face the voice.

There in front of me stood the three fates.

Zeus bowed and we followed his lead. We stood in a line now, so everyone could see the fates.

"Do you have any particular ideas as to how we should contact her?" I asked respectively. The last thing I needed was to be skewered by the three creepiest immortals in history.

"Try Iris messaging her. That might work," Clotho suggested, "Here." She handed me a golden drachma.

"Alright," I said uncertainly,"Poseidon?"

He nodded his head and opened his hand, palms facing up. Out spurred a wall of mist.

"O goddess Iris, accept my offering." I flicked the drachma into the mist and it disappeared. "Show me Katherine François."

The mist simmered and a picture of Katherine appeared. Athena gasped at what was being shone.

Katherine was with a boy. And not just any boy: our arch rival, Malakai. They were in each other's arms sleeping soundly.

Zeus fumed. "How could she!" He thundered. Malakai jerked awake and opened his eyes. Lachesis immediately put her hand to the mist. It simmered in a gold color then went back to normal.

"What did you just do?" I questioned. I've never seen anyone do that before.

"I sealed the message. Now we can see and hear them but they can't hear or see us. It's just simple precautions because some people can't be quiet." Lachesis looked at Zeus when she said this. My husband exhaled deeply.

I turned my attention back to the mist. Malakai rubbed his eyes. He then wrapped his arms around Katherine and pulled her closer. I heard Hades growl. He lifted his arm and brushed his fingers on her back.

"No way," he whispered shockingly. He set his arm down again. He snuggled close to Katherine. He placed a kiss on her neck. It was my turn to growl.

"I trust you," he breathed on her neck. He layed his head back down and fell asleep.

I clenched my fists. Atropos put her hand through the mist, disconnecting the message.

"I can't believe she would do that," Demeter said with disgust. The fates nodded. I was in disbelief myself. At least we know she's not coming home anytime soon.

"You don't think that they..." Hermes trailed off as he fumbled with his fingers. I knew where he was going with this. I can't blame him for thinking that.

"No. Well, I pray that they didn't." Athena said with a look of distaste.

The fates huddled together and spoke in hushed tones. They straightened and faced us again.

"Do you, as her parents, wish to get this boy away from her?" Clotho asked timidly. She asked as if the fate of the world depended on it, which it probably did.

We exchanged glances among each other. Poseidon nodded.

"Yes. We want Malakai far away from her." I said. It boomed outside. Way to add dramatics, Zeus.

"Alright then. We will help you get rid of him." Atropos stated. I raised my eyebrows.

"You're going to help us? Not complaining or anything, but why?" Apollo asked before I could open my mouth.

Lachesis stared at him. "I'm not sure if you have realized this, but we are in a way her parents, too. We created Katherine. She is our most valuable creation. We care about what happens to her, as do you."

"But don't you already know what's going to happen to her?" Aphrodite asked. I face palmed. Sometimes she is such an airhead.

"Yes we do. Which is why we want to at least try to change her fate." Lachesis said. Atropos and Clotho nodded. I gasped. Change fate? That's nearly impossible.

"Why? What's going to happen to her?" Hades said stepping forward.

"Let's just say her fatal flaw gets in the way of things. She ends up causing more trouble than you know what to do with. Katherine is very important in the fate of the universe. Her every move shapes the future in some way. Sometimes it's good. Sometimes it's bad. Lately, her moves have been giving bad effects. That's why we are here."

Athena nodded. "So how is getting rid of a boy she likes going to change things?"

"It's going to change a great deal of things. Mostly, because Malakai is Katherine's future murderer."