The Circle

16｜Whispers

Monday morning arrived fast after the chaotic weekend. I tried not to think about the blonde's attack, I placed it in a box inside one of the darkest parts of my mind, yet glimpses of him resurfaced when I least expected them. It was easy to bury the memories with so much to think about, though.

It's crazy what the internet can teach you. I already knew the basics; there are twelve gods of olympus and their symbol is the omega. I learned that there were lesser gods too, and deities such as water and land nymphs which roam through the earth.

Out of curiosity, I googled demigod and read some of the thousand-year-old myths, depicting the heroes of old;  Achilles, Hector, Jason. Perseus and Hercules were sons of Zeus. They were legends, immortalized for the rest of time. They have whole constellations of stars dedicated to them. There was nothing about a female demigod descended from the God of Gods, though.

And there was ziltch about modern demigods, too. They - we - must pass as humans nowadays. It's safer to hide. Nobody seems to know that godly blood still runs through the veins of the world.

I forgot to be draw the blinds last night, and sunlight filtered through the glass double doors that lead to my balcony. The scent of pine wafts through the crack on the doors, a fresh scent that is always more intense with morning dew.

I barely slept last night . My mind refused to calm down and give in to sleep as I went to bed. I spent the small hours of the morning thinking through the information I received that weekend. Most of all, I tried to remind myself of the feeling the eagle brought me. It came back to me in my dreams, that rush of electricity that woke up the dormant parts of who I am.

The weather in Connecticut got colder as the days go by. It was impossible to go outside without multiple layers of clothing. I wrapped a black scarf around my neck and pulled my battered combat boots on, then headed downstairs.

My eyes closed in on the bright pink post-it stuck to the kitchen island. Mum and dad left early, again. I'd planned on telling them about the claiming - about everything that happened over the weekend - that morning.

Dread coursed through me in mammoth waves at the thought of the conversation. It seemed like the moment I'd tell them what happened, it would feel like I was making up a story.

I could just come out and tell them, but how would that go? Hey mom and dad, when I was away this weekend I was claimed by Zeus, I travelled to New York, entered a townhouse to talk to the oracle who incidentally is Kit's cousin and was probably almost raped by a descendent of Aphrodite. Just normal stuff, you know. How about you?

A bubble of laughter arose inside my chest. I sounded crazy. It escalated into a full-out laughing attack that made my sides ache. This is insane. All of it is insane.

The bread popped up on the toaster and I grabbed all four pieces. Alec should be downstairs by now.  I received a grunt for an answer from upstairs after calling his name.

I took a bite off my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as Alec walked in. He grabbed the toast that was left and cheese from the fridge, then sat down next to me on the table.

"Where were you?" Alec's cheeks were flushed bright pink despite the heating of the house.

"I went out on a run," he muttered. I nodded nd went back to my sandwich, thoughts of the talk on my mind.

"You've got to tell them, you know," He gave me a knowing glance.

"I know, I just haven't figured out how."

He nodded in understanding and then looked at me in the eyes, "Just because you're not descended from the same God as we are, we're still family, Lux. I shouldn't even have to say that. We have the same blood, same everything. You just got some kick-ass powers that have been unheard of for a few millenniums, that's all."