Outcasts of Olympus: Book 2

Chapter Three

We entered the cathedral, which still had a lot of repairs that needed to be done after the fire. The ceiling was so high above us that it felt as far away as the sky itself, and there were charred remains of it on the ground in front of the altar still. It was reminiscent of a fort after it had been taken in battle.

Alexa and I started looking through the wreckage, getting soot all over our hands. Evadne and Stella looked around the back of the altar. Leo was busy quietly cursing at Castor as he tried to patch Leo up as best as he could until we could get back to the hotel room with proper equipment.

He had his eye closed due to the cut, some bandages on his chest cuts, and then his torn left sleeve of his shirt on his arm cut, revealing his stomach and his whole left arm.

We searched all throughout the cathedral, but we didn't find anything. Castor didn't seem to really be feeling anything either. Finally, we gave up and went back outside, just more frustrated than we were before we entered.

"Ugh!" Alexa growled. But she stopped, took a quick selfie in front of the cathedral and glared at the phone sending it to someone, presumably, Jake. I sighed and tried to brush all the soot off my hands, but it wouldn't come off. "Need me to spit on them to clean them? Old western style?" Leo asked, the sarcasm spewing out of his voice. "No thank you," I said quickly. He could keep his germs to himself.

I looked over and noticed Alexa squinting at one of the fountains in the square. "What is it?" I asked her. She didn't answer for a moment, then her eyes went wide and she grimaced. "I think," she said, looking like she'd just swallowed something sour, "my mom wants to talk to us."

I looked over, and saw a woman sitting at the base of the fountain. She wore an expensive-looking over coat, with a bright red top, and a pair of distressed skinny jeans.I couldn't really figure out how curly or straight her hair was, or the color. I couldn't even tell what color her skin was. All I knew, was that she was breathtakingly beautiful, which could only mean one thing. Aphrodite had decided to pay us a visit.

"Not again!" Leo shouted, jumping behind Castor for protection. I groaned in dismay. If we had to deal with the goddess of love, this was not going to be a treat. You know those annoying people who like to gossip all the time about who likes whom? Aphrodite was like that, but ten times worse.

She stood up and walked over, smiling radiantly. "Why, hello," she said, her voice flowing musically through the air. Leo mimicked the hiss of a cat before wincing. She gave him a questioning look, then continued. "I was wondering how long it would take you guys to come out. I could have gotten a full manicure while you were all in there."

"Mother, what are you doing here?" Alexa asked, confused. "Oh, please," Aphrodite said, looking pointedly at me. "I can smell Athena's conflicted emotions from halfway around the globe."

"So... you're a love-shark?" Castor asked, raising an eyebrow. Aphrodite glared at him. "I wouldn't put it that way," she said. "But I suppose so."

"Yeah, I'd make it more like a love-eel," Leo growled. "Got anymore people behind me with tridents or weapons to knock me out? Or are you here to flirt me to death--which, I can see why... After all, I am irresi--" But Leo cut himself off with a wince and hiss of pain before clutching his chest. Stella ran up to Leo, steadying him before he fell, Castor also trying to help him stand.

"Not this time, no," Aphrodite replied. "I came for something else." She looked between me and Stella, grinning knowingly. "I was wondering when it would finally happen," she said. I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment, but Stella just looked confused. "What do you mean?" she asked, looking over at me for an explanation. I didn't want to answer, so I looked down at the ground. Aphrodite sighed, shaking her head like she was disappointed in me.

"Oh, Athena, sweetie," she said sadly. "It's staring you in the face, and you still refuse to see it?"

I shook my head, baffled by the question. She just sighed again, then grabbed my hand, and suddenly, the two of us were standing on the top of the Eiffel Tower. I gasped and pulled away, afraid of falling off the edge, but Aphrodite just sat down, dangling her legs out over the edge. She patted the space next to her, beckoning me to come over.

Slowly, I came over and sat down, though I stayed away from the edge as much as possible. I looked out over the city, watching the bustle of cars and pedestrians through the streets. "So," Aphrodite said. "I think you know exactly what I'm doing here, don't you?"

I had a sinking feeling in my chest that I did, but I didn't want to say it. Instead, I looked down at my lap and nodded. "You know you have feelings for her..." she said softly. "You just don't want to admit it after what happened last time."

"No, I don't. I haven't felt that way towards anyone in a long time. But even if I did, can you really blame me?" I asked her. "My own father killed the last girl I loved. I don't want to go through that again."

Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "Zeus has always been such a spoil-sport," she huffed. "He's the one who put me with Hephaestus, who isn't even great on the inside. He's a terrible father, and an absolutely horrible matchmaker."

She softened just a bit. "Don't let what Zeus did in the past ruin your future chance at happiness, Athena. I think you and Stella would be really good together. I think you should at least give her a chance, and give yourself a chance to finally heal."

Finally, I looked up at her. "I don't know..." I said. "I don't think I could stand it if I let myself love her, and she got hurt."

Aphrodite stared at me. "You already love her, Athena," she said. "It's not a matter of letting yourself love her, because you can't help that. It's not healthy to deny it to this point. For either of you. If you keep doing this, you will lose her, because she can't wait for you forever."

"What do you mean?" I asked. Aphrodite looked at me pityingly. "She loves you. She's loved you for a long time now. What you're doing right now, denying your feelings, it's hurting her in ways you can't even imagine."

I bit my lip, my heart squeezing in my chest. If this was true, then I couldn't keep doing what I was doing. But I wasn't sure I was ready to act on how I felt either. There was too much uncertainty, and I wasn't ready to make any unnecessary risks.

Besides, I wouldn't even be able to do it, because I had sworn on the river styx never to fall in love again. Aphrodite knew this. "I just can't," I finally said quietly. "My promise..."

Aphrodite sighed, then stood up. "At least think about what I said, okay?" She reached out her hand, and I took it. Immediately, we were back in the square outside Notre Dame. The only people of the group standing there was Castor and Evadne.

"Whoa, where'd you guys go?" he asked, confused. "Oh, nowhere in particular," Aphrodite said breezily. "She and I just needed to have a talk, that's all." She looked at me one more time, then smiled and shouted, "Toodle-oo!" before she vanished into thin air.

"Who even says that anymore?" Evadne muttered. "I can name a few people," Castor said, staring at the sky, looking rather annoyed. Evadne looked at me, a concerned look on her face. "What was it she was talking to you about?" she asked.

I grimaced. "I don't want to talk about it, please," I said. She nodded. "Got it," she said. "But I'm always willing to listen if you want to talk about it later." I nodded gratefully at her, then looked around. "Where are the others?"

"Well, they're back at the hotel patching up Leo, apparently his cuts were pretty deep." Castor explained. "Ah," I replied. "We should probably get back there then. We need to come up with a new plan."

They both nodded in agreement, and we caught the next bus back to our hotel. The whole time, I replayed my conversation with Aphrodite in my head over and over again. I realized that she was right. But I didn't know how, even if I was ready for it, we would get around my oath on the river styx. It was basically hopeless.