Page 192 of Blood of Olympus

Debilitating.

It was a mirror held up, forcing one to analyse their own stark reflection of who they thought they were, and who they wanted to be. I wanted so much, and yet so little. I wanted to protect these lands and their people. I wanted to preserve their histories and their futures. I wanted vengeance for those lost, and justice for those left behind.

I wanted a simple, joy-filled life with the woman who made it worth living.

I wanted a wife, children, a Furies-damned future.

And, hand me a crown, coronate me as Mr Olympus, because yes — I also wanted world peace.

The forced solitude of a lost sense forced me to reflect on it all. With my hearing temporarily gone, my mind was free to wander.

Orpheus’ song only did so much to hinder the quartet of brothers. While their bodies succumbed to the whims of the man, their minds and mouths were still their own — and you could bet that their eyes conveyed such filth, such vitriol at us, we prayed for Orpheus’ voice to never give out.

But alas, that could not be. No one could sing forever.

His song lasted just long enough for Athena to arrive with three sets of Hephaestus’ cuffs — and even I knew that the maths didn’t add up on that one. None of us had expected this many Titans to appear after so many millennia. But I guess we should have. After all, Kronos had escaped and he had been in the deepest darkest reaches of the abyss — why wouldn’t others have fled first?

Something niggled at the back of my mind at that thought, but before I had a chance to analyse it, my hearing came rushing back in — signalling that Orpheus was done.

Athena had successfully neutralised Koios and Krios, but she didn’t have enough time to get to either Iapetos or Hyperion. Which meant that we had quite the task ahead of us… and only one set of cuffs to see us through.

The Titans blinked as if waking from hypnosis.

Krios and Koios fought against their bindings to no avail, then turned to each other’s, clawing at the cuffs that were steadily sapping their will to fight.

Focus, Lykos growled, eyeing the manic grin distorting Hyperion’s features.

I leaped down from his back, unwilling to put him in harm's way when I channelled. With a flick of my fingers, the sky turned a deep, haunting shade of grey.

Thunder clapped in the distance, followed quickly by the sharp crack of lightning.

“What a precious little parlour trick,” Hyperion sneered, flaring his own fingers and conjuring a spear so bright I couldn’t look directly at it without suffering the negative imprint on the backs of my eyelids every time I blinked.

“That’s how you want to do this?” I raised a brow. Within seconds, a sharp, middling weight pressed into my palm and I closed my hand around a bolt of pure, jagged electricity. It writhed like a living thing — hot and impatient — its glare streaking across the trampled field, morbidly refracting off the gilded armour of fallen comrades.

I’ve got this one, you go for the other, I told Lykos.

He wasted no time, immediately snapping at a sneaking Iapetos as he attempted to circle around to our backs. And then I didn’t have the capacity to fear for my wolf — I had problems of my very own.

Hyperion’s grin grew — and then he swung.

He wielded his light-stick like a wooden staff — and if I’d have been in a better state of mind, I’d have come up with some scathing little innuendo about that — sweeping it perpendicular to the ground in a neat arc aimed right at my head.

I ducked beneath it, responding likewise. Hooking the bolt behind the Titan’s ankles, I made to knock him off his feet, but Hyperion was ungodly fast. I pressed forward, refusing to relinquish even a foot of space, and instead aimed a jab at his throat.

He evaded the blow, knocking the bolt aside with his own, the impact rocketing through my hand and up my arm. Our staffs clashed like an explosion, the sound echoing away, freezing those closest to us in their tracks. A hiss slid through my teeth and he grinned — taunting, leering… ball-less.

I smirked as I twisted my wrist and his spear skidded up the length of lightning. At the last moment, I twisted again, resulting in Hyperion whacking himself in the underside of his chin.

He roared wordlessly, his eyes sparking to life.

Athena leaped into the fray, blocking his body with her own. A quick glance confirmed she’d successfully subdued the witless duo, Koios and Krios — both laying slack-jawed and unconscious on the ground.

We’d known what was coming. Nyssa had explained how Hyperion had wielded his power against her, and so, we came prepared. With a quick click of a button hidden in the crest of our helms, Athena and I were protected from the Titan’s light.

Thank fuck the Caldrians had arrived in time — and that they’d brought their tinkerer’s tools with them — because we were now equipped with little electronic shields that guarded our eyes, distorting Hyperion’s light to render it ineffective and useless.

Just like the god himself.