Page 31 of Blood of Olympus

Several shrieks pierced the din, and I cracked open my eyes to see naught but pure blackness. My magic leeched the air of all light, suffocating and cloying in its consistency.

Breathe, Velira shouted into the void that was my mind.

I whimpered.

Breathe, she tried again.

But my lungs would not comply.

Breathe, a second voice added. A voice I knew better than my own.

Charon.

I crashed to my knees in the midnight-filled room, tears streaming freely down my cheeks.

What did it say about me, that my own broken mind was trying to save itself with delusion?

Breathe, the voice said — only it no longer sounded like Charon, but had warped into the soothing, deep hum of my soul-bonded storm-wielder.

Caelus, I whimpered.

Of course. He had been my most constant reassurance since…

I’m here, he said.

A warm hand pressed against my spine, soothing me when words could not.

Look at me.

I turned into his embrace, and gasped at his glowing eyes. They were as bright as a flash of lightning — except for that halo of black — illuminating the concerned planes of his face.

“That’s it,” he whispered. His thumbs brushed the tears from my cheeks even as his head dipped, our foreheads meeting. “In a moment, you’re going to have to put that mask back on, my love. You’re going to have to pretend that was an intentional show of power — or they’ll shred you to pieces for it.”

I swallowed roughly, nodding.

“You are brilliant. You are deadly. And you can do this, Nyssa.”

His steely resolve thrummed along our bond, lodging itself behind my breastbone, forcing my panic to the wayside.

Maybe I could. Just as I thought it, a spark of lightning flared from his fingertip into my cheek, searing the skin beneath.

I flinched and recoiled; he blinked, horror flashing through those bright eyes as the light faded from them. A sticky emotion replaced his resolve instantly.

Confusion.

He may not have meant to zap me, but the shock of it jolted me into awareness. I cast him one last long look before spinning on my heel, ready to face the backlash.

Step back, Vel.

The air shifted around me as she moved — but I knew she wouldn’t go far.

Now that I was in control of them once more, it took nothing more than a thought to have my shadows fading. The Parthenon’s chamber slowly returned to view — and so did its stunned council.

Half were on their feet, but all eyes were upon me.

Hestia was the first to speak. Her hazel eyes sparkled with mischief as she said, “Well, that was quite the show.”

Demeter, seated to her left, chuckled softly. “Yes,” she agreed, laughing louder. “Reminds me of the time Hades eclipsed the Olympian sun for an entire month just so Zeus lost his tan.”