CHAPTER 186

CHAPTER 186
The next day was spent preparing for the final journey.

Well others did, I trained my body one more time, trying to ensure everything worked as it should.

Mother had a training area set up in the courtyard and she spent hours drilling me on how to channel all three powers at once.

It was exhausting; my body ached from the effort of holding the powers of the sun, earth, and ocean together.

"Don't fight them," she instructed as I struggled. "Let them flow together naturally."

"They don't want to flow together!" I protested, frustrated and scared.

The battle was tonight and I still hadn't gotten the hang of everything perfectly. This was beginning to look like a suicide mission.

"They do. You're the one creating resistance." She demonstrated, her own earth power rising effortlessly. "Feel it in your mind and gradually let it flow. Don't force it."

“Okay, no forcing,” I breathed, imagining everything she said in detail.

I tried again and this time something clicked. The three powers spiralled together, a braid of energy that made my skin glow blue.

"There!" Mother said with satisfaction. "That's it. Keep practising, until you're used to it.”

I did that, fusing all the powers roaring in my skin and trying to make sure I wasn't having any difficulties with it.

Pelagius joined us later, critiquing my combat stance and teaching me how to read an opponent's movements.

"Hades fights like he has all the time in the world," he said. "Because he does. You need to be faster, more aggressive. Don't give him time to think."

It felt like I was getting a view of exam questions before it started. Pelagius has known this god for many Millennia and knows exactly how he fights.

The weird thing is that he's trying to shape me into a worthy opponent in the span of one week.

By afternoon I was dripping with sweat and my muscles were screaming, but I felt more prepared than I had that morning.

Reya spent the day with Ixion, going over the layout of the holding cells and planning their route. Josh stayed close to Ixion whenever he could, clearly dreading the moment his husband would leave again.

The Tamzyns lounged in the courtyard, occasionally offering commentary through the bond about my training.

"You're getting better," Nala observed. "You almost look like you know what you're doing."

"Thanks," I chuckled dryly, looking at myself in the window mirror.

I looked different now, the glow had reduced so I didn't look like a walking LED light but I had an air to me that showed power was breathing under my skin.

It still didn't give me enough confidence.

As evening approached, I retreated to my room to shower and change. The hot water felt amazing on my sore muscles and I stood under the spray longer than necessary, trying to calm my racing thoughts.

It's all happening tonight.

Tonight we'd be in the Underground.



When I came out, Rowan was sitting on the bed, staring at my phone on the nightstand.

"It's been buzzing all day," he said quietly.

I picked it up and saw the screen.

Nine missed calls from Ayo.

My stomach twisted slightly but I set the phone back down. "I'll call him back when this is over."

"You sure? He's called a lot."

"I'm sure." I sat beside Rowan and took his hand. "I can't deal with anything else right now. My head is full of battle plans and three-headed crocodiles and Hades. Ayo can wait."

Rowan pulled me close. "You're right. How are you feeling though? About tonight?"

"Terrified,” I confessed, allowing him to hug me closer.

"Good. That means you'll be careful."

“I don't know if that's gonna be of any use.”

"Stop thinking about it too much.” He kissed my forehead. "You're going to do this. You're going to get Claire and come back to me."

"I sure as hell hope so.

We made love again, slow and tender. Then hard and fast, as though trying to get in as much as possible. To get more energy, I sucked his dick again and again, consuming his orgasms until I was full to the brim.

And then we lay together, he exhausted and me full of energy, restless.

"Tell me what you're going to do when you get back," Rowan whispered.

"Sleep for three days straight,” I chuckled at the thought, “probably let you fuck so much energy into me that I'll barely be able to walk.”

He chuckled. "That I can do. And after that?"

I squinted. I hadn't thought about our future this far. All I saw in my vision was the battle, the way it would shape our lives or destroy them.

"I think we'll find a way to make all of this normal. Figure out how to be a goddess and a human at the same time. Spend time with you without the world ending every five minutes."

"Sounds perfect."

"What about you? What will you do?"

"Follow you around like a lovesick puppy," he said immediately. "Annoy you with how much I adore you. Maybe learn to play an instrument.”

I smiled against his chest. "I'd like that."

We drifted off eventually, wrapped around each other.

When I woke, the sun was setting, casting orange light through the windows.

It was time.

I got dressed in the clothes Mother had prepared. Dark, flexible fabric that moved like water. Boots that fit perfectly. A band to tie my hair back.

When I looked in the mirror, I barely recognised myself.

I looked like a warrior.

There was a knock on the door and Reya poked her head in. "Mother wants everyone in the courtyard now."

I nodded and she disappeared.

Rowan turned me around to face him. "This is it."

"This is it."

He kissed me, long and deep and full of everything we couldn't say.

When we pulled apart, his eyes were wet.

"Come back to me, please?" he whispered.

"I will. I promise."

We walked to the courtyard together, his hand tight in mine.

Everyone was already gathered.

"Everyone knows the plan," Mother said when she saw me. "Remember every detail because everything depends on this going according to plan."

"And if things go wrong?" Josh asked, his voice trembling.

"Then we adapt," Pelagius said. "But the mission stays the same. Get Claire. Subdue Hades. Get out. We'll handle the rest from there."

I nodded and moved toward Nala.

I climbed onto Nala's back. Reya mounted Jock. Ixion kissed Josh one more time, slow and lingering, before climbing onto Kelin.

Rowan stood at the edge of the courtyard, his hands clenched at his sides, jaw tight.

I met his eyes across the space between us.

"I love you," I mouthed.

He mouthed it back.

The Tamzyns spread their wings.

Rowan's face was the last thing I saw before we lifted into the air.

We rose higher and higher until the resort became a small dot below us. The wind whipped past my face and I held tight to Nala's scales.

This was it.

No more planning. No more preparing.

We were really doing this.