of the plague in my last few moments, so I decided to focus on geography.
A tender hand stroked my forehead. “Switzerland. When you’re all better, I will take you to a ski chalet in the alps.”
I nodded. That sounded nice. Something heavy was dragging me under, trying to make me face a bright light that had appeared behind my closed eyes.
“Maisey!” Cronus shook me and my eyes snapped open. “Stay with me.”
I nodded. “Tell me something. Something you never told anyone.”
If I was dying, I wanted to take one of Cronus’ deep dark secrets with me.
He grinned and it nearly killed me right then and there. Screw the plague, it was that fucking smile that would be the death of me. “I knew you weren’t a prostitute when we first met. I just liked fucking with you,” he declared.
I gasped, but it turned into a cough and Cronus had to lay me on the ground and tilt me on my side.
Suddenly Panacea was there, wielding a giant glowing crystal in my face. She ran the crystal over my body, frowning as she went. “Why is she so ill so quickly? I can’t chase the disease. It’s spreading too fast!”
Cronus punched the ground and then growled, like a bear. “Because Sickness fucking touched her.”
Panacea dropped the crystal into her lap. “She’s too far gone Cro—”
He scooped me up into his arms, hugging me tightly against his chest. “Don’t say that! You don’t know her. She’s the daughter of Selene. She’s strong.”
Panacea placed a hand on his shoulder. “Maybe if you had access to the spring. But I heard Zeus burned the pools after you were imprisoned.”
Cronus seemed to consider this. I was trying to follow the conversation and his facial expressions, but everything was blurry.
“He couldn’t have. You'd need a Titan to get there…”
Panacea shrugged. “Maybe he just spread that as a rumor,”
“Pan, find Rhea. I fear she’s in mortal danger. Tell her I’m coming after I heal Maisey.”
Pan nodded, and then everything went black.
Something damp and cool splashed on my face, and the contrast to my burning skin was enough that I flinched, while at the same time angling my face to feel more of it.
I was beyond opening my eyes now, trusting that Cronus wasn’t about to turf me into an open grave and end this bond.
“I’m sorry for this,” he whispered. I was still alive enough to feel fleeting panic at those ominous words, right before he stepped forward and we started to drop. A scream escaped me, but before another sounded, we sank deep into icy waters.
My heart stuttered, the shock of the cold jolting through me, and for some time I just floated in icy darkness, not knowing if I was dead or alive. The pain ebbed and flowed throughout my body and all I could hear was the pounding of my heart and Cronus breathing against my chest. The entire time he never let go of me. I shivered, convulsed, gasped for air, and he never let go.
“Maisey, open your eyes.”
The warm voice was coaxing me back to the light, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to go back. It was hard in the light. Lonely. Sad. And painful at times. Being lost and displaced was not any way to live, and for most of my life I’d been dragging myself through with little to no support.
“You have me now,” he murmured, and I felt warmth and familiarity. It was brushing across my soul, tying my body back to the mortal world. “You’re not alone.”
My eyes flew open, my strength returning as I took what felt like my first deep breath of air in forever. As soon as my eyes adjusted to the light, I noted the sparkling land of perfection that surrounded me: a waterfall above us, cascading into the crystal clear waters that I was neck deep in; tiny colored pebbles below, shining in the bright warmth of the sun; green around the edges, wildflowers filling the land with color and the scent of honeysuckle, and through all of that I only had eyes for Cronus.
He was shirtless, heavy bronze muscles crowding my vision. His hair was slicked back, looking much darker than usual, so black it was almost void of color. Cronus stole so much of my attention that it was like he was the only thing that existed.
“You saved me?” I said, my voice husky, like I’d been screaming for hours. My pain, the heat, the burning lungs … everything was