Releasing The Gods (The Titan's Saga #1)- Leia Stone Page 0,58

to vomit.

“Rhea!” Cronus shouted.

“Oh, all right!” She placed her hands on my back as well and her icy power trickled down my entire spine and then up into my arms and out through my fingers. The necklace at my throat began to vibrate, feeling like it was shaking my entire skull. Sickness fell to his knees as this triumvirate of power coursed through me and I started to feel…

“I feel sick,” I blurted.

“His power is going into the necklace … just hang on,” Cronus murmured.

Sickness looked up at me with such malice, so close to my face, it was terrifying. “It’s too late. You’ll never get us all in time,” he rasped, before his entire body started to break apart. He went from god to blobs of black inky liquid in seconds. When he fell away from my hands, I pulled them back, instinctively knowing not to touch the blobs.

“Alright, let's carefully set him inside the necklace,” Cronus called out. “Rhea, protect Maisey or I’ll kill you myself.”

She growled, shifting her position to stand in front of me and guide the black blobs into the necklace. Suddenly, my chest felt ice cold, so cold it hurt.

“I’m having a heart attack!” I shouted, clutching my chest just under the necklace.

Rhea rolled her eyes. “I’m just freezing the skin around the necklace so Sickness can’t attach to your form.”

Attach to my form? #WTF. Was that possible? We really needed to have a chat about the side-effects of this shit before we were halfway through.

“And he’d better not or I’ll hold you responsible,” Cronus told her, his tone hard.

Hyperion laughed. “Brother, I haven’t seen you this enamored since Rhea—before she slept with half the pantheon of course.”

“Shut up!” Both Cronus and Rhea called out at the same time.

I was dying. My chest was so cold that I knew I would meet Thanatos and my mother soon. I didn’t even have time to process Hyperion’s claim that Cronus might be enamored with me.

Suddenly the necklace felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. The black blobs were gone and I stared down at the crystal at my throat, looking for signs of the darkness it held. All I could see were icy frost tendrils around my heart.

“That’s enough, Rhea,” Cronus growled.

With a grin, she thawed the ice and I felt like I could breathe again, rubbing at my frozen chest.

“That was fun. Who’s next?” Hyperion rubbed his hands together, his long blond hair shaking around his shoulders.

“Yes, Cronie, where are we needed next?”

Cronus glared at his ex-wife. “Sickness was your responsibility. You clean this mess up and make sure it doesn’t spread.” He pointed to the heaps of dead bodies.

She scoffed, looking offended. “Who put you in charge?”

Hyperion spoke up. “We did. Eons ago. Do as you’re told.”

I cleared my throat. “Show them respect as well,” I said softly. “I know they’re only humans to you, but they’re not to me. They’re important. They died when they shouldn’t have.”

Cronus pressed a hand to my lower back and all these warm feelings shot through me. “Give them a burial fit for a Titan,” he told Rhea, and even though she didn’t look that excited about it, she didn’t argue.

With that, the two men turned away, Cronus grabbing my hand, dragging me with him. Only I was privy to the daggered glare that Rhea shot me as we retreated.

Hah. Take that bitch. #IGotYourMan

“Shall we find Strife and Turmoil? Help out Crius and Koios?” Hyperion asked as we walked.

Cronus nodded, “I think that would be wise. The sins are acting a little different this time, and something tells me they’re going to team up. It’ll be a group effort to contain them.”

Hyperion looked down at me. “Maisey, how are you feeling?”

I shrugged. “Like a bear is sitting on my chest.”

Hyperion nodded. “That should lessen as the necklace takes hold of Sickness and integrates him.”

Cronus frowned. “I wouldn’t put more than three Sins in the necklace. I’m afraid of what it might do to Maisey. After that, we need a new plan.”

I nodded. “I think it’s time you finally told me how Selene is my mother. She’s been dead for a thousand years. Plus, I had a mom, and she had photos of me in the hospital. I’m … I need to know now.” I’d let him get away and deflect this question too many times already.

Hyperion sighed. “It’s a bit of a guarded secret, but … I agree, you should know. Understanding where you come from is very