“All right, Thea, are you ready?”

She nodded, shifting her stance. “I’m ready.”

“And go!”

Artemis threw a pine cone into the air and Thea created a ball of flame, flinging it upwards. It hit its target, small sparks of flame shooting across the sky. Artemis continued to throw the pine cones in the air, looking bored, and Hermes stood to the side with Apollo, who appeared to be in his element.

“Thea, have you ever wondered what it would be like to be sleep with me? I’ve always wondered about you and your little body – ow!”

Hermes punched him in the stomach. “Too far.”

“Sorry! I’m meant to make her angry, remember?”

Hermes scowled and held his fist at the ready. After explaining everything she knew about Lissandre the day before, Hermes had grown quiet. She had given him time to absorb everything and when he was ready, he simply told her it was in the past and there was no point being angry. Lissandre would always be a sensitive subject between the two of them and she had a feeling he didn’t want to get into an argument with her the day before the big battle. She knew he was still angry but now that he knew the truth, she hoped that in time he would forgive Lissandre.

Apollo’s words rolled against her defences and she remained focused on shooting the pine cones.

“So, Thea,” Apollo started again. “What did you think when you saw me naked? I bet you were pretty impressed, right? These thighs have a way of turning ladies legs to jelly – ow!”

Thea threw a flame ball at him. “Come on, Apollo; that’s not making me angry, it’s only making me nauseous. Pick up your game and do this properly.”

“Right,” he muttered. “I’m not good at making people angry. I’m only good at flirting.”

“You think you’re good at flirting?” Thea muttered to herself.

“Oh, that’s it!” Artemis threw the cones onto the ground and walked over to Apollo. “You throw the cones and I’ll throw out the insults. I am better at it, after all.”

Shoving Apollo towards to the cones, she stood next to Hermes, hands on hips. “All right, begin!”

They started the lesson again and Artemis wasted no time being mean. “We’re not going to save Josh; he’s expendable and we aren’t going to waste our time saving his ass,” she said loudly, getting straight to the point.

The words hit her walls hard but she stayed focused, throwing flames at every cone she saw.

“As soon we get there, Cronos is going to slit his throat and watch you come undone. Then when this is all over, Hermes is going to throw you to the curb and never look back. As if he’d ever be serious about a weakling like you.”

Cracks started forming and she missed two of the three cones thrown.

“Artemis!” she heard Hermes snap.

“Be quiet! It’s for the training,” she murmured before shouting, “He doesn’t really love you; it’s all an act. There’s no way he could ever love you after all the crap Lissandre pulled.”

Not true, not true. She kept repeating the words in her mind as Artemis’ words sent a large crack through her wall. Tears blurred her vision and she threw a wild flame ball. Apollo shouted and she looked over at him. The ball had hit him in the face and he rubbed his cheek.

“Sorry,” she called out hoarsely.

“That’s it — enough!” Hermes started walking over to her but she held her hand up.

“No, its okay, Hermes. I know it’s not true.” She sniffed and turned away. Artemis had the decency to look guilty but she also appeared proud she had succeeded.

“It’s for your own good,” she called bluntly.

Thea figured it that was her way of saying sorry so she took it. “I know, it’s all right. Sorry about the flame ball, Apollo. Let’s try it again.”

*                             *                             *                             *                             *

They spent all morning going over the same drills, Thea’s defences taking a major hit from Artemis ,but at the end they were still intact and she was able to hit every cone Apollo had thrown, many of them right at her. Hermes had joined in during the last two trials and helped to throw them from different directions so she could practice keeping her senses wide open. She still missed a few of his cones but her awareness had improved.

Sitting down for lunch, Hermes kissed her cheek. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, just hungry.”

He passed her a sandwich and a glass of water. “Dig in.”

A bang sounded from upstairs and they all looked up as Apollo sighed. “Ares and Enyo have been locked in that room since last night. I do not want to know what they’ve been up to.”

Thea’s cheeks reddened. “Any chance they’ve just been discussing their love of bloodshed?”

“It’s probably come up in between breaks,” Artemis muttered.

“Ugh.” Thea pushed her plate away. “I’m suddenly not hungry anymore.”

“So, what are you guys doing for the rest of the day?” Apollo tried to change the subject. “Last day before the big battle. Do you want to train some more?”

“No.” Hermes grabbed Thea’s hand. “I think we should just do our own thing for the afternoon.”

“Agreed.” Artemis stood up. “I need to relieve some stress; I’m going hunting for the afternoon.”

“I’m going to take a shower before I do anything. See you later.” Thea left them in the kitchen and walked upstairs. She heard a door open and met Ares and Enyo at the top of the stairs. “Uh, hey.”

They didn’t say anything, simply nodding and walking down the stairs. Their hair and clothes looked slightly rumpled and she tried not to think about what they were doing. Walking past the room they’d been occupying left no chance of that. Gasping, she clapped a hand over her mouth as she peered inside.

The whole room looked like some beast had torn it apart. The bed lay in pieces and the mattress had a large slash down the centre. Splinters of wood were scattered across the floor and the curtains were laying across the table, which was missing a leg and lying on its side.

“Hey, I thought I’d join you for that shower – whoa!” Hermes looked in the room with horror. “Talk about liking it rough –“

“Let’s not talk about it all!” She shuddered. “I definitely need a shower after seeing that room; I feel all kinds of dirty now.”

Hermes nodded. “Agreed.”

Walking into her room, she made a bee line for the bathroom. “You know I can shower by myself.”

“You can, but where’s the fun in that?”

Smiling, she felt his lips on her neck and reached for the door, pushing it shut. He moved around her, hand slowly lifting up her shirt, and his mouth found hers, all thoughts of tomorrow flying out the window. He moved back to lift her shirt over her head and she pulled his up at the same time, skin tingling as he closed the distance between them. Reaching back, she twisted the shower nozzle and the water started pouring as his lips moved over her neck. Her hands moved up his back, tracing the natural lines of muscle, and she laughed as he nipped at her shoulder.

Quickly removing the rest of their clothes, he picked her up and stepped into the shower, the warm water hitting her back. Turning around, Hermes pressed her back against the cool tiles, entering her, and she gasped as he began to move, the world fading around her. The God inside her was the only thing she could see as time lost all meaning and the water turned cold.

*                             *                             *                             *                             *

Once they were finally dry and dressed, Hermes took them back to her forest, away from the other Gods who were hovering around the house. Sitting on the same fallen tree Thea had seen Nyx on, they faced each other, playing with a deck of cards that Hermes had found at Apollo’s. She was trying to teach him a childhood game called ‘Spit’, but every time he tried to move fast he ended up blowing the cards everywhere.

“This game isn’t very fun.”

“It is when you don’t blow the cards everywhere,” she laughed. Giving up on the scattered cards, she threw one at him. “Now what should we do?”

The sun was beginning to set and she didn’t really want to go back yet. “Well, I’ve got an idea –“

“Does it involve taking our clothes off?”

“We don’t have to take them off,” Hermes grinned and she lifted her foot, pushing him in the chest. His upper torso came back, moving her leg aside, and kept going. She saw what he was aiming for and twisted her head so he kissed her hair. “Spoilsport.”

Sticking out her tongue, she looked down at the trunk, the butterflies in her stomach beginning to go crazy as the reality of tomorrow started to sink in.

“You’re nervous.” Hermes took her hands, rubbing his thumbs across her skin.

“More like terrified,” she murmured.

“Don’t be afraid; you’ll have me protecting you all the way. Apollo and Artemis, too. I think the others are here just for the battle but they’ll protect you as well.”

“If you’re all protecting me, who will be protecting you?”

Hermes chuckled, pulling her forward and hugging her. “I don’t need protecting, love. I’ll be fine; you just make sure you focus on what needs to be done tomorrow. Just try not to think about it right now.”

“Kind of hard not to.”

Hermes pulled her away, looking her in the eye. “Tomorrow, we are going to send those Titan bastards to Tartarus, rescue the detective, and then you and I are going to go on a holiday. Any preferences?”

Thea smiled at the thought of doing something normal. “Hmm, how about the Caribbean? Just the thought of lying on a beach all day makes me feel relaxed.”

“And you’d only have to wear a bikini — I’m liking this already…”

“Ha-ha, it will be a singlet and shorts, for your information.”

His eyes gleamed. “Not if I have anything to do with it.”

“Can you stop for one minute?” she laughed.

His hands rested on her thighs and he grinned. “I can’t. The image of you in a bikini is stuck in my head and I’m not going to rest until it becomes a reality.”

Laughing, she slapped his arm, and they fell silent. She looked up, meeting his gaze, and something burst in her chest. The words burst forth before she could overthink them. “I love you.”

Hermes leaned over, kissing her as he pulled her closer. “I love you too, Peaches. Now let’s get back to this bikini business – Ow!”

She yanked his hair. “Way to ruin the moment, you ass!”

Hermes laughed. “I’m kidding; we’ll get back to the bikini later.” Pressing his forehead to hers, he lifted her and placed her on his lap. “You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say those words,” he spoke softly.

“Are you nervous about tomorrow?” she asked.

“I’m only nervous about one thing.”

“What’s that?”

 “Keeping you safe.”

Wrapping her hands around his neck, she buried her head in his neck. “I’ll be safe, just like you will be,” she said fiercely. “Understood?”

Chuckling she felt his lips brush her hair. “Understood, love.”

The sun was beginning to set and Hermes sighed, his hands rubbing her back in circular motions. “We should head back.”

“Do we have to? I like it here.”

“I know, Peaches, but I need to go and make sure Athena is still coming.”

“Why? I thought she was all for this?”

“She is, but Zeus wants me to be certain. It will only take me a couple of hours and I’ll be back later.”

Leaning back, she frowned, annoyed he still had to work. “All right then.”

“Don’t pout,” he grinned.

“I’m not pouting!”

“You are, and why wouldn’t you? You’re going to miss me uncontrollably, you won’t be able to function without me here –“

“Is that how I look in your head?” she spoke over him and she felt the lurch as they returned to the field near Apollo’s home. Thea clung to him as she started falling and he helped her stand back up.

An arrow landed near their feet before Hermes could respond and she yelped. Hermes grabbed the arrow, turning in the direction it had come from.

“Are you getting blind, Artemis?” he called.

Thea squinted into the distance and saw a small figure running towards them. They waited a minute before Artemis caught up to them.

“I am not blind,” she snapped. “I was just making sure you two weren’t doing anything disgusting before I made it back here. What are you two doing out here, anyway? Are you avoiding the house too?”

“What do you mean?” Thea asked.

“Well you saw it, right? The bedroom? Apollo is pretty pissed after seeing what Ares and Enyo did to that bedroom. Damn brutes that they are, they were demanding another room when I left.”

“Oh please tell me he didn’t give them the room next to mine,” Thea cringed.

“No, he didn’t want them to destroy another room. They’ll be stuck in that cursed room for their last night.”

“Hopefully they can keep it in their pants for one night,” Hermes muttered. He looked at Artemis. “I’ve got to go and check on Athena. I’ll see you guys later.”

“No worries. I’ll watch Thea.”

Hermes gave Thea a quick kiss before vanishing. Walking back to the house, Thea glanced at Artemis. “How did your hunting go?”

“Pretty dismal. Not much game around here. Spent more time practicing on a tree.”

Thea saw the annoyance on her face and had an idea. “So, you can’t hunt in Gaia’s forest because Lissandre wouldn’t let you, right?”

Artemis snorted. “That’s right, selfish creature.”

“Um, well, I was thinking… I know you’ve been nice to me and you don’t really like most people, but after tomorrow, you’re more than welcome to hunt in the forest. Just not when I’m there –“

The air was crushed from her lungs as Artemis hugged her. Her body stiffened in shock and Artemis pulled back. “Are you sure? There’s no take backs once you say yes.”

“Yes, I’m sure - ah!”

Artemis hugged her again and shoved her way. Thea fell to the ground and winced. Artemis was smiling widely, swinging her bow in her hand. “I can’t wait to step into that forest again; those creatures won’t know what’s hit them!”

Reaching down, she grabbed Thea and pulled her back to her feet. “Come on, let’s go tell Apollo the good news.”

Thea wasn’t sure Apollo would care, but she followed anyway. Stepping through the front doors, they saw Apollo sitting on the bottom step of the stairs. Artemis sat next to him, slapping him on the back. The sound echoed in the room and Thea flinched. “Guess what? Thea said I can hunt in Gaia’s forest again. You want to join me on the first hunt?”

“No,” he mumbled. His face was sullen, head resting in his palms, and Thea crouched in front of him.

“Are you all right, Apollo?”

“I have to burn it down,” his voice was wooden.

“Burn what down?”

“The house. I have to burn it all down. There’s no point just burning the one room. I’ll always know what horrors occurred there. I’ll need to relocate, rebuild from scratch –“

Artemis was grinning at her bow, muttering the different names of animals she was going to hunt.

Ares stood in one of the small balconies above, looking too big in the small archway. “I refuse to sleep in that room, Apollo.”

“Tough luck!” he snapped, turning to face the God of War. “It’s one night, so deal with it!”

He looked back at the ground, muttering about different locations where he could rebuild as Ares grumbled above and Thea watched them all with worry. This was definitely the most dysfunctional family she had ever seen.

She hoped Hermes got back soon.

*                             *                             *                             *                             *

Hermes returned as promised after a couple of hours and found Thea hiding away in her room, lying on their bed, reading a book. “Why are you hiding in here?”

Not looking up, she replied, “The others were getting a bit crazy. It was safer to hide out in here.”

Hermes jumped on the bed, kissing her arm, and looked at her book. “What are you reading?”

“Harry Potter.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. Apollo has the entire series, along with a wand and wizard’s hat in his study. Me thinks he is a diehard fan.”

“It does sound like Apollo. It doesn’t sound like you, though.”

“I’m not a diehard fan but it’s a nice distraction from reality.”

“Fair enough. I can distract you in other ways if you want?”

Shutting the book, she gave him a look and hit his arm. Taking the book from her, he pulled her down onto the mattress, her head resting on his chest. “I thought you were going to distract me?”

“I am,” he said, his fingers running up and down her arm. “Is this method not working?”

“No, it is. I like it.”

Eyes closed, she wrapped her arm around his chest and felt her body relax. “Do you think Josh is okay?”

“I wish I could say he is completely fine but I can’t guarantee it. Cronos won’t kill him, though. He’s a bargaining chip and without him, you have no reason to appear before him. We will get him back tomorrow.”

Hermes heartbeat sounded steady, the gentle rhythm calming her. “I know we will. I can’t believe it’s been nearly two months since I met you and all this madness started. It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long.”

“Hm.” His voice rumbled through his chest. “Are you happy it’s nearly over?”

“More scared at the moment. Ask me after it’s finished tomorrow.”

“Don’t be scared,” he murmured. “We’re going to win and then tomorrow will be nothing but a bad memory.”

They fell silent and time passed slowly as they lay together, content to simply hold each other and enjoy what peace they had left.

Tomorrow, it all came to an end. 

____________________________________________________

A/N: Hey guys, apologies for the late update this week. As some of you may know I will be entering this into the watty awards. I do not expect to win, this is simply a way to challenge myself. I've never been confident with my writing so it will be interesting to see how it goes.

Also a note to you all, there are only 3 chapters to go! How scary!