Chapter Twenty Six
Tristan
Fuck!
“Thalia!” I called out to her as the man held a sword to her chest. My eyes shot to Zeus and Osiris— both had their eyes on her. Zeus with a triumphant smirk on his face, and Osiris watching intently. No emotions. I kicked the man who came towards me and transported myself over to her. Just as I was about to rip him to shreds, a blinding light exploded over us, knocking everyone on their ass. My ears were ringing, and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust from the light that was now gone. Immediately I sat up and crawled to Thalia, who was lying on the ground unconscious.
“No! Thalia!” My arms wrapped around her and pulled her close. Déjà vu hit me like a freight train. The last time I held her, looking like this, she was dying in that cave. Feeling the fight leave me, my form changed back into a man.
“Not again, love. You get your ass back to me,” I told her, unwilling to let her die. Her eyes were still closed, and her skin was pale. I could still feel her heart, but it was slow, and her soul wasn’t talking to me. My forehead touched hers, and I closed my eyes, not caring what was happening around me. I could be surrounded by swords and would not move a muscle.
“Wake up, my love. You still owe me many more moments that we missed in the last two thousand years. And the babies, they need their mother. They need their family. I need you, love,” I whispered against her lips. Everything seemed silent around us— no gunfire, no swords meeting, nothing.
“Yours forever, love.” Thalia’s voice was hoarse, but she spoke to me none the less. I hugged her tight, kissing her as if my breath, mixed with hers, would continue to revive her. Her eyelids slowly peeled back, giving me a look at her beautiful brown eyes.
“I’d never leave you again,” she whispered and I laughed in relief.
A loud boom echoed throughout the forest, that bright light came back, and the ground shook as something landed a few feet from us.
“Enough.” A loud, stern voice that demanded attention boomed around us.
A man stood before us, but not just any man. My eyes widened when I realized who was only a few feet away from me and my love.
Ra.
The king of all Egyptian gods. He was the beginning and the end to us. He was tall and fit for his age, which was older than time. His hair was gray and pulled back into band behind his head. His salt and pepper beard was trimmed, and his skin was a golden tan. The sun god at his finest. He was wearing a regular T-shirt and jeans. The only normal-looking person here. Beside him, two figures stepped forward: Isis and Aphrodite, each with one of our babes in their arms. They fucking brought them here? Had they gone mad?
Aphrodite’s eyes met mine, and she winked at me. What the hell?
“Ra?” Osiris stepped forward in shock. We all were in shock. Ra hadn’t shown himself in thousands of years. No one knew what happened to him. For him to be here, right now, was a big deal.
“Did you think I wouldn’t know that these two have been punished for simply loving each other?” Ra’s eyes found mine, and in them I saw guilt. I didn’t understand his emotion.
“It was wrong at the time. The mixing of the Greek and Egyptian lineage was not done. That is not the problem now.” Osiris kept his head high, but I could tell he was nervous as shit to have Ra here.
“It was not wrong. You were blinded by your own problems and hate at the time for your bastard child, whom Isis raised.” That stung. Osiris was my father, but I was not created with Isis, but rather with her sister, who abandoned me. Isis found me and raised me as one of her sons, alongside Horus.
“But—” Osiris tried to talk again, and Ra cut him off.
“Matters not. Right now, you threaten the lives of these two babes. Innocent babes, with pure hearts.” He gestured to our children in the arms of the women beside him.
“Aphrodite.” Zeus spat her name like a curse.
“Give up, Zeus. I’ll not let you hurt my family. These babies are a gift to life. You need to accept that.” She looked him straight in the eye, hugging Callista tight to her breast. Zeus’s eyes narrowed at the baby.
“Osiris, we love Anubis, and you are jeopardizing how far we have come in our family. Finally we have young ones to be a part of their lives again. They are perfect.” She cooed the last part to Ren. Our children had worked wonders on them. These were women of power, and they had used that power to save our family. For the first time in a month, I felt like I could breathe.
“You will abandon your pointless cause and drop your weapons. This family will not be harmed, and will live out the rest of existence in peace.” Ra’s word was law in our world. Osiris did as he said, and dropped his weapon. Everyone else that was on his side did the same.
“That’s it?” Zeus questioned Osiris’s actions. He turned and faced the lightning god head on.
“I respect him as our leader. You stand alone now.” He turned his back to Zeus, and walked over to us. When he stood a foot away, he kneeled down.
“I’m sorry I was so blind. For as long as existence keeps me, you will no longer have altercations with me, or my kind.” I knew he was serious in his apology, but it was going to take a while to let forgiveness settle in my bones. He caused us much heartache. Maybe one day the pain will subside. He knew my thoughts, so he stood and gave us a nod. Thalia was gripping my arms so tight I thought she would break the skin. Her eyes were on the babes, and then darting around, trying to figure out what was happening.
“It’s over, love. We won,” I said, exuberant. Without Osiris on his team, Zeus would retreat, unwilling to battle all of us, and knowing he would lose. Her eyes looked into mine, trying to believe what I said was the truth. It seemed like we had been fighting for the freedom to live our life together forever. So understanding that it was finally over, and we could be at peace for the rest of time, was a difficult truth to accept.
Zeus did just as I expected he would. He declared the babes were not a threat anymore and recalled his minions. As they retreated, he looked back at us one more time. He wished there had been a different outcome, but there was nothing he could do now. When they left, Osiris and the rest of the Egyptians did, too, leaving Ra, Aphrodite and Isis with our babes, along with whoever was left of our army. Needing to know that we hadn’t lost too many, I looked behind us to see Leander with a grin on his face; Ares, who was staring down Aphrodite hungrily; and Horus and Set, standing next to each other. Their gazes were on Ra, our lost king.
