Iroar and push forward, lightning surging from my fists, wrapping around me in arcs of silver light. The power in me grows, buzzing with intensity. My fist connects with Helios, and the shockwave sends him sliding back several feet.
His smile fades. His golden eyes flare brighter.“You may carry the will and strength that he does,”he says, his voice filled with fury and contempt,“But you are not Zeus.”
Then he moves, faster than I can comprehend. One moment he’s in front of me, and then the next, he’s behind me before I can even take a single breath. His fist connects with my spine, and agony explodes through me, as I feel something crack. My face smashes into the ground, my helmet protecting my skull.
Before I can move, Helios grabs me by the back of my cloak and yanks me upright, his face inches from mine.“Knowyour place, I am a god,”he snarls, his breath searing against my skin, burning with anger.“But everything you have, everything you want, everything you hope to ever be is already mine!”
He slams me down headfirst into the ground. The ground cracks, splintering outward in a web of molten gold. He rips my helmet off, smashing my head into the ground, my vision dizzying as a scream splits the air.
“Enough! If he dies, you know the consequences!” Sienna’s voice is shrill, but filled with something I’ve not heard from her before.
“If he dies, you are mine for eternity,”Helios chuckles, unbothered. I hear one of my brothers try to attack, but Helios casts him aside like a ragdoll.
This fucking dickhead!Theo’s snarl rings in my head. I see his shadow behind Helios, who has let go of me, holding his scythe that has power wrapped around where it had broken. It pulses with power as he drives the jagged blade into Helios’ back. I twist, seeing the divine mark pulse gold beneath his armour.
I raise my hand, snarling as Theo drives the blade deep, and I punch him in the chest, slamming him backwards, driving Theo’s blade into his armoured back. For a moment, Helios’ eyes widen, but then he turns, tearing free from the blade. His armour breaks, and he rips it off, tossing the heavy metal to the ground, and I’m satisfied to see liquid gold blood drip from his back.
But it has only angered him.
“Guess we’re more alike than you think,” Theo says, ashe pulls me to my feet with one hand. “Gods bleed just like mortals.”
Helios doesn’t reply; instead, he raises his hand and sends an immense blast our way. Theo shoves me away, and it hits him directly, throwing him halfway across the arena, his body slamming into a pillar with a crunch that makes my stomach twist.
I hear a snarl of rage from the stands and see Alessandra standing, her aura raging around her, her eyes red, whilst Heaven is beside her, eyes wide with horror. But they can’t interfere; no one can.
I drag myself up, summoning my power. One thing different here is that there is no end to the power I can draw from around me.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” I growl. I can see Ares moving from the corner of my eye.
Helios looks down at me, the mark on his chest faintly glowing.“You think you can destroy me?”he asks quietly, almost pityingly.“You really think the sun can fall?”
“I don’t think – I fucking know it can,” I spit blood.
Ares’ voice bursts in my mind,Now, Jayce!
The ground beneath Helios shifts, water surging upward from cracks in the marble, glowing a deep teal, and it wraps around Helios’ legs, trying to pull him down.
It’s now or never.
I channel everything I have left, lightning fusing with the churning water. The storm builds around us, lightning and watertwisting together until it’s impossible to tell where one ends and the other begins.
Helios roars, breaking free, the heat so intense my skin burns. He thrusts his palm forward, and a wave of sunfire tears through the arena.
I spot Carter running forward before I can. At some point, he must have shifted back into human form, but he now shifts back into his wolf, diving straight towards the blast. Helios shifts direction, and the fire hits him full blast.
“Carter!” I thunder.
The smell of burnt fur fills the air. He hits the ground, his body limp, chest barely moving.
Renji is next, leaping at Helios from behind, biting into his shoulder as his body becomes engulfed with the sunfire. He’s badly wounded, but somehow, we’re all still alive. Hades…
Lightning surges around me, brighter, faster, harder. My gauntlets crackle, their runes glowing white. I launch forward; this is my chance. My fist slams into Helios’ chest, sending shockwaves in all directions, the impact sending lightning splintering outwards.
For the first time since we began this duel, Helios stumbles as his huge form is thrown to the ground, his head bouncing off the cracked ground.
His molten gold blood drips from his lip. His hand shakes slightly as he wipes it away, eyes glowing brighter with fury. “Scum.”
He raises both hands, summoning a dazzling ray of light.
