“Alright.” Medusa nodded at the triplets. “Do your thing.”
Elian whistled. “We’ve never used our power at this scale before.”
Even the confident and brash Liora had her eyebrows drawn together in worry. “Will we have enough magic?”
Zara remained quiet, but Hektor didn’t need empathic powers to know she was anxious as well.
“You can do it,” Hektor said, looking each one in the eye, though lingering a little longer on Zara. “I know you can.”
Zara flashed him a small smile, then nodded her head at her siblings. “Let’s go.”
Just like that first day when they demonstrated their powers, the three of them spread out amongst the herd, forming a triangle. Even in the wide open space of the plains, the magic emanating from them felt just as powerful as it did in that tiny meeting room back at headquarters, maybe even more now that they were in nature. There was an awareness in the air that shimmered and vibrated in every living thing, from the wind gently blowing by to the blades of grass beneath his feet.
“Yes, I can feel it,” Liora said in a serious tone. “Something strong…I can see…” She gasped.
“It’s alive,” Elian added.
“And so strong,” Zara gasped. “You…”
She broke the triangle as she stepped forward, weaving her way through the herd. Her siblings, Hektor and the rest of their party followed behind her, the crowd parting to make way until she stopped in front of a male centaur.
There was nothing unusual about him, at least not his human half. Like most males in the herd, he had golden tanned skin and a muscular torso. However, he had a shock of white hair that matched that of his tail, and his equine body was a black color with splashes of silver along the front and sides.
“This one,” Zara breathed out.
Medusa confirmed it with a nod. “Yup. Level nine.”
“Are you a son of Zeus?” Zara asked.
The centaur blinked. “H-how did you know?”
Dimeses spoke up. “Wait, how didyouknow, Igalus?”
The other centaur’s gaze lowered as one of his rear hooves pawed at the ground. “I’ve known for some time. I know we aren’t supposed to know, but…”
“You’re not in trouble, young one,” Corinea assured him as she trotted forward. “But I am curious.”
“He…he made me promise not to tell.” Igalus swallowed audibly. “Zeus…my father.”
“He came to you? When?”
“As a child,” he confessed. “When my dam died. He said he had been very fond of her and asked me if I needed anything. I told him the herd looked after me and he seemed pleased. He continued to visit me until my eighteenth birthday a few years ago.”
Perseus and Medusa looked at each other, something passing between them before the shifter spoke up. “Did he ask you to do anything?”
The centaur’s expression shifted. “Yes he did. He asked me to say I was his son.”
“And then what happened?” Medusa continued.
“Nothing, really.” The centaur frowned. “I mean, I thought he was disappointed, but he didn’t say anything. But that was the last time I saw him. Then I heard that he had been imprisoned and so I just didn’t say anything. I figured it didn’t matter anyway. The herd is my family.”
“And we are,” Corinea said. “Thank you for telling us, Igalus. There are a few other things we need to speak about, but it would be best said in private and if you wish to share with the herd that would be your prerogative.”
“Alright. But what about the others?”
“Others?” One of Corinea’s eyebrows lifted quizzically. “What others?”
“Zeus’s other foals from the other herds.”
