As the fire burned, I moaned at the delicious warmth caressing my skin, seeping into me, relaxing muscles I hadn't even realized were tense. After a few minutes, I crept away from the fire to crack open the front door, noticing that it was still the same hazy afternoon light out there, and no sign at all of Cronus.
That was weird, right? He always knew how to track me.
My first instinct was panic that he’d been taken down by the gods. Zeus clearly had that ambush planned, probably very similar to the original ambush that killed the Titans, but I knew my family would have been expecting it this time.
I hope those fucking gods got a smackdown like they'd never experienced.
My eyes flicked to the trunk, still haphazardly skewed near the front door, the necklace on top of it. The small crack in the side was visible and a little larger, but the black inky smoke only wafted about two inches outside the trunk.
“You better stay in there or my super baby will blast your ass to the underworld,” I warned the sins.
To kill time, I searched the now toasty warm cabin, managing to come up with a couple of bottles of water, some stale crackers, and an unopened jar of peanut butter. It was only a few months out of date, but those are just guidelines anyway, right?
#ShouldBeFine #BabyTitansCan’tGetFoodPoisoning
She didn't seem to mind as I munched on my snacks, kicking away happily inside, and I wished I felt the same way. As every second ticked by without Cronus finding me, the pressure and dread pressing down on me grew, until I could barely breathe.
“Take Mommy back to see Daddy now, honey,” I finally said. The fight had to have finished by now, and I refused to wait around any longer.
What if the gods had something even worse planned? What if the Titans got hurt? I needed to be there with them. For the first time since we arrived, she went still, not even a flutter could be felt.
“Baby girl…?” I tried again.
Nothing.
#DidSheJustGoToHerRoomAndSlamTheDoor
My child was no doubt trying to protect me the best way she knew how, but leaving me to slowly starve to death in Norway or Antarctica, or whatever frozen hell this was, did not work for me.
Since there was no way for me to leave in this snowstorm, I decided to get some sleep and figure out the rest later. There was an old dusty blanket in the cupboard near the pantry—no bed in what was basically a one-room cabin that must be for camping. Wrapping the blanket around myself, I snuggled close to the roaring fire.
Seeing the sins in the box still by the door, I let out a sigh and decided to bring it closer. No way would I let that or the necklace out of my sight again until the sins were locked away for good. I didn’t want to fall asleep and have one of the gods track me and steal it without me waking.
Once I was back near the fire, necklace in one hand, box under the other, I closed my eyes and forced my mind to relax. The darkness of the sins tried to creep in a few times, but the baby must have been like a mini-forcefield, because it was nothing to swipe that shit away and force it back into the objects.
“We’re leaving in the morning, sweetheart,” I warned her. “Whether you like it or not.”
With a bit of luck, by the time I woke, Cronus would be smashing through that door to rescue me.
Sleep came surprisingly quickly, but it wasn't restful by any means. Nightmares slammed into my subconscious, one after another, dark tendrils chasing me across a desolate landscape. Then, one by one, starting with Sickness, the sins tried to get to me in my dreams, their manifested bodies chasing and clawing at me like they were attempting to break my skin and crawl beneath, until eventually it was Death and me, facing off against each other.
“You will never defeat us,” it whispered, and just as it lunged forward for me, I jerked myself awake, a scream dying on my lips as I huffed air in.
The protection from my baby had only gone so far, and somewhere in my subconscious, the sins had attacked.
Kicking the blanket off, I winced at how sore my body was from the hard floor. Pregnancy and sleeping on the ground did not go well together. Sweat beaded on my brow as I got to my feet. The fire had completely died down, and I was surprised at how hot it was in here.
A few flutters in my stomach brought me back to reality, and when I felt some strong, sure kicks, I rubbed my hand over her. “Take me back to Daddy, baby girl.” I glanced at the trunk and necklace, reminding myself not to sleep touching them ever again.
A few more kicks this time, but she didn’t take me back. Wiping at the sweat on my face again, I shook my head at the damn heat. Had it stopped snowing overnight and turned into a desert outside?
Needing fresh air, I waddled a little toward the door. My stomach was looking bigger than ever. I was either having triplets or this baby girl was growing at a very rapid rate. I’d forgotten to ask Rhea what the cook time was for a baby Titan. Just my luck, I’d go into labor trapped and alone out here.
The front door slid open easily, and as a bright harsh light filtered inside, I swallowed hard.#WhatTheFuckery
My joke from before was legit.
The snowfield was gone, and in its place was a world like nothing I'd ever seen before. Red and black, the land looked burnt, and behind the desert landscape were mountains, craggy and bleak, towering into a sky that was as burnt red as the dirt below.
