“Go get Cronus for me,” I said through gritted teeth, reminding myself that it wasn't okay to use my baby as a weapon and send Rhea to that same planet where her perfect skin would become toxic sludge. As tempting as that was…
She crossed her arms, opening her mouth to say something assholish, I was sure, when there were twopopsbeside us, and Hyperion and Theia appeared.
My grandparents ran toward me, throwing their arms tightly around me as soon as they reached my side. “Maisey!” Hyperion said, sounding emotional. “We have been searching for days.”
Days?
Relishing in the love and warmth, knowing I was cared about, that I had a real family … way too much for the hormones. I started to bawl.
“Can you get Cronus for me…” I choked out. I was still thirsty, which scared me, and so hungry I wouldn’t rule out eating Rhea if shit got rough.
Theia started patting my back just as Hyperion said, “His signal is spotty. I can't get a read on him—”
He was cut off by a massive explosion. Power and light and lightning. A figure that was shrouded in what looked like flames, but sort of different, descended to the land. It was only when it walked closer that I noticed exactly why the humanoid figure looked unusual. The fire that covered it from the top of its massive body to the bottom was actually zaps of electricity … or lightning.
“Who in the hell is that?” I pointed to the being made of lightning and hoped he was a friendly.
“Cronus,” Hyperion said softly beside me.
I risked a quick glance at him. “No, that thing!” I pointed to the glowing ball humanoid.
Hyperion shook his head. “Yes. That's Cronus.”
I shook my head, trying to comprehend what he was saying. “How is that possible? What happened to him?”
“We are born of the earth and sky,” Rhea said. “Elemental in nature. Cronus appears to have stepped free of his regular vessel. This is something we only bring out for special occasions.”
Theia scoffed from nearby. “Pretty sure I've never seen you achieve anything like this, but keep wishing.”
I didn't even care about what they were saying now. All I cared was that Cronus was right here with me, finally, and I needed him back in his other “vessel” so I could climb him like a fucking tree.
Breaking free from their hold, I ran at the lightning man, a desperate need to be close to him driving me forward. I planned on stopping before I reached him—not that I ever believed he would hurt me, but as a mother I couldn't take any risk with my child.
Thankfully, with another resounding crack and large gust of energy, the lightning fell away and Cronus was once more a Titan—a completely naked Titan, furious, with flames of electricity still filling his eyes, giving him an even more otherworldly look.
I was in his arms before I could even blink or waddle my ass closer. “Cronus,” I sobbed again, wondering if this waterworks thing would ever stop.
“Maisey…” His voice was a rumble, his body throwing off heat like a furnace, all the while his eyes blazed. He tried to say something else, but it was just lightning and explosions around us, the other Titans throwing up shields to save themselves, but I was perfectly safe in his arms.
“I'm okay,” I whispered to him. “Our baby is okay. She saved me and the sins.”
I said it over and over until eventually he was able to function again. Part of me found it hot as hell when he lost his shit like that, literally blowing up the world around us, but I also needed him to focus for a moment and tell me what we had to do next.
“Where were you?” he said, his voice deeper, breathing heavier than usual. His eyes were slowly returning to normal though. “Thought it was part of Zeus’ ambush … that he’d taken you from me.”
Ohshit.
I quickly explained the whole off-world thing to him, mentioning that Rhea thought it might be a different land, since I wasn't oozing slime. Cronus sucked in another deep breath and then he kissed me, a possessive, all-engaging kiss that sent my head swimming and made my knees shaky. When he was done absolutely owning my mouth, he set me down, dropping to his knees, and pressed his cheek against my belly.
“Thank you for saving Mommy,” he murmured, his voice a little husky. “We'll be having a long talk about what is appropriate for you to do with your powers as soon as you're born, my little one.”
I chuckled and his eyes lifted to meet mine. “When she's born, I should be able to cap her powers until she's five or so. Give her time to understand the responsibility.”
“When she's born,” I parroted back. Until then she was a loose cannon, zapping me around the galaxies. “Do you think I could breathe on that world because she's even stronger than a normal Titan?” I asked.
Cronus stood again, his face not giving anything away. “I have no idea,” he admitted, not looking happy about it. “Logically, it's the only thing that makes sense, but there could be other factors at play. Maybe you're important to the universe. Maybe that world isn't always toxic to Titans—none of us bothered to test it past that initial exploration. For now, let's just be grateful that you lived.”
I was definitely grateful about that.
