One by one, each Titan nodded and formed a line behind Rhea.
He pulled the box from his pocket, and this time when he opened the lid, the power burst out like a rocket, blinding us all for a brief second. Well, it at least blinded me, but my human eyes were no doubt the shittiest here.
By the time my vision cleared, the ring was on his finger, and the unnatural silence spoke of everyone holding their breath as they waited for their leader to explode. I took a step closer, somehow having forgotten that this damn ring could kill Cronus. Hyperion’s hand landed on my arm, stopping me before I could move.
“He’s got this,” he said softly.
I couldn’t tear my eyes from Cronus’ face and the tense lines of his jaw as he worked through the power. I wished his eyes were open so I could see what was happening through them. They were often the most expressive part of him.
“Sky Father, Earth Mother … have mercy,” he breathed.
Whoa. That was the closest thing to a prayer I’d ever heard from him. My panic increased. I was about to freak the fuck out, then his eyes opened, and instead of the blue and gold irises, they were nothing but flames and ice. This wasn’t like the lightning, it was so much more.
I swallowed hard and wondered if we’d lost him to the power.
“Cronus?”
His head snapped toward me, those eyes of creation locked on my face.Well, fuck.
“Maisey,” he said in a rumble of a voice.
“Good start,” Hyperion breathed, and I felt some of his tension leave. He’d been hiding his own worry rather well.
“Sins,” I said to Cronus, reminding him of what we were doing at the top of a volcano.
I had to squirm under that intense stare for a few more moments, before he turned away. He disabled the lock on the trunk and threw it wide open. The second the lid popped free, a black mass lurched out, but Cronus made a fist, ring pointing out, and shoved his hand right into the mass, pushing it back down into the box.
Hissing and screams filled the air and my heart beat wildly in my chest. The black mass kept trying to climb up Cronus’ arm, but it was clear the ring was powerful enough to keep them at bay.
“We should kill Narida,” Phoebe said from nearby. “If that bitch had given us the ring the last time we dealt with them, so much suffering could have been avoided.”
“Easy to know in hindsight,” Theia said, playing devil’s advocate. “It doesn’t always work out the way you expect. Maybe now was just the right time to know about this power.”
Phoebe didn’t seem like she was too sure that was right, but she didn’t argue.
“Sickness,” Cronus commanded the sins, ending that argument.
Chills broke out on my arms as a blob of darkness peeled away from the rest, forming a shadowy human figure before Rhea. With one flick of his wrist, a lightning bolt shot from Cronus’ ring and wrapped around the sin. Sickness was in his humanoid form now, grabbing at the bolt of lightning as it tightened around him.
Rhea took in a deep breath, and when she released it, cold frosty ice flowed from her mouth. “I’m ready.”
Cronus flicked his wrist again, and Sickness was pushed forward into Rhea. The moment his black inky body touched hers, the hissing got so loud I had to cover my ears. Rhea jerked as Sickness fully settled into her and Cronus released the lightning bolt as the sin faded away.
Her eyes were closed, and she stood with arms fisted into balls, breathing deeply. “Rhea?” Cronus said her name, still sounding like a rumble of a storm.
She continued to breathe, cold mist flowing from her nostrils and mouth.
“Do you have him controlled?” Cronus asked, and I could see it in his eyes that if she didn’t, he would chuck her into that volcano.
#DoIt #JustKidding #OrAmI
Finally, her eyes snapped open and they were bright and clear, no trace of darkness. “I’m good.”
We all sighed, and she stepped out of the line, bringing Koios up next.
The black mass jerked under the pressure of Cronus’ fist, but he held strong.
One by one, over the next thirty or forty minutes, Cronus teased apart the sins and placed them in the Titans. Sweat beaded his brow, the strain of using so much power showing on him.
