The pool was behind me, but it was the turquoise waters of the beach that drew me in the most.
Strong hands landed on my hips, before they gentled, rubbing across my muscles there and down over my ass. We both started to move to the beat, swaying and swiveling together, baby girl kicking between us as small trickles of energy ran over my stomach.
“I have a feeling it won't be much longer until she arrives,” I said, touching Cronus’ chest. “She's getting big.”
He palmed my bump, cradling it like it was precious. “She's so strong. A fighter like her momma. Whenever she's ready to be in the world, she’ll let us know. And then we'll bring her forth.”
I snorted. “Wewill? Sure, buddy. It's going to bewethat pushes a watermelon out ofourvagina.”
His grin was quick to shoot back at me. “I'll ease your pain, I promise.”
I shook my head. “She'll be worth any pain. I'm really not that worried.”
#HugeFuckingLie #ButSheIsWorthIt
It was growing rarer that I thought in hashtags, my life almost completely removed from the social media obsessed one it had been before. “I think maybe I'm moving on from the social media world,” I told Cronus. “I'm actually content not checking Twitter or Insta or Facebook. I never thought the day would come.”
Cronus leaned down to kiss me. “You can transfer that obsession to me. I won't complain.”
Truth be told, I already had. But I wasn’t going to lie. Baby Titan would be a cool-ass Insta page with pictures of our daughter and tons of sponsorships from Baby Gap and—
“Having fun?” Hyperion asked, breaking into my thoughts as he danced past with Theia. They were doing some sort of old school waltz, even though the music was a heavy RnB beat.
“It's perfect,” I said. “And the Fate said I won't die from old age, so looks like you're stuck with me a while longer.”
Hyperion's smile was genuine and blinding as he yanked me out of Cronus’ arms and swung me around. “I'd been planning to call in some favors,” he said, handing me over to Theia, who was gentler in her hug. “But I should have known Cronus wouldn't let you fade with human age.”
I eyed my Titan, who held both hands up in an “I'm innocent” gesture. I was probably never going to find out the full truth, but as long as no one got hurt by me still living, I'd just accept my gift and move forward.
“What do we do once everything is settled though?” I asked. “How do you fill hundreds of years when you don't need to work or anything?”
“Lots of sex,” they all said at the same time.
I snorted as they all burst into laughter. “Eww. I do not want to hear that from my grandparents.”
“Truthfully,” Theia said, wiping at her eyes, “we travel and have trips away together, and do exactly what we are right now. We live, exploring every corner of this world and other worlds. We raise our babies. We love our grandbabies. We keep the humans safe. The part we play in the great circle of power is complicated and simple at the same time. Days are long but the years are short.”
Cronus nodded. “Yes. The way a human measures a year in time, we measure a decade. They pass so quickly. You'll never be bored, Mais. That I can promise you.”
“And if you don't kill Zeus?”
We'd been studiously avoiding talking about that little punk-ass god, but with the bright future I always wanted so close, it was frustrating to know that loose end was still untied.
“I will,” Cronus said without hesitation. “Finding him will be the hardest part, because he knows there's no weapon left to use against me, and he'll be on the run now. But I'll track him down, and then he'll be breathing his last breath.”
Hyperion didn't say anything; he clearly thought Zeus had had all the chances he deserved. Now it was time to eliminate his evil stain and move forward to the life we deserved.
Right after my swim.
Chapter 18
“The water is so warm,” I sighed. My belly was more buoyant than I'd expected as gentle waves lapped over my arms, pushing me toward the shore. Cronus remained nearby to fight off sharks and riptides. Not that I would drown with a Titan baby on board. Our girl was keeping Mommy safe from all the natural predators.
“You come alive at the beach,” he told me, floating beside me. “We should find our Bali house now.”
Yes. He had me at Bali.
“I've never owned a home,” I said, stating the obvious. “Never even had enough money to dream about one. I just figured I'd rent for the rest of my life unless the influencer thing took off.”
