back onto my neck. Because as much as I wanted to meet him, I didn’t need Apollo to swoop in here and stand up for me. This was my problem. I had to be the one to solve it.
“I didn’t tell you all of this to ask for permission,” I said, keeping my voice calm and steady—like an adult. “I told you this because I want you to know the truth. Because I don’t want to keep on lying to you. We—me, Blake, Kate, Chris, and Danielle—are the only ones who can stop the Titans from returning to Earth. After being locked in Kerberos for so long, the Titans aren’t in their right minds anymore. If they return, make no mistake—they will destroy our planet. And I will not allow that to happen.”
No one said anything for a few seconds. Was I wrong in coming to my parents at all? Maybe my initial concerns were right, and this was too much for them. Maybe it would be best if I called Darius over here and asked him to wipe their memories of the past few hours. He could explain my upcoming absence by telling them that there was another school trip. It had worked when we went to Greece, so it should work again.
Just as I was about to text Darius to ask for his help, my mom broke the silence. “I need to talk with your dad about this privately,” she said. “We’ll come back here to talk to you once we’ve figured out our thoughts.”
The two of them went to their room to talk, leaving me in the living room with Becca. At first, she continued to stare at me, shocked. But then the floodgates opened, and she couldn’t stop talking. She had lots of questions—mainly about magic and how it worked—and I happily answered them. Surprisingly enough, she was actually glad that she didn’t have magic. She said that everything I had to do sounded scary to her, and she was glad not to be responsible for fighting monsters.
Even though Darius had made her forget about being kidnapped and almost killed by the harpy, did the experience still remain in her subconscious? If it did, I was glad. Because Becca was right to want to stay away from danger. I’d never felt so powerless as when I’d seen her bound to the chair in that cave. I didn’t want her involved in any of this ever again.
When my parents came back in, I watched them, looking for some clue about their decision. But their expressions gave away nothing. I hoped they’d decided they were okay with me going on this mission. Because if they weren’t, it wasn’t going to stop me. Saving the world from the Titans was my purpose in life. The gods had gifted me with these powers, and I wasn’t going to let them—and the rest of the world—down. I was going to do everything I could to succeed, no matter what.
I just hoped my parents could support me in that.
“Your father and I talked, and we decided that you will be allowed to go to Darius’s tomorrow morning,” my mom finally said. “On one condition.”
Despite the fact that I hadn’t been asking for their permission to begin with, I was glad that I had it. “What condition?” I asked, curious about what it would be.
“We’ll be driving you there, and will go inside to meet him,” my dad said. “We do not doubt everything that you’ve told us, but it will make us more confident if we were to hear it all from him directly. Once we hear from him, then we’ll decide if you’re allowed to go, or if you’ll come home with us.”
My heart dropped at their words. They still thought they could stop me from going. I didn’t want to have to go against them… but at least this was a step in the right direction.
“Of course,” I said, confident that Darius would back me up on this. If speaking with him didn’t convince my parents to let me go, then I didn’t know what would.
“And one more thing,” my mom said. “No matter what happens, we don’t want Darius to wipe our memories of what you told us here tonight. We don’t want you to go back to keeping this secret from us. Can you promise us that
“I didn’t tell you all of this to ask for permission,” I said, keeping my voice calm and steady—like an adult. “I told you this because I want you to know the truth. Because I don’t want to keep on lying to you. We—me, Blake, Kate, Chris, and Danielle—are the only ones who can stop the Titans from returning to Earth. After being locked in Kerberos for so long, the Titans aren’t in their right minds anymore. If they return, make no mistake—they will destroy our planet. And I will not allow that to happen.”
No one said anything for a few seconds. Was I wrong in coming to my parents at all? Maybe my initial concerns were right, and this was too much for them. Maybe it would be best if I called Darius over here and asked him to wipe their memories of the past few hours. He could explain my upcoming absence by telling them that there was another school trip. It had worked when we went to Greece, so it should work again.
Just as I was about to text Darius to ask for his help, my mom broke the silence. “I need to talk with your dad about this privately,” she said. “We’ll come back here to talk to you once we’ve figured out our thoughts.”
The two of them went to their room to talk, leaving me in the living room with Becca. At first, she continued to stare at me, shocked. But then the floodgates opened, and she couldn’t stop talking. She had lots of questions—mainly about magic and how it worked—and I happily answered them. Surprisingly enough, she was actually glad that she didn’t have magic. She said that everything I had to do sounded scary to her, and she was glad not to be responsible for fighting monsters.
Even though Darius had made her forget about being kidnapped and almost killed by the harpy, did the experience still remain in her subconscious? If it did, I was glad. Because Becca was right to want to stay away from danger. I’d never felt so powerless as when I’d seen her bound to the chair in that cave. I didn’t want her involved in any of this ever again.
When my parents came back in, I watched them, looking for some clue about their decision. But their expressions gave away nothing. I hoped they’d decided they were okay with me going on this mission. Because if they weren’t, it wasn’t going to stop me. Saving the world from the Titans was my purpose in life. The gods had gifted me with these powers, and I wasn’t going to let them—and the rest of the world—down. I was going to do everything I could to succeed, no matter what.
I just hoped my parents could support me in that.
“Your father and I talked, and we decided that you will be allowed to go to Darius’s tomorrow morning,” my mom finally said. “On one condition.”
Despite the fact that I hadn’t been asking for their permission to begin with, I was glad that I had it. “What condition?” I asked, curious about what it would be.
“We’ll be driving you there, and will go inside to meet him,” my dad said. “We do not doubt everything that you’ve told us, but it will make us more confident if we were to hear it all from him directly. Once we hear from him, then we’ll decide if you’re allowed to go, or if you’ll come home with us.”
My heart dropped at their words. They still thought they could stop me from going. I didn’t want to have to go against them… but at least this was a step in the right direction.
“Of course,” I said, confident that Darius would back me up on this. If speaking with him didn’t convince my parents to let me go, then I didn’t know what would.
“And one more thing,” my mom said. “No matter what happens, we don’t want Darius to wipe our memories of what you told us here tonight. We don’t want you to go back to keeping this secret from us. Can you promise us that
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