you won’t let him do that?”
I almost told them that I promised, but I held my tongue. Because the last time I promised someone something—when I told Ethan and Rachael that I wouldn’t let anything happen to them during our journey through Greece—I hadn’t been able to keep it. And while Ethan had said that he understood my decision to save Blake before his sister, he never said that he’d forgiven me for it.
I no longer wanted to make promises that I wasn’t sure I could keep.
“If Darius wipes your memories, I won’t be able to stop him,” I said. “But I’ll promise you this—I’ll ask him not to. Because I don’t want to continue lying to you, either. And if he doesn’t listen to me, then I’ll tell you the truth again when I return.”
If I return, I thought, thinking of Rachael’s lifeless body in the hydra’s cave. The memory of it made me shudder. Because I didn’t want to die. Not anytime soon. I’d always thought of death as being something that I would worry about as an old woman—not something that I would have to think about now.
But if I didn’t go on this mission, then we would all surely die when the Titans returned to Earth. The best way for me to try to make sure that I would live to an old age was to do everything I could to seal the portal forever.
My dad looked at my mom, as if asking her if my answer was acceptable.
“I suppose that will have to do,” she said. “We’ll drive you over to Darius’s first thing in the morning. I’m very much looking forward to meeting him.”
With that, we said goodnight and went to bed.
I thought I would have trouble falling asleep, but that wasn’t the case. I texted Blake to let him know that I was too tired to stay awake any longer and that I would tell him about what happened in the morning, and then I fell into bed, zonking out the moment my head hit the pillow.
Which was a good thing, because I needed all the rest I could get before the journey tomorrow.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Hypatia, the Head Elder of Greece, was already at Darius’s when my parents and I got there, so they were able to meet her as well. Once introduced, they went upstairs to speak with her and Darius privately. I waited downstairs with the others and updated them on what had happened last night.
My parents only talked with Darius and Hypatia for about ten minutes. I paced around the living room the entire time, too anxious to sit still. I was afraid that when they came back downstairs, they were going to grab me and try to force me to move far away from here.
Instead, they simply hugged me goodbye, wished me luck, and headed out the door. I watched their car back out of the driveway, suspicious that they’d left so quickly, and with so little fuss.
“You didn’t wipe their memories, did you?” I asked Darius and Hypatia once their car was gone.
“Of course not,” Darius said. “You asked us not to, and I respect that.”
“Hmm,” I said. “Then how’d you convince them to let me go so easily?”
“You never asked us not to use gray energy on them at all,” Hypatia said. “So we reinforced everything you told them last night, and helped them accept your decision to do what is right. They now fully understand how important it is for you to complete your mission, and will respect and support all of your future decisions on the matter.”
I thanked them, grateful that they’d respected my wishes. But I wasn’t sure how I felt about what they had done. Because on one hand, I wanted my parents to respect my decision by their own free will. On the other hand, it made everything easier to know that I wouldn’t have to fight them on this any further, and that I could be honest with them while focusing on what was important—making sure this mission was a success.
It was a lot to think about, but since there was nothing I could do about it now, I did my best to brush it aside. I could worry about it later. Right now, we had more important
I almost told them that I promised, but I held my tongue. Because the last time I promised someone something—when I told Ethan and Rachael that I wouldn’t let anything happen to them during our journey through Greece—I hadn’t been able to keep it. And while Ethan had said that he understood my decision to save Blake before his sister, he never said that he’d forgiven me for it.
I no longer wanted to make promises that I wasn’t sure I could keep.
“If Darius wipes your memories, I won’t be able to stop him,” I said. “But I’ll promise you this—I’ll ask him not to. Because I don’t want to continue lying to you, either. And if he doesn’t listen to me, then I’ll tell you the truth again when I return.”
If I return, I thought, thinking of Rachael’s lifeless body in the hydra’s cave. The memory of it made me shudder. Because I didn’t want to die. Not anytime soon. I’d always thought of death as being something that I would worry about as an old woman—not something that I would have to think about now.
But if I didn’t go on this mission, then we would all surely die when the Titans returned to Earth. The best way for me to try to make sure that I would live to an old age was to do everything I could to seal the portal forever.
My dad looked at my mom, as if asking her if my answer was acceptable.
“I suppose that will have to do,” she said. “We’ll drive you over to Darius’s first thing in the morning. I’m very much looking forward to meeting him.”
With that, we said goodnight and went to bed.
I thought I would have trouble falling asleep, but that wasn’t the case. I texted Blake to let him know that I was too tired to stay awake any longer and that I would tell him about what happened in the morning, and then I fell into bed, zonking out the moment my head hit the pillow.
Which was a good thing, because I needed all the rest I could get before the journey tomorrow.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Hypatia, the Head Elder of Greece, was already at Darius’s when my parents and I got there, so they were able to meet her as well. Once introduced, they went upstairs to speak with her and Darius privately. I waited downstairs with the others and updated them on what had happened last night.
My parents only talked with Darius and Hypatia for about ten minutes. I paced around the living room the entire time, too anxious to sit still. I was afraid that when they came back downstairs, they were going to grab me and try to force me to move far away from here.
Instead, they simply hugged me goodbye, wished me luck, and headed out the door. I watched their car back out of the driveway, suspicious that they’d left so quickly, and with so little fuss.
“You didn’t wipe their memories, did you?” I asked Darius and Hypatia once their car was gone.
“Of course not,” Darius said. “You asked us not to, and I respect that.”
“Hmm,” I said. “Then how’d you convince them to let me go so easily?”
“You never asked us not to use gray energy on them at all,” Hypatia said. “So we reinforced everything you told them last night, and helped them accept your decision to do what is right. They now fully understand how important it is for you to complete your mission, and will respect and support all of your future decisions on the matter.”
I thanked them, grateful that they’d respected my wishes. But I wasn’t sure how I felt about what they had done. Because on one hand, I wanted my parents to respect my decision by their own free will. On the other hand, it made everything easier to know that I wouldn’t have to fight them on this any further, and that I could be honest with them while focusing on what was important—making sure this mission was a success.
It was a lot to think about, but since there was nothing I could do about it now, I did my best to brush it aside. I could worry about it later. Right now, we had more important
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