LYSSANDRA

I could not sleep that night. I was walking left and right muttering out loud of what possible thing I could do to a giant snake. Down from my bed, I Pulled out a few scrolls and started reading them with a candlelight keeping me company,

‘’You can read?’’ Thais asked me once back to Ares temple with a whisper as I was holding one of the tablets.

‘’I thought that it was forbidden’’She kept moving close to my side.

I nodded as I kept reading slowly. Probably the arch-priest did not think that I could read. Maybe he was mocking me, torturing me in another way. But I did learn on my own, I learned by the way the sound and words can form.

‘’Ah’’She gasped with admiration.’’Can you teach me?’’ She leaned closer to me but I shook a no. I cannot teach what I could not understand. She seemed to be disappointed by my answer but she still stayed, suggesting that I at least get a lesson from her.

The fighting was never my best strength even with hers and Adamantnous lessons.

But knowledge of poisons, herbs, reading, plotting.

I smacked both of my cheeks and started reading once again.

Python is a sign of Apollo’s victory. With the strength and poison that could defeat even gods. But Apollo managed to kill it as he bathed with the snake’s poison after he ate his flesh.

I let out a chuckle as I kept reading another tablet.

Python was Apollo’s child. His child became thirsty for blood and he had to kill it.

‘’Tough love’’I mocked and took one more tablet.

Apollo managed to trap his son instead of killing him. With his poison. Trapping him inside a cave near…

My eyes shut now I took a deep breath. It could not be Python, it just couldn’t. The snake that could spit fire, poison that had no antidote, and the size of…

I couldn’t even make a crime look like an accident. How did I miss the girl’s mother? I asked Myrto to try and find her but when she returned she was all crying and whining, telling me how sorry she was. I hugged her tight and told her that everything would be fine.

The door opened and Adamantiou showed up with a flirty smile. I smiled back but before I even tried to speak his lips found mine. His hands traced every inch of my body while I was trying to touch him.

‘’What’s’’I broke out from the kiss and looked at him with a pout. ‘’What’s the matter?’’

‘’Nothing, can’t I just kiss you now?’’Adamantious grinned. I looked back at the tablets and tried to think of anything that it could be but…

I was so tired as he kept kissing my mouth, my cheek, my neck with his fingers moving to my clothes and under them. I grabbed his hands.

‘’No’’

‘’You can’t be serious’’He laughed.

I narrowed before I kissed him back. I did not touch him like he touched me. I could not let him touch me as he wanted and as much as I wanted to. If anything went wrong I had to make sure I had other ways of evidence.

Adamantious nodded as I kept kissing me now but I could listen to his grunt. The way his movements were now he almost felt that I belonged to him. I belonged to him and only him.

‘’I need’’ I broke up with him once more and returned to the tablet. ‘’I just need to solve it.’’

I could feel that he was looking at me, almost angry.

‘’Is this the only reason why you are backing away?’’He asked me dryly.

I looked at him confused.

‘’Myrto told me that earlier you walked away.’’

Dammit.

‘’I just wanted to give his cloak back’’I replied with honesty. The man was bad news. I could feel it. Every gaze of his only made me feel that I shouldn’t talk to him. And yet…why was he laughing when I revealed that Paris was not his name? If it was one of Dion’s men he would make sure I would not return alive or…Maybe he was one of the king’s men. Matter it seemed that he was trying to win everyone over with his charm. Alexious earlier told me that he found him pretty too. Someone who could charm everyone…Maybe he was the king’s secret consort? I wouldn’t blame Perseus or him.

‘’Are you jealous?’’I asked with a smile, returning back to him, wrapping his arms around his shoulders.

He flushed.

‘’I…’’

‘’Well, you will win tomorrow for me, won’t you?’’I flattered my lash before I leaned to him for a kiss.

He gassed as he muttered a yes. And I finally pulled myself away from him with a victory smile.

‘’Great now let me work.’’

Adamantious laughed as he let out a cruel laugh.’’You are the worst.’’

‘’That’s why you love me don’t you?’’ I asked, looking at him but his smile faded. His eyes became cold.

Right. We were friends, we could be lovers. But we were not in love. I wanted him for protection and he wanted me for other ways. For affection, for telling him how special he is, for touch. But we were not in love. No matter how much I wanted to be true. For someone to love me for me, not for what I am supposed to be or do.

‘’Goodnight Prophet’’He whispered as he walked away while my eyes were glued on the tablet.

His poison. Apollo drugged his own son with the poison. But it seemed that it could escape. If the poison can be a narcotic for it then…

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

A flipping sound made me wake up from the spell as I found right to my window a silver hawk staring at me.

I smiled at it, thinking how often I had seen that bird in the past few months.

‘’Do you want some seeds tonight?’’ I asked but the silver hawk just kept looking at me.

I scoffed and I lay down on the bed as I tried to speak to the bird like it would listen to me.

‘’It can’t be Python right?’’I asked.

It surprisingly chirped. I laughed at it. ‘’Come on now, Python would be an unkillable creature. I can’t do it.’’

The hawk chirped as if it was now a booing. I pouted and turned to it.’’Listen to you…’’

I tried to speak but my head became heavy all so suddenly. My eyes were deep as they were closing and my body…I fell to the bed fast.

The next day I did not even realize when I woke up that I was standing outside the temple in the backside with the rest as Paris was getting out of the forest while he was holding yellow flowers. Not any normal kind of yellow flowers. Daffodils. His smile was beaming like the sun as his tunic had a purple shade while it was covering only the right side of his torso. Thais whistled as she looked at him with a smile while Alexious nodded. Myrto walked back while Adamantious was polishing his blade with a dark stone.

‘’Good morning Oracle’’Paris jumped to my side, showing the poisonous flowers.

I replied with a face of disgust but his smile grew wider while Adamantious laughed as he won the first match.

Paris kept shining like the actual sun and showed me the flowers once more. ‘’Those are for you, my Oracle.’’

My oracle?

I blinked and took once again at the flowers and tried to restrain my grin. But I failed as I grasped them and started laughing inside my mouth as I kept moving away, slowly dancing with my feet. Paris kept smiling as he turned to Adamantious and secretly pulled his tongue out to him.

Adamantous grunted and stood up with his blade aiming at Paris.

As much as I wanted to stop it I knew it would be pointless.

‘’You really believe that you can help a pretty boy?’’Adamantious grunted.

Paris looked at him with his eyes studying every inch of his and stopped surprisingly looking down at his belt. He just smiled once again.

‘’I have many talents.’’ He shifted his fingers around.’’Mostly I am an archer you see but I lost my bow’’There was a disappointing frown

‘’Where are you from?’’He raised.

‘’From a land far away, you surely haven’t heard of’’

Morning summer wind started blazing around the temple as I was smelling the sweet poison coming from the flowers. My head jerked to Thais and Alexious, trying to send a signal. Both of them drew their blades.

Paris noticed it and arched his brow cockingly. ‘’Now, why do followers of Apollo have such interesting weapons?’’Asked with a grin.

I replied by covering my face better with the veil while Myrto arrived back with my bag that had plenty of herbs so I could treat the future wounded Paris.

‘’Well, we have to find his son.’’

His eyes seemed to open wide and turned on me. There was no smile as Admantoius took the chance and with the back of his sword, he hit Paris on his face, pushing him down. I could see it from the start, the man was athletic but not for sparing. His legs were weak and his reflexes were far slower.

‘’Now, Oracle, that is not fair’’He chuckled as three people with blades now surrounded him.

‘’Your future is uncertain’’I sighed, pretending to see a vision. ‘’If you win, you might have a place here.’’

Paris chuckled.’’And if I don’t?’’

Well, I hadn’t thought that far. Either you will run away or maybe I will have to hide one more body.

Paris sighed with a nod stood up and took the first glance and Alexious. The boy attacked first and with one blow of Paris’ hand, he fell to the ground, gasping for air.

What? I gasped and turned to Myrto nervous. I couldn’t have someone like him here.

Paris took the blade from Alexious hand and turned to Thais with a wink. Her cheeks turned red but her fighting did not change. She was quick, one with the wind as her dagger was like a part of her. But Paris managed to hold against her by dodging every move. Not attacking her but dodging.

I did say that it would be nice to have him stay, didn't I? Did he want so much to be...

My oracle.

Why did he say it so seductively?

My mind became a blur before even realized that Thais was on the ground, with her knees scratched.

‘’How dare’’It was Andamantious turn but Paris just laughed as he was holding two weapons.

Could he win? Could he actually win? Admantious was ready to swing his blade and I could see the bloodthirst of his.

I shared a glance with Myrto who seemed unsure of all of what was happening.

I looked at Paris whose eyes were now dark, no light, no charm on them. He faced me and stared at me as if he was trying to read my covered expressions.

And then, his hands let the weapons free.

‘’I give up’’ Paris spat with a glare, finding Adamantious.

But he did not have any say in this as he was now swinging the sword. He showed the power of an actual soldier as he was attacked with no remorse. As if Adamantious was at war and Paris was his pure enemy. Paris started dodging them without any weapons. His long hair moves with the wind like has no command. Like he was just the fallen leaves of trees. And yet, Adamantious did not scratch any part of him.

He wasn’t defending, he wasn’t giving up. He was playing with him.

Was his plan to humiliate him? That would make him angrier. Should I stop it?

Then again, it did seem entertaining.

Looking back at Thais and Alexious who were standing up, it hit me. We all survived by just mere luck. What if Perseus finds my secret? What will happen when the soldiers try to attack us?

Was this Paris’ plan? To show us how weak we are?

‘’Enough’’I shouted and saw that Paris was laughing.

That bastard.

And then, Adamantious attacked him with a fist down his stomach. making his mouth spit thick slava with his body breaking in two.

‘’You ‘’Paris gasped and there was something of. Only I noticed that, like his mask, something inside him faded. There was something cruel.

Adamantious turned on me and rushed into my arms but he stopped immediately as he saw my expression.

‘’Come now’’He whispered. ‘’You told me to-’’

I kept my narrow mind and took one deep breath.

He was something strange. I turned back to Paris whose gaze was now almost monstrous. One second after he returned to his calm charming self as he stood up on his own two feet. Adamantious was ready to speak but I did first.

‘’Will you tell me what you actually want?’’Paris turned to my side with a smile.

He leaned closer, right to my ear, once again disrespecting everything that I could mean. , making everyone gasp, Myrto and Alexious were holding Adamantious by his arms.

‘’Calm down, man’’Myrto shouted.

‘’I want you…’’A long pause from his whisper, made my heart beat faster with chills being brought down my spine.

‘’To be acknowledged’’He said, moving away from me as he clapped his hands.’’Is this so terrible for you to believe?’’

I looked at him, at his gaze that was now beaming with light. He could do whatever he pleased and yet

Suddenly the conversation halted as a cry echoed from the other side.