“I’m going to head to bed,” I say quietly.
“Will you be alright?” Mama asks, concerned.
I nod. “Yes,” I respond. It feels surreal that she’s really gone.
“Anything is possible. I’m proof of that. We will get Sienna back,” I hear Uncle Rayhan say as I leave the room.
Tatum’s watching me, and I offer him a small smile as I walk up the large staircase and climb it, each step weighing heavily.
I enter my room, shutting the door behind me as I lean against it, my hands pressed flat against the door, staring out ofmy window.
What have you done?
How do we fix this?
Sienna’s always been emotionally driven, even if it meant not thinking things through. There was a cat once, lying in the middle of a busy road, and I remember telling her it was probably dead and to stop bothering about it, but she hadn’t wanted to leave it there and had rushed out to pick it up.
It was alive but barely, and sadly, it died a few days later at the vets. She had cried her heart out for it. It was the same for anyone or anything that needed help. But this quality was a double-edged sword.
If she made a deal with Helios, and he delivered, then even the gods won’t be able to intervene because Helios fulfilled his promise. So, then what can we do?
I walk over to my vanity table and sit down, picking up my brush and begin running it through my hair.
Then we look for someone favoured by a god who doesn’t care for laws…
And I know just the person.
Placing my brush down, I pick up my phone. I may not have his number, but I’ve seen it on Tatum’s phone. I close my eyes, focusing on remembering it and keying it in, waiting for him to pick up.
The moment it’s answered, I speak, “I need a favour.”
“No hi or anything? That’s a little rude even for you,” he replies.
“Perhaps. But you’re favoured by a god whose help I need, will you help me?”
“I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
“Hades. I know you’re favoured by Hades, and I need his help.”
The phone clicks as he cuts the call.
How dare he?
I purse my lips, my nostrils flaring, trying to calm my irritation as I frown, glaring into my mirror, one eye glowing ever so slightly…
“Such a fool.”
Shades of Emotions
Sienna
The light is blinding, blurring everything until the world around me sharpens again, and when it does, I know exactly where I am. The balcony of his palace. The one from my visions. It’s real now. Stone, sky and ethereal light stretching endlessly before me.
He’s already here.
“My beautiful betrothed,”Helios greets, a smile curling his lips. His voice is like honey, smooth but sickeningly sweet. It still seems to come from within my mind rather than in front of me.
And now, for the first time, I can see him properly.
