{"id":3089,"date":"2016-12-30T00:00:38","date_gmt":"2016-12-30T05:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3089"},"modified":"2016-12-29T10:58:43","modified_gmt":"2016-12-29T15:58:43","slug":"forty-eight-03","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3089","title":{"rendered":"Forty-eight – 03"},"content":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Hecate’s point of view.]<\/em><\/p>\n

Her heart beat wildly in her chest, power crackling around her. She knew that the storm above was reacting in part to her and that knowledge was terrifying and reassuring all at once.<\/p>\n

You can do this. You <\/em>have to do this. He\u2019s counting on you.<\/em><\/p>\n

They\u2019re all counting on you.<\/em><\/p>\n

Keep it together just a little bit longer.<\/em><\/p>\n

It was Pluton striding toward her through the ranks of his army, ranks that parted quickly at the death-master\u2019s advance.<\/p>\n

That plays to your advantage. It could be worse.<\/em><\/p>\n

Just keep it together.<\/em><\/p>\n

Her fingers tightened around the grips of her crescent blades. C\u00edar had never told her what manner of magic he\u2019d worked into those blades, nor had she ever had the opportunity to ask. After he was gone, she had put them quietly away; it was too painful to look at them, let alone use them.<\/p>\n

Be strong.<\/em><\/p>\n

It was all she could do to contain her shaking as Pluton cleared the ranks and stopped only a man\u2019s length away from her. Hecate schooled her expression into blankness, staring straight at him, meeting his gaze and hoping she was hiding the fear in her own.<\/p>\n

\u201cPluton.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHecate.\u201d There was a warmth in his voice as he spoke, a warmth that made something inside of her want to curl up and die. \u201cChild, we have missed you dearly. Where have you been?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAway,\u201d she said, her voice chilly. \u201cI\u2019ve been as far away from you and yours as I could be throughout the balance of these centuries and yet somehow I have never<\/em> been able to escape.\u201d<\/p>\n

His brows went up. \u201cEscape? Why would you want to escape?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know damn well what the answer to that question is.\u201d Her fingers tightened around the grips of her blades. \u201cDon\u2019t play games today, Pluton, I\u2019m not in the mood for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNor am I,\u201d he said, his tone turning grave. \u201cYour former husband wants you back and would see your lover dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

She felt rage surge and it took great effort to tamp it down.<\/p>\n

Calm. It\u2019s not time yet.<\/em><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t destroy yourself out here. You have something to live for as long as you can keep them alive with you.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHe won\u2019t get what he wants,\u201d she said, her voice steady. \u201cI came here today with an ultimatum, Pluton. Either you leave and never return and cease your hunting of me and mine or I will destroy you and every survivor of Olympium that would dare stand against me one by one. Do not pretend that I can\u2019t do it, either. I am<\/em> the monster you made me into. Once my will is bent to something, nothing <\/em>will stop me.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is your choice. Choose wisely.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Hecate’s point of view.] Her heart beat wildly in her chest, power crackling around her. She knew that the storm above was reacting in part to her and that knowledge was terrifying and reassuring all at … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,238,14],"tags":[150,171,170,194,149,229,148,168,147,165,146],"class_list":["post-3089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-5","category-chapter-48","category-story","tag-awakenings","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-hecate","tag-original-fiction","tag-pluton","tag-post-apocalyptic","tag-serial","tag-serial-fiction","tag-story","tag-web-fiction"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-NP","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3089"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3089\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3090,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3089\/revisions\/3090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}