{"id":3856,"date":"2019-01-30T10:06:18","date_gmt":"2019-01-30T15:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3856"},"modified":"2019-01-30T10:06:18","modified_gmt":"2019-01-30T15:06:18","slug":"ten-08-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3856","title":{"rendered":"Ten – 08"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Hecate considered the question silently for a few seconds, staring past Matt toward the fire. From my angle, I could just barely see her eyes, watched them as she watched the flickering flames. It was almost as if I could see her peering back through space and time, rifling through memories she\u2019d rather forget. Instantly, I regretted asking, but at the same time, I knew she wouldn\u2019t be mad at me for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeinth wasn\u2019t one that was much-loved,\u201d she finally said, her voice quiet, tinged with regret. \u201cI\u2019m sure you can see why. She never pretended to be anything other than what she was, and that\u2019s half of what we always did\u2014put on a mask, put on a show, be more wonderful or terrible than our reputations suggested. She never did that, not that I was ever able to perceive. Her sister hated her for it and she certainly wasn\u2019t favored by their father, either.\u201d Hecate leaned back against Matt, her brows knitting slightly. \u201cWinter and death have many rivals, though, rivals that come in strange ways. It could be Albina herself, but I think she\u2019d recognize her if that was the case.\u201d She paused, then murmured, \u201cI wonder.\u201d<\/p>\n

As her voice trailed away I swallowed hard. I hadn\u2019t really expected her to have any answers. My gaze slid toward Phelan, who now stood with furrowed brow, staring at the ground. Tala was watching him, too, a faint frown on her face.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that look,\u201d she said quietly. \u201cStart thinking out loud, Phelan. Maybe you\u2019ll trip over something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust\u2014\u201d he stopped, frowned, started again. \u201cDeath always has rivals.\u201d He looked at Hecate, frowning. \u201cPersephone\u2019s out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is, but they were never enemies,\u201d Hecate said in a soft voice, meeting his gaze. \u201cWhere are you going with this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s out there, Pluton is dead on your blade, Aietes has probably vowed some kind of vengeance, and odds are that Olympium is in some sort of disarray\u2014likely with some significant infighting. We\u2019ve made it abundantly clear that if Menhit and Anhur come at us again, there will be no quarter nor mercy. What if\u2014\u201d he stopped again, turning away, starting to pace.<\/p>\n

My heart rose into my throat. \u201cThis is one of those times your what-ifs is starting to terrify me, Phelan,\u201d I said, watching. I wrapped my arm around Lin, still asleep against my chest. I hoped he\u2019d stay that way a little longer. I wasn\u2019t sure I had the mental wherewithal to deal with a crying infant just then.<\/p>\n

He turned back, expression caught somewhere between curious, thoughtful, and afraid. \u201cWhat if it\u2019s Orcus?\u201d he said, looking at Hecate with an arched brow. \u201cDo you know who I\u2019m talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do,\u201d she said slowly. \u201cNo one\u2019s heard from or of him since\u2014a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike Yam,\u201d Phelan said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d she whispered. \u201cLike Yam.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Marin’s point of view.] Hecate considered the question silently for a few seconds, staring past Matt toward the fire. From my angle, I could just barely see her eyes, watched them as she watched the flickering … 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":[299,312,14],"tags":[150,171,170,194,152,181,149,173,148,168,147,165,215,200,146],"class_list":["post-3856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-7","category-chapter-10-book-7","category-story","tag-awakenings","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-hecate","tag-marin-astoris","tag-matthew-astoris","tag-original-fiction","tag-phelan-ocredne","tag-post-apocalyptic","tag-serial","tag-serial-fiction","tag-story","tag-tala-johanson","tag-thomas-merlin-ambrose","tag-web-fiction"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-10c","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3856","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=3856"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3857,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3856\/revisions\/3857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}