Meeting Aggie

13.

A week had passed since I last saw Apollo. His absence left me feeling unbalanced. Despite our arguments, he always found his way back to me. Now, in this unfamiliar silence, I realize the depth of my mistake.

I had let fear dictate my actions, jeopardizing everything between us. The ache of regret consumed me as I longed for his return, uncertain if I had irreparably damaged our bond.

His ghosting me this long felt different and weird. A glimmer of hope ignited within me at the sound of a few brief taps on my door.

It was a reassuring sign that he hadn't abandoned me after all. With anticipation filling my heart, a wide grin stretched from ear to ear as I eagerly swung open the door.

"That excited to see me?" a strange young man said, walking into my apartment.

I backed away from him as he walked closer. His aura felt similar to mine, and I knew exactly who it was. He also looked too familiar to mistake his identity.

"Stand back." I warned him, holding my hands before me.

My hands glowed and formed a shield. The guy waved his hand and broke it in an instant. I used an incantation-less defense spell that blew him back into the wall behind him. I ran to my bedroom and closed the door.

"Apollo!" I called out in the air.

A desperate cry to a god I'd angered. It only took him a few seconds to teleport to me, but after a minute, I grew concerned. He wouldn't just abandon me like this. Or would he? I cast a shield on the doorway, but it wouldn't hold forever.

Sven was a lot stronger than I originally thought. The door busted into several pieces, but Sven couldn't enter the room. He made tsking noises and shook his head.

"I took a gamble by coming here. Call it a whim if you must. I didn't think you were actually dumb enough to stay here after I sent that letter with the wolf. Let's get this over with. Relinquish the throne." He folded his legs, sitting casually in front of the doorway.

I shook my head and tried to cast a portal, but it wouldn't form.

Sven chuckled. "Nope. You're trapped here. You've been trapped in this apartment since the letter I sent entered your apartment. The only way out is to kill me."

"If I relinquish the throne, I'll die." I barked at him.

He shrugged. "That would make this a whole lot easier, don't you think?"

I rolled my eyes at him and called out for Apollo again.

"You know he heard you the first time, right? He's not coming to rescue you."

My stomach clenched, and my heart ached. I was upset, but not surprised. After all, Apollo was a god. I didn't have grand expectations for any of them, but he seemed different for months. It turned out that I was nothing but a toy to him.

If I hadn't become so dependent on him, I would have gotten myself out of here by now. A tear fell from my eyes. I knew one way out.

I fetched a knife from my nightstand and slit the middle of my palm. My brother leaned as close as possible to see what I was planning.

"Interesting," he said.

In my blood, I drew a pentagram with Greek letters surrounding it in a ring and stood in the middle. This was an emergency spell my father taught me.

This was the one spell that would drain my magic entirely, yet it held the promise of securing my escape—a teleportation spell passed down through generations of sacred witches. Sven, with a sudden realization dawning upon him, swiftly rose to his feet.

"Wait, I studied that one. Don't you fucking dare, Agatha. Face me, you cowardly bitch."

If Apollo wouldn't come to me, I would have to go to him. I cast a spell on the ring.

"Take me to Olympus." I cast in Greek.

The pentagram emitted a blazing red glow, encircling me with an ominous hue. In an instant, my head snapped back, crashing against the unforgiving ground.

My brother, desperate to bridge the divide, unleashed a barrage of relentless magic break through.

Olympus held its exclusive gates open only for the gods, demi-gods, Olympian-born supernaturals, deceased light species, and the reigning supernatural rulers.

I was the successor to the throne, and since Sven couldn't be crowned without my death, he wouldn't be able to reach me there. He was born in the supernatural realm, so I would be safer on Olympus than here.

It was either him or the gods, and I didn't believe they would be too harsh on me. It was a chance I was willing to take. Just as Sven breached the barrier, I teleported to Olympus. When I landed, I threw up everything I had eaten earlier.

"Gross," a familiar voice said in front of me.

I looked at the shoes and saw the classic angel wings on them. Hermes offered me a hand and pulled me up.

"Nice to see you again," I said, wiping my mouth on my sleeve.

He laughed as he hugged me.

"I finally see you in gods knows how long, and you come looking like hammered crap. Are you okay?"

He noticed the tears in my eyes and shifted from a joking manner to one of concern. He grabbed my face and wiped away my tears with his thumbs.

"Hey, hey. Don't do that. It's Apollo, isn't it?"

"We weren't even dating, Hermes. I feel so stupid for being upset at the situation to begin with," I spluttered, trying to laugh through the hurt.

"That's the risk of getting involved with the infamous Olympian playboy, love. You knew what you were signing up for."

I calmed down and stopped crying. He removed his hands from my face and noticed my hand was bleeding.

"Your hand is fucked up." He reached for it.

I stepped back and shook my head. He dropped his hand to his side.

"Sven attacked me, and I couldn't port since he set up a teleport block."

"Then how did you...?"

"Emergency blood pentagram to Hecate."

"Ah. Yes. The sacred witch teleport spell. You ever thought about using your angel wings? If not, your fairy wings? You wouldn't have gotten a magic block using those."

"I can't tap into my full fairy or angel forms until I turn twenty."

"Who told you that? Sounds like an excuse to me."

It was. I didn't want to admit that I couldn't fully control my fairy or angel side. My father couldn't teach me their magics, so I let those forms sit dormant.

"It is."

He glanced at his watch.

"Well. If things blow over with Apollo, I'd be happy to teach you. However, I need to deliver some important stuff. Stay out of trouble while you're here." He winked at me then flashed away.

I then realized I was on Olympus without the potionHecate gave me. I sighed and decided it was for the best. She was right about mefacing the gods as I was. I mentally girded my loins and then walked to the palace.