Chapter Thirteen

I woke up in Apollo's bed on Olympus, two days later.

My whole body ached deep to my bones, but other than that, I was completely healed... physically. Mentally, I was weary and my nerves were shot. My ego was deflated, like a popped balloon in an abandoned park, and my chest felt like someone had ripped my heart out and stomped on it, then ruthlessly shoved it back into the cavity and I wanted to be angry again.

I wanted that searing hot rage to destroy the pain and sorrow clinging to me, like an impenetrable spiderweb. I wanted to numb myself, so I couldn't feel like this. At the same time, I knew I deserved this pain. I knew I deserved to feel like shit, and it was more than just learning that Dexius had hated me all these years. It was his words that pelted me with a searing hot truth, and worse still was the pain that I had just damned a merman to a worse hell than Xandria because I was angry and hurt and once again acting like a selfish bastard.

I had to at least help him.

He was just doing what his people were meant to do. Protect their territory, protect their family, seek vengeance on those who've threatened and hurt him.

But it was so hard to get out of bed. The depression from Dexius's rejection and my own stupidity was like a physical weight on my shoulders, like claws sinking into me and dragging me back to bed, to lay and suffer in silence, but the drive to right at least one wrong in my life managed to get me on my feet. I couldn't hear or feel Apollo anywhere in the temple, meaning he was probably at the grand hall, being punished by Zeus for my stupidity.

Another wrong I wanted to right, but I wasn't sure how.

Then again, Apollo probably did and I would gladly take any punishment he lumped on me.

I could feel Menoetius and Arikos moving around the temple, and Hannibal's presence somewhere in the garden. I could smell food cooking in the kitchen, meaning Denarius was here as well. However, my goal was at the grand hall and I prayed I didn't run into Apollo on the way there.

I went to the wardrobe, pulling on a pair of slacks and a t-shirt, throwing a jacket on. I was able to teleport to the grand hall for some reason as well. Normally Apollo would restrict my powers preventing my teleportation, unless it was to somewhere in the temple. A small sliver of concern and possibly hope went through me, only to be crushed a moment later when I tried to summon a ball of fire in my palm, only for my palm to smoke and a strange pain strangling my throat.

And here I thought the Source was finally releasing me.

I sighed and looked up at the grand hall, debating on the main entrance, but decided against it. I wasn't in the mood to run into the people protecting Zeus's temple, so instead, I opted for a side entrance that opened up into a huge palace sized kitchen where several cooks were rushing around to prepare food, a couple of servants keeping the place clean, and no one looked twice at me as I came inside, pretending to do a sweep of the kitchen like one of the other servants, an inspector to make sure Zeus wouldn't be displeased with the cleanliness. Even Zeus had a limit to how much filth he could stand.

I passed through the kitchen into a corridor, white and pristine like the rest of the palace. The floor made of heavily designed white marble and the white walls that spread up into an arched ceiling that was designed with more swirling patterns. I wasn't entirely sure where I would find the Atlantean merman, but I decided to test the limits of the powers Apollo was allowing me to use, and sent out my powers and instantly felt the presence of the merman not far from where I was.

I passed down the corridor until I came to a pair of white doors that were big enough to let Godzilla through. I never understood why people needed such large doors.

I walked through them into what appeared to be a bedroom with a large canopy bed big enough to fit a family of twelve with expensive silk sheets and thick quilts, glorious legends etched into the walls, save for the one across from the bed, which had been outfitted with a large aquarium. However, it wasn't nearly large enough to contain the creature inside behind a thick layer of glass that shimmered with a spell when I entered, as if to warn me not to bother cracking it open.

Inside, the Atlantean merman was settled at the bottom of the aquarium, and my heart clenched in pain at the sight of him looking so miserable. He was laid out across a rock, his dark hair curling in tendrils around his shoulders, his gold eyes half-lidded and staring at the plastic shells that lined the inside of the aquarium. Said aquarium was much smaller when I approached, comparing it to his tail. The smoothly scaled tail was a gorgeous shade of red that faded to gold at the bottom where his caudal fin flared out like a golden sun, and the deep blood red soft rays that traveled along the back of his tail all the way up to the base of his spine, matching the spinous dorsal fin along his back.

Gods, he's beautiful.

Unfortunately, he sensed my presence and his eyes snapped to lock one me. Instantly, he reared up and snarled, slamming his hand against the glass. However, he couldn't move more than that. He glared up at the top of his aquarium, then glared at me and his lips peeled back to flash his jagged teeth.

Cursed god! Monster! Killer!

I winced. At least he remembered me.

I approached the aquarium cautiously at first, still not sure I wanted to be too close to an Atlantean merman, even with a couple inches of enchanted glass.

For centuries, people believed Atlantean merpeople were one of the most dangerous sea creatures. They were thought to be cold-blooded killers, extremely territorial and enjoyed playing with their meals as they drowned slowly. In fact, in the official registry on Atlantis, they had always been listed as animals, not humanoid creatures.

However, being able to hear the merman's screams in my head told me they most certainly not the crazed animals we thought they were. They were highly cognitive creatures that could experience depression, anger, hurt, fear. It was definitely going to change the way we looked at them... and how some gods hunted them on occasion for mere sport.

I watched the merman, whom I'm assuming was called Kallisto given his third person thinking, watched me with anger sparking in his gold eyes, a twinge of fear in the way he stayed away from the top of the tank.

Those were definitely not the eyes of an animal, nor a monster.

And you killed his family. My heart clenched at the selfish stupidity that had possessed me to attack the merpeople. They were just doing what was in their nature to do- hunt and eat, just like anyone else. They may not hunt for fast food restaurants or a chef to make their meals, but they hunted the old-fashioned way and ate just like the rest of us.

I had been so foolishly wrapped up in my own pain and anger that I hadn't stopped to think that I was hurting the merpeople. Dexius's reminder of my selfishness stung and I swallowed against the lump in my throat, trying to block out the harshness of his condemnation.

"I'm sorry," I murmured, and Kallisto's eyes darkened in response, a low growling emitting from his throat, "I truly am sorry. I... I know that no amount of apologies can make up for the wrong I've done to you, and I understand that, but I'm still sorry." Kallisto narrowed his eyes to study me. There was a calculating glimmer in his eyes, like he was trying to sniff out a lie. Could merpeople smell deceit? Some creatures, such as varg-leopards, could sense betrayal and would lash out the moment they heard a lie.

You hurt Kallisto's family. Kallisto said, lips not moving as he stared at me. I flinched.

"I know."

Big Greek god put Kallisto in a box.

"I know," I whispered, then came to the glass, daring to place my hand against it, feeling the soft hum of power in the glass, and Kallisto stared at my hand, cocking his head, "I can help you, though. I'll get you out, I swear it, and I'll help you back to Atlantis." Kallisto's expression shuttered and he went from his intimidating risen position to sink back down toward the bottom of the aquarium.

No, Kallisto responded coldly, Kallisto cannot go back. Failed to protect family, liability now. Family kill Kallisto. For the good of the family. My heart broke and pain assailed me at his words.

Because of me, Kallisto couldn't return to his family. He was doomed to suffer eternity as Zeus's bedroom decor, and it brought tears to my eyes.

Dexius was right. I was a selfish bastard.

What is god doing? Kallisto asked with a scowl, drawing himself up against the glass to look at me. I sniffed back tears, loathing myself for it. The only thing I was good for was crying. No wonder my siblings mocked me so often. I made it so easy.

"I'm so sorry," I managed, "Please, there has to be something I can do to help you. I can't leave you here like this. I'm the one who hurt you in the first place, please." Kallisto still appeared confused by me. He tilted his head from side to side, as if trying to get a look at me from different angles, and he sniffed at me as if he could smell me through the glass, through the water. He sank back a little, leaning against the far wall of the aquarium, folding his arms over his chest.

You are confusing god. You weep. You slave to other god, yes? Kallisto do not understand. Gods are confusing. Fish much easier to understand. He said indefinitely, and his words were oddly humorous to me, even though he said them in such a deadpan expression. I smiled faintly at that, wiping my tears away. Suddenly finding his company a lot more bearable than anyone else's, I pulled one of the ottomans away from the tiny living room set in the corner, placing it in front of the aquarium so I could sit down.

"I'm not exactly a perfect god," I told Kallisto, watching him raise an eyebrow, and I bit my lip, remembering Dexius's tirade and more guilt crushed my shoulders, "When we were in Xandria, I was trying to find... someone. But when I found him, I realized he didn't want to be found. He hated me. All these years I spent utterly infatuated with him, and he hated me." Kallisto scowled.

You are god. Eat him. He answered. I smiled.

"Like I said. I am a god... But certainly not worthy of the title." I said softly. Kallisto shook his head and shifted in the aquarium, and my heart clenched that he had to shift so much just to get comfortable in something that was small enough to fit in a dentist's office. He leaned against the glass, head resting in his hands, and once again, I was stunned by the human-like position. It looked so normal, so... not what I was expecting from a merman.

God is silly, Kallisto concluded of me, making me raise an eyebrow as he touched the glass, if Kallisto was god, he make all other gods tremble. He eat any god who question him, and any someone's who not respectful. That is problem with land monsters. You no understand simplicity. His viewpoint was oddly childish... No, innocent. In all honesty, it reminded me of Dorean's. The sweet childlike view of the world.

So simple and easy. And yet, nothing about it was such. That was the curse of knowledge. You knew that the world was cold and dark and difficult. Nothing was ever easy.

And then I realized what he'd referred to me.

"Land monsters?" I asked. Kallisto nodded, and his expression twisted in anger. His brows dropped down, knitted in a frown, lips curled into a sneer so his sharp teeth glinted menacingly in the aquarium lights. He was oddly expressive.

Yes. Land monsters. You may be god, but you and other gods and other creatures with feets. They hunt my people like we treasure. Put us in cages or take our tails or cut us up and make pictures out of us. We are not pictures. We are not treasure. We is breathing and living, like you also, but no one sees this. So. We make you food when you come to us. We eat you.

"Seems like you solve most of your problems with eating." I said. Kallisto actually blushed.

Hungry. He answered. I blinked.

"Hungry? You mean Zeus hasn't fed you? At all?" I asked, mildly alarmed. He'd been here for two days since we got back from Atlantis. He was starving for two days. And while one may not think that much, according to research, merpeople tended to eat several times their weight in a single day. Then again, research also showed they had no proper cognitive thinking, so either Kallisto was some kind of science experiment gone wrong, or the research was wrong.

Big god says no food for Kallisto, Kallisto replied bitterly, scraping his nails along the glass, causing the spell to shimmer gold, glittering and sparkling and making Kallisto bare his teeth at it before he looked at me, says food must be earned, not given. Kallisto think god is bastard and should stick his hand in box so Kallisto can eat him. I almost laughed at that. Zeus was certainly not going to be able to handle Kallisto very well. The merman obviously didn't care if someone was a god or not. He seemed to treat everyone similarly. And something about that unbiased way of thinking was refreshing.

"Let me get you something to eat," I said, getting up and getting ready to move the ottoman back, "I'm assuming anything meat will do you good." Kallisto nodded eagerly.

Food! Food! Food make Kallisto more okay with cursed god... What is cursed god called? He added, tilting his head. I smiled.

"My name is... Anexius." I said. While the name held some bitter memories, I found it oddly more comforting than the name given to me by the Oracle of Tartarus. The name Callias was incredibly Greek and unfitting for someone like me. Anexius meant protector and while I'm more than positive I failed miserably at that job and name title, the sound of it rolling off my tongue made me feel more comfortable.

I left Zeus's chambers, careful to check the halls before leaving, then headed to the kitchen with the intention to grab Kallisto as much food as I could. With someone his size, he probably ate more than the average, and he had to weigh over two hundred pounds with those rock hard muscles and massive tail that had almost curled all the way up over the top of the aquarium.

Zeus was definitely not going to treat him kindly, and there was a desperation in me that wanted to free Kallisto anyway, but where could he go? He'd never survive without a pod. Merpeople were social creatures. They traveled in pods of up to thirty merpeople. A lone merperson was a dead merperson, and I owed it to Kallisto to keep him alive and safe.

How strange, that the creature I had baited into attacking me, the creature who should hate me and vice versa, was awakening the dormant protective part of me.

I went to the kitchen, blending in surprisingly well with the other servants there, grabbing any and all kinds of meat for Kallisto. Most of it was fish and lamb, but I managed to find a view large steaks and a whole chicken. I snagged a few treats as well, unsure if he would like them or not, but excited to see him try them.

I returned to the aquarium where Kallisto was now lounging on his back, staring up at the top of the aquarium. He perked up when I entered and his eyes widened, teeth clicking together with anticipation. I hauled a few pieces of the meat out of the sack I'd stuffed the food into, and tossed it into the aquarium.

Kallisto snarled and caught it, gobbling it up so fast that it only took him a mere few seconds to have the whole thing gone; fat, bones, and all. He licked his lips and I dropped the chicken in next.

It only took him a few minutes to finish everything I'd brought him, and he was still licking at his fingers, licking his lips.

Hungry. He said again. I sighed.

"If I take anything more, the chefs are bound to notice. I'm sorry." I added. Kallisto made a noise of distress and pushed around the inside of the aquarium, apparently restless. This really wasn't a good idea, to keep Kallisto in there. He was a merman. He needed wide open space to swim. He didn't want to be fed like a guppie- he wanted to hunt.

We are not pictures. We are not treasure.

His words resonated with me. No, he wasn't any of those things. He was a beautiful creature, in pain and suffering and wanting to be free. And he never would've gotten here in the first place if I hadn't of been such a selfish bastard. And while I wouldn't mind sitting down for another round of self-loathing to keep my ego from inflating again, I wanted to do something more productive.

"Kallisto," I said, making him glance at me, pausing his twirling actions that was splashing water out of the aquarium and smashing plastic shells, "I'm going to get you out of there. One way or another. I give you my word." Kallisto stared at me, then cocked his head.

Yes. Was all he answered with. I gave him a smile and left the room as silently as possible, ensuring there was no trace of my having been there. I had just walked out of the kitchen back to the outside porch when a pulse of power indicated Apollo was nearby. I composed myself and walked around the other side just as Apollo was walking out the front entrance.

And he looked extremely uncomfortable. His movements were stiff and awkward, and as I drew closer, my heart dropped at the sight of bruises and scorch marks running the length of his legs and arms, and no doubt it covered his torso as well. His auburn hair was pushed to the side, revealing a bloody gash down the right side of his face, his teeth ground together so tight that it seemed to only further urge blood through the wound.

"Apollo." I managed. He almost jumped three feet in the air when he heard me and snapped around to look at me, his shoulders only slightly slumping in relief when he saw me approaching him.

"What are you doing here? You should be resting." He snapped, dark blue eyes flashing angrily. I ignored that and reached up to place my hand over the gash on his face and he hissed, baring his fangs, but he didn't attack me as I sent energy flowing into the wound to stitch it up. His jaw still flexed in pain and irritation, but he didn't hit me. He just pried my hand off his face.

"I'm sorry," I murmured, and Apollo frowned at me, "I knew what would happen if Zeus caught us leaving against his wishes and you paid for it." Apollo looked annoyed as he moved away from me when I tried to touch a bruise on his arm to heal it.

"Oh, please," He answered dryly, making me purse my lips, "That was minor compared to what he would've done if I hadn't given him the merman." I clenched my teeth at that. Kallisto may have eased the punishment, but now he was being punished for what I'd done. Who else was fucked over because of me?

The whole of Atlantis.

Thank you, subconscious.

"Apollo, we can't let him stay there," I said, watching Apollo's eyes darken, "He's a merman trapped in a tiny aquarium barely big enough for a goldfish. He won't survive there." Apollo shrugged, turning away and wincing when his knee almost buckled. I caught him by the arm to steady him and he snarled, wrenching away from me.

"Not my problem," He snapped at me, "Now get back to the temple. I have work to do." I wanted to scream, but even less the idea of being told to shut up again, so I reverted to the one state that drove Apollo insane. I let my muscles relax, gave him a dead expression, and inclined my head.

"Yes, my lord." I responded monotonously. Hurt flashed in his eyes before I teleported from the steps of the temple back to Apollo's home. I arrived in our bedroom and instantly my anger lashed out and all the windows shattered and the lava lamp on his desk exploded. I sucked in a deep breath to calm myself, but it was difficult to rein in the anger boiling my blood.

I didn't hate Apollo for his decision. The merman had attacked us and it was instant reaction to punish Kallisto, and Kallisto's capture had led to Apollo's punishment being lighter than it normally would've been. However, I was infuriated that he was insistent on leaving Kallisto there was if he were nothing, but a piece of treasure. Worst of all, Zeus wasn't going to take care of Kallisto. In fact, Kallisto didn't want to be taken care of. He wasn't a pet. He was a person. He needed freedom.

Breathing ragged from my anger, I went to soak in the bath, filling the tub with warm water and the scent of eucalyptus and mint wafted into the air, going a long way to soothe the rage brewing inside me. Even so, I was still infuriated that I could do nothing. I couldn't just pick Kallisto up and dump him back home.

If what he said about his family was true, he would die and that would defeat the purpose of saving him.

Apollo would kill me if he found Kallisto on temple grounds.

And I was running out of options. Especially now that the barriers were in place and no one could leave or enter Olympus without Zeus's permission. While I was still concerned over the situation with everyone hunting my siblings and shoving them all in one tiny space, I could only do so much there... Then again, the same when for Kallisto's situation. And I was helpless to do anything, which only aggravated me further.

I was a god and I had no power here.

Annoyed at that situation and the fact that the bath did little to calm me, I climbed out and threw on a pair of lounge pants and a loose cream sweater before heading down the hallway toward the rich smell of food from the kitchen. A heavy thick cloud of spices wafted through the air, and judging from the specifics, it was Indian food today. I walked in to see Denarius stirring around a sizzling skillet of vegetables and brown rice. He looked up, eyes widening for a moment before he relaxed when he realized I was all right.

"Are you sure you should be up," He asked me anyway, lowering the heat on the stove so he could break away to approach me, "You were in bad shape when you got here." I shook my head, waving him away before moving to sniff at the stove.

"I'm fine... Mostly. If you can call being enraged enough to cause another apocalypse, yeah." I replied, turning to look at him. Denarius shifted uncomfortably, rubbing at his arm, lowering those pretty green-gold eyes to the floor. I cocked my head at his reaction before he swallowed and went back to cooking.

"If you want company, Menoetius and Lord Arikos are in the dining room." He said softly. I noticed his lack of title for Menoetius, but figure it was safe not to say anything. I already knew the two got along as well as a cobra and a mongoose.

"And Hannibal?" I asked. Denarius's mouth twitched like he wanted to smile.

"Left with Lord Ares. Appears the hybrid has befriended the least friendly god of the pantheon." He said. I smiled at that. It oddly quelled some of anger. I gave Denarius a nod, a pat on the shoulder to assure him I was fine, then headed to the dining room, only to slow down as I heard Arikos and Menoetius talking. Or rather, mostly Arikos. I peered inside ahead of time, seeing Arikos leaning over in his seat, frowning at Menoetius, who was looking anywhere, but Arikos.

"Seriously, that's three hours. And the night before too. Hannibal also says you're skipping out on the schedule he set up for you." Arikos said, sounding more like a parent than his usual happy-go-lucky self. Whatever Menoetius was doing, it was enough to make Arikos angry. Menoetius shot him a quick dirty look.

"I'm not a child," Menoetius answered coldly, "And I certainly don't need you or the hybrid checking up on me. What I do with my leisure time is none of your damn business." Arikos glared.

"Well, we know you've been going to Hades." He said. Menoetius went still.

"Excuse me?"

"Hannibal's friend, Kristoff, said he saw you hanging out near one of the pub's in Styx. Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? You may not be a Titan anymore, Menoetius, but you were at one time and people still remember that. And with the murders going on in Hades right now, it's not safe-"

"Let me reiterate," Menoetius said, this time his voice dropping a deadly octave that made Arikos tense in his seat, and Menoetius rose to his feet, glaring at him, "It. Is. None. Of. Your. Fucking. Business." Without another word, Menoetius walked out and had no problem shoulder-checking me on the way out. I watched him leave, disgusted, then walked into the dining room as Arikos sat back in his seat with a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"He's rather intolerable, isn't he?" I asked. Arikos looked at me sheepishly.

"Actually, he's fucking cute when he does that too cool to give a shit thing, but it's never messed with his life before and now it's just bothering me. Hannibal didn't go through everything he did just so Menoetius could go out drinking." He explained. I shrugged.

"If he dies, then he dies." I answered. Arikos frowned at me.

"That's cold. Menoetius may not be the easiest to deal with, but I don't think he deserves to have his second chance crushed before it's even started." He pointed out. His defense of Menoetius surprised me.

Then again, Arikos didn't suffer the same constant degradation of the Greeks as Xenon and myself. Atlan had raised us to loathe the Greeks from birth. As much as I hated that upbringing, it was still hammered and nailed into my subconscious. It was a sick twisted piece of racism that I had trouble purging. I hated myself for feeling negatively toward a race simply because they were in Atlan's way...

Although now, it was more the self-entitled bastards who served as their pantheon. The Greeks were known as far as Asia and the Americas for their drama. They'd dragged Helheim and Duat into their messes on numerous occasions, and the Atlanteans weren't the only ones who hated the Greeks. The Norse also held a very strong distaste for them and the only reason their alliance was a thing was due to the Demonic Fashion corporation. The Norse were a huge fan of the company and their channel and when Malachi, the sixth son of Hades who owned the corporation, cut a deal with them, the Norse agreed to pull back any security bases on the border to ensure there wasn't another sneak attack.

Still, the alliance was shaky.

Suffice it to say, there was plenty of reason to dislike them, but not as a whole. Just because Zeus and a few select others were assholes didn't mean they all were. I adored gods like Aphrodite and Athena, Hephaestus and Ares. The ones who truly gave a shit about their pantheon and would go out of their way to make sure their loved ones were protected.

Not to mention, my hatred for Menoetius was biased considering we had fought on numerous occasions and each time we'd been interrupted, never once determining which of us was the strongest and that was a tiny blow to my pride that insisted on being repaired, but my little rivalry with Menoetius could wait until another time.

There were more important things at hand.

"I want to free the merman we captured." I told Arikos bluntly. Arikos, who'd just been taking a drink of his beer, choked and coughed, thumping his chest before gaping at me.

"Are you nuts? Zeus owns the little guy and as bad as I feel for Free Willy, I sure as hell don't feel bad enough to get on Zeus's bad side," He paused to shudder, "You didn't see the way Apollo came back here yesterday. Zeus beat the living shit out of him. Granted, it was a walk in the park after my experience with fatherly love, but still. We were hired to protect you, Anexius, not toss you to the biggest wolf on the mountain." I clenched my teeth, sitting down in front of Arikos as he took another drink of his beer after shaking his head.

"I can't just sit here and do nothing, Arikos. He's a person and he needs our help. Zeus is starving him on purpose. The aquarium is so small that he can't even fit his whole tail in there. And he's in there because of me, because I was a selfish bastard." Just like Dexius said. Arikos eyed me uneasily. He didn't argue with the fact that it was my fault.

"Look, Anexius, I know you feel guilty about the whole thing, but are you sure you don't wanna free him just to make your guilt go away? Not because it'll help him? Besides, where will you keep him? The bathtub? The barriers are down and no one's leaving. You should've seen the way Akin reacted when he found out Hannibal was trapped." He stopped as if thinking about the angry angel gave him nightmares and he took another drink of beer.

I grimaced. Yes, maybe there was a part of me that wanted this heavy sick feeling of guilt to go away, but a larger part of me wanted to save Kallisto. He didn't deserve that. None of it.

"Arikos, please. I don't know how long I have until Zeus does something worse. For all I know, he could just be planning to keep him for a few days before he eats him." I managed, the idea churning my stomach. Arikos looked ill at that, drumming his nails on the side of the bottle.

"I don't like the idea either, but come on. He's a merman."

"So that makes him less important?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Please, Arikos. I have to help him. And not just for myself, but for Kallisto. He'll never survive under Zeus's thumb. You saw what Zeus did to Apollo. What do you think he's going to do to an Atlantean merman?" I demanded. Arikos swallowed and averted his eyes guiltily. He seemed to be considering the idea and I hoped to god he could come up with a plan better than I could, because my plans tended to backfire on me, as shown with the visit to Dexius in Xandria, a visit that still sat like a cold rock in my gut.

We were silent as Denarius came in and gave us our food. We ate in silence, even though my stomach cramped and I wasn't particularly hungry now.

Thankfully, Hannibal returned to puncture the awkward silence. He looked exhausted, and a new bruise was swelling up under his left eye, making Arikos's eyes widen. Hannibal gave him a look that told him not to ask, but I had a feeling Ares and Hannibal had a violent sparring session. I shook my head.

Even in times of peace, gods of war needed to hit something.

"Where's Menoetius?" Hannibal asked as he took a seat, and Arikos scoffed.

"He's grounded. Sitting in his room and moping. I'll take him something to eat later when he's done being a big baby." He answered. Hannibal nodded, then looked at me, his gaze questioning my health and I smiled.

"I'm fine," I paused, "Mostly. Hannibal, I know I really have no right to ask this of you, but I don't know what else to do. It's my fault the merman is trapped and I went to see him earlier and he was suffering and I... We need to let him go, Hannibal. We need to take him away from Olympus." Hannibal raised an eyebrow and Arikos nodded.

"What was my response," He said, then looked at me, "Even if we did want to get Kallisto out of here, where could we go? The barriers are down and no one wants to take in an Atlantean merman. They're normally out of control. The only thing I can think of is to kill him and put him out of his misery." Hannibal frowned at that, but honestly seemed to be considering it, making a lump form in my throat.

"Please," I said again, and I knew my pleading was making Hannibal extremely uncomfortable because he was avoiding eye contact with me, "He's not a monster, Hannibal. I promise you. He's just a person with different culture. His name is Kallisto and he can't go back to his family, because if he does, they'll kill him. They'll see him as a danger for not protecting his siblings, siblings I hurt. I need to do something for him. I need to help him. He's a good, decent person. He even tried to make me feel better. Hannibal, I'm the one who ruined his life in less than half an hour." Hannibal winced when I had used the word monster, as if it struck a nerve.

He set down his fork as if he suddenly lost his appetite and looked down at the table, the gears in his head turning as he thought about what I said. Arikos frowned at him, opening his mouth to make a comment, when suddenly Denarius was coming into the dining room, looking chilled to the bone.

"What's wrong?" I asked, getting to my feet. Denarius swallowed.

"I just got word from my sister who was performing at the grand hall. They've captured three of the Khalian."