SOLEIA'S POV

"Mira..." Nanatili ang aking gulat. "It's you." Inalis ko na ang mga braso ko mula sa pagkakayakap ko sa kanya.

Mira spoke to the man in front of her, probably her business partner, before turning back to me. Pagkatapos nun, umalis na ang kanyang kausap.

"Yes..." Mira patted my head. "It's me, Sol."

I frowned in embarrassment. I'm not usually very expressive, so this felt a bit unfamiliar.

"How have you been, Solstice?" she asked. "Or should I call you Soleia now?"

My frown grew bigger. "Ikaw bahala..." mahinang bulong ko.

Lumingon si Mira sa likod ko kaya't ginaya ko siya. Nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang makita ko sina Talia na sumunod pala sa'kin.

"Oh my greeks-" Agad na napatigil si Talia. "Ms. Mira!" she exclaimed with a hint of recognition on her face. Mukhang naalala niya si Mira sa maikling panahon na nagkasama sila.

"Good day, daughter of Apollo," bati ni Mira pabalik.

"Ms. Adair." Amari's serious voice pierced through the atmosphere. Saglit siyang tiningnan ni Mira bago sila nagpalitan ng mga tango.

Ganito pala 'pag nagsama silang dalawa? Nakakatakot pala.

"What brings you to Athens, Elysians?" Pinutol ni Mira ang sandaling katahimikan na bumalot sa'min.

Marahan akong ngumiti sa kanya. "We went on a mission, and well... let's just say things took a turn," paliwanag ko sa kanya. Napatango-tango siya.

"Kakatapos lang po naming magshopping hihi," singit ni Tazyn. Pinigilan kong ngumiti.

Tazyn's really cute.

"I see..." Mira whispered. "Have you been taking care of Solstice?" dagdag niya. Nakita ko ang bahagyang pagbabago ng ekspresyon ni Amari.

They treated me like their own, I wanted to say.

I remember how scared I was to go to Elysium Academy because I didn’t want to be apart from Mira.

But after she talked to me and I decided to go, now... I have friends.

"Oo naman po!" magiliw na sagot ni Callie. "We don't let a single insect touch her luscious hair!" Tinaas-baba niya pa ang kanyang mga kilay habang sumasagot.

Palihim akong napatampal sa noo.

Mira nodded to herself. "Very well. That's all I need to know."

"How about the necklace I gave you, Sol?" tanong niya bigla. "Is it still with you?"

I unconsiously held the necklace before nodding.

"Good. Don't lose it," paalala niya.

We continued chatting. She asked me about what had happened at the academy, how I was doing, how many friends I had made, whether I was eating well or not...

I lost track of time until she told me that she needed to leave.

Humarap siya sa'kin. "I need to leave now, child, but fear not..." She gave me a meaningful look. "For this is not the last time we’ll see each other."

Nginitian ko siya. "It was nice to see you again, Mira."

"Take care, child."

"You too," sagot ko.

She nodded in response before ruffling my hair and walking away, leaving me there, watching her figure disappear.

A part of me wanted to call out her name so she wouldn't leave, but I stopped myself.

I didn't want her to go again... but I also didn't want to be selfish.

"This is not the last time we'll see each other..."

Why did it feel like her words held a deeper meaning?

Naramdaman ko ang kamay ni Callie sa balikat ko. "Tara na?" tanong niya. Tumango ako bilang tugon.

Kahit maikli lang ang naging pag-uusap namin ni Mira... kunteto na ako roon.

As we exited the mall, we ran into our centaur driver. It seemed Amari had hired him as our personal chauffeur.

He helped us arrange our things in the back of the vehicle, and then we got into the limousine.

Gaano ba kayaman ang mga Elysian? Parang may unlimited stock ang pera nila.

"Please take us to the Sunshine Stay hotel," Amari ordered seriously before closing her eyes and crossing her arms. Pagod na siguro siya.

To be honest, I was feeling sleepy too, but I was afraid to sleep because of the voices I kept hearing. Sometimes I only heard one, sometimes two, but often there were many, and I couldn’t keep track of them all.

That's why I can't sleep... I'm afraid I'd go crazy from the voices that haunted me.

۞۞۞

Ilang minuto pa lang, nakabalik na kami sa hotel namin. Pinasalamatan ko muna si manong centaur bago bumaba. Agad kong binitbit ang mga pinamili namin.

Amari moved with ease, effortlessly carrying five bags while Tazyn held her boxes of donuts with a smile. Talia, her twin sister, helped her. Meanwhile, Callie and I each took two of Talia's shopping bags.

Teka nga- puro kay Talia 'to eh!

Sa puntong 'to, hindi ko na alam kung si Haze ba talaga ang totoong anak ni Aphrodite.

Naunang pumasok si Amari sa kwarto namin, ngunit agad siyang napatigil. Sumunod kami sa kanya.

Napahilot siya sa kanyang sentido. "For Athena's sake." iritang saad ni Amari. Intrigued, I peeked over her shoulder to see what had happened.

Sabay-sabay na nanlaki ang mga mata namin sa aming nakita. Shattered furniture and scattered belongings painted a chaotic picture of our room.

What in the realms? Ano'ng ginawa ng mga lalaking 'to?! Nasaan si Skye?!

Just then, Haze and Raven strolled in from a corner, looking infuriatingly nonchalant. "Hey," Raven said casually.

Nakahinga ako nang maluwag nang makita kong dala-dala ni Haze si Skye. Feel na feel naman ng pusang 'to ang pagtulog niya sa braso ng nakakainis na lalaking 'to.

Talia's eyes narrowed as she stormed over to the two. Binatukan niya ang dalawang lalaki. "WHAT HAPPENED HERE?!"

I remained silent as I carefully walked around the broken glass on the floor, placing the shopping bags on the couch.

"Well..." Raven was about to speak, but he was cut off by Tazyn who tilted her head innocently.

"Nasaan sina Mavi at Cole?" kuryosong tanong niya.

"You really don't want to know-" Raven began, but before he could comtinue, a loud crash erupted beside me.

Napapikit ako. Lagot.

I opened my eyes, and I was greeted by the sight of Cole and Mavi tangled in a fierce sparring match, exchanging punches and kicks like they were in the middle of some grand tournament.

Sa loob talaga ng hotel room namin?

"Oh my greeks!"

"Hala!"

"What in the realms-"

"Luh?"

"I swear to the gods-"

A chorus of shocked reactions filled the air as we watched the two unleash  strikes against each other.

"They're just training," agad na saad ni Haze nang humarap ako sa kanya. Sinamaan ko siya ng tingin.

"Seriously?"

He turned to me, looking confused. "What? You didn't think we'd do it in a proper training ground, did you?"

I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms. "You've got to be kidding me. You think destroying a hotel room is a good training method?"

"The world's not going to be merciful. Why should we be?" He shot back, feigning innocence.

"Is that your best excuse?" hindi-makapaniwalang sabi ko.

Haze leaned against the wall, a cold expression etched on his face. "I mean, if you want to blame someone, you could always start with Raven. He's supposed to be the responsible one."

Sumama ang tingin ni Raven kay Haze. "Seriously? It's not like I planned this."

"Yeah, you definitely didn't."

Napatampal ako sa aking noo. Can they stop being so nonchalant about the situation?

"If you don't intervene, I swear I'll inform my father and have him drag you down to the underworld personally," pagbabanta ko.

"Now that would be entertaining," tugon ni Haze.

Siguro, talent ni Haze ang mang-inis ng tao. Ang galing niya sa aspektong 'yun eh.

Narinig ko ang mahinang pagtawa ni Callie kaya't sinamaan namin siya ng tingin. "Close na pala kayo," pang-aasar niya. "Cute kayong dalawa, pero awatin niyo muna sina Mavi at Cole bago pa masira ang buong kwarto natin."

I turned to Haze who gave me an innocent look. I rolled my eyes before gesturing the two demigods in front of us.

"Ano'ng hinihintay mo? Pasko? Awatin mo!" Akmang magsasalita pa siya, pero agad ko siyang sinamaan ng tingin.

He sighed. "Stop, you two," Haze commanded, his voice oozing with authority. His eyes glowed dark purple, and at that instant, the chaos finally came to an end.

Mavi and Cole instantly went still. Mukha silang mga batang paparusahan ng kanilang mga magulang.

"Wow, nakinig sa'yo si Haze," Callie teased. "Idol na kita!"

Ignoring Callie, I sat on the couch like the others. Mavi cleared his throat, shifting nervously. "I… I'll cover all the damages," aniya. "I'm sorry. I got a bit carried away."

A bit pala ang tawag niya doon?

Hinilom ni Tazyn ang mga sugat ng dalawa. "Sino ba kasi ang nagsabing maglaban kayo rito?" nakasimangot na tanong niya. The boys immediately shifted their gazes to Raven.

Mga son of Zeus nga naman.

"You again?" Amari said, disbelief written on her face as she glared at him.

Raven avoided her gaze. "I didn’t mean to."

Biglang sumingit si Talia sa usapan. "Let's just hope the council elders don't hear about this, love. We’re in real trouble!"

"Haze can take care of that," Raven said. At the mention of his name, Haze rolled his eyes.

"Great. So it’s all resting on your shoulders, as usual," I said sarcastically through telepathy. I've gotten better at using this ability. "What do you plan to do? Charm them into forgetting about this mess?"

"Oh, I have my ways," Haze replied. Nakatitig lang kami sa isa't isa. Parang hindi kami nag-aaway sa mga utak namin.

"You could've trained in a trance, you know?" I muttered using my real voice. Mukhang narinig ng lahat ang sinabi ko.

"Oo nga, noh! Marunong namang gumawa si Haze nun!"

Napakamot sina Cole at Mavi sa kanilang mga batok. "We forgot. Haze didn't say anything either."

The latter frowned. "That's not my fault."

Mavi flashed a shy smile. "At least you know Cole's improving, right?"

Talia scoffed. "Aba-" Ginulo niya ang buhok niya sa inis. "I'm seriously gonna lose my mind!"

Sa mga oras na 'to ay dapat nag-aayos na kami ng mga gamit namin... pero mukhang matatagalan pa kami.

I smirked as I watched them argue. Napailing-iling ako. "Boys."